New
2012.04.18.
Better Together? Population
Density and Well-Being in the United States
by Thomas M. Halloran. The United States core urban population areas are growing
at a faster rate than fringe suburbs and satellite cities, a reversal from the
previous five decades. 94% of all US population growth in the past five years
was accounted for in 28 central metro counties. This paper explores the
relationship between population density and well-being in United States
metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). It hypothesizes that higher population
density has positive effects on social capital, innovation, culture, and overall
economic growth – and working through these factors will lead to higher overall
well-being.
2012.03.06
Property Rights Apply To
Poor People Too
Timothy B. Lee, Contributor, Forbes Magazine. I’m late to the party, but the
Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed earlier this month making the case against the
activism of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Written by the Manhattan Institute’s
Steven Malanga, it focuses on two issues: education and zoning policy. I
don’t have any particular beef with Malanga’s criticisms of the court’s
education rulings. But I was surprised to see someone from the Manhattan
Institute, which is devoted to “greater economic choice and individual
responsibility,” attack New Jersey’s landmark Mount Laurel decision.
Read more...
2012.01.30
Georgetown Council Errs in
Denial of Shelter
PRESS RELEASE. On January 25, 2012, the Georgetown
(Delaware) Town Council voted to override the Planning Commission’s January 18
decision to approve Sussex Community Crisis Housing Services’ (SCCHS)
request for a conditional use permit (CASE
#2011-02). This application proposes
to replace existing buildings on their property with new, well-designed,
energy-efficient buildings to be built through the charitable donation of a
local Georgetown family, constructed in conjunction with Milford Housing
Development Corporation (MHDC) a respected, seasoned local housing developer. Read
more...
2011.12.05
The Spatial
Concentration of Subsidized Housing
by Rosalind Kotz. This study uses data from “A Picture of Subsidized Housing
2000” (HUD, 2008) to investigate the relationship between the concentration, mix
of subsidized housing types, and poverty at the census tract level in
metropolitan areas. At the metropolitan level subsidized housing segregation is
higher than race, ethnicity and poverty. At the census tract level the highest
concentration is due to multiple types of subsidized housing co-located in the
xii same census tract. On the other hand subsidized housing reaches low poverty
census tracts at rates higher than expected.
2011.11.01
Why Not in Our Back Yard?
by Michael Allen. You’ve heard it many times: “We don’t oppose housing for poor
people. We just think it ought to be located somewhere else.” It’s a difficult
balance for planning commissioners. Communities need low-cost housing and
community services, but neighborhoods often argue that these facilities should
be sited elsewhere. Localities have been sued under the Fair Housing Act for
discriminatory zoning ordinances and specific land use decisions, but the flip
side is potential political or legal fallout from existing residents who don’t
want housing or services on their blocks. Most often it seems that no matter
what decision the local commission makes, someone will be unhappy.
Recent
2011.10.01
Opportunity
and Location in Federally Subsidized Housing Programs
A New Look at HUD’s Site & Neighborhood Standards As Applied to the Low
Income Housing Tax Credit by
Philip Tegeler, Henry Korman, Jason Reece, and
Megan Haberle. A discussion of alternative approaches to civil rights
site selection in the LIHTC program that are consistent with the statutory
guidance for the program, and that also can integrate successfully with other
important goals such as sustainability and transit access.
2011.08.18
Sustainable Communities
and Fair Housing
from the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC).
We applaud HUD for its new "Regional
Fair Housing and Equity Assessment," unveiled as part of the Sustainable
Communities Initiative (SCI), a program that funds coordinated regional housing
and transportation planning in over forty metropolitan areas. This new
assessment tool, which will be used by all regional planning grantees, moves the
SCI program beyond vague "equity" language to a more rigorous and sophisticated
civil rights analysis.
Read more...
2011.08.04
NIMBY? What About WNIMBY?
by Peter Tatian. In a recent Housing Complex post, Washington City Paper
reporter Lydia DePillis discusses whether people who opposed a women’s shelter
in Anacostia or a school for at-risk youth in Truxton Circle should be offended
by being called “NIMBYs.” Read more...
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