Home Sweet Home? What Massachusetts Can Tell Us about the Prospects for the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act

By most accounts, it is apparent that the United States lacks sufficient affordable housing to satisfy its needs. In an effort to remedy its own affordability gap, Illinois enacted the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeals Act, a largely market-driven measure that will provide frustrated developers with a new appeals mechanism from unfavorable local land use decisions. This new mechanism will empower a statewide appeals board to override local zoning decisions, under certain circumstances, in an effort to remove roadblocks to affordable housing construction. In taking this approach, Illinois follows the example of Massachusetts, which has had a similar measure in effect for over three decades. As the Illinois Act has already generated some controversy among local officials, including claims that it does not apply to home rule communities, it is instructive to consider the challenges brought against the Massachusetts Act and the probable outcome of similar challenges to the Illinois Act. This Note undertakes that analysis and concludes that while such challenges are unlikely to invalidate the Illinois Act, they are likely to drastically limit its effectiveness in prompting affordable housing construction. Therefore, this Note concludes with several recommendations for strengthening and clarifying the Illinois Act in order to preserve its intended effect

Home Sweet Home? What Massachusetts Can Tell Us about the Prospects for the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act

By most accounts, it is apparent that the United States lacks sufficient affordable housing to satisfy its needs. In an effort to remedy its own affordability gap, Illinois enacted the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeals Act, a largely market-driven measure that will provide frustrated developers with a new appeals mechanism from unfavorable local land use decisions. This new mechanism will empower a statewide appeals board to override local zoning decisions, under certain circumstances, in an effort to remove roadblocks to affordable housing construction. In taking this approach, Illinois follows the example of Massachusetts, which has had a similar measure in effect for over three decades. As the Illinois Act has already generated some controversy among local officials, including claims that it does not apply to home rule communities, it is instructive to consider the challenges brought against the Massachusetts Act and the probable outcome of similar challenges to the Illinois Act. This Note undertakes that analysis and concludes that while such challenges are unlikely to invalidate the Illinois Act, they are likely to drastically limit its effectiveness in prompting affordable housing construction. Therefore, this Note concludes with several recommendations for strengthening and clarifying the Illinois Act in order to preserve its intended effect

Another history of museums: from the discourse to the museum-piece

The history of museums could get inspired on the procedures of material studies and of Anthropology in order to take a new stand and move away from the institutional approach and consider the approach of objects traditionally labelled as museum objects. The socalled “museum pieces” are supposed to have a number of characteristics, particularly some great historical and artistic qualities, sometimes an heritage quality, but above all the ability to make “friends” around the community or around the world. In all these respects, it is proposed here a number of research procedures that may supplement or enrich the directions usually assigned to the history of institutions