Affordable Family Rental Housing: Successful Practices in Massachusetts Communities

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Massachusetts is the least affordable state in which to live. The burden of these high housing costs is disproportionately felt by lowand moderate-income residents. As the prospect of owning a home becomes less of a reality for many Massachusetts families and as market- ·rate rents have soared, the need for affordable rental housing becomes more pressing. This paper explores what the best processes are for developing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families in Massachusetts. The identification of replicable practices demonstrates that creative options exist for cities and towns facing the dilemma of rising housing costs coupled with increased budgetary restrictions

Making the Case for Affordable Housing: Connecting Housing with Health and Education Outcomes

As advocates push for inclusion of affordable housing beyond the central city, siting battles have become increasingly common. Opponents often claim that affordable housing brings no net benefits to the community, and that it threatens neighborhood property values. This review considers existing evidence regarding the relationship between provision of quality affordable housing and benefits to the larger community. Evidence is considered in the areas of health and education. Given the high level of public concern with these two issues, evidence of benefits could be especially potent in public discussions of affordable housing. Future research is proposed in each area

Housing Policy and the Underclass debate: Policy Choices and Implications (1900-1970)

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Who is a Nuisance? Criminal Activity Nuisance Ordinances in Ohio

Criminal Activity Nuisance Ordinances (CANOs) are local laws found in thousands of cities throughout the country which penalize property owners if repeated incidents of criminal activity related to their property occur over a set period of time (typically, 12 months). Nearly 50 cities in Ohio have CANOs, including more than 20 in Northeast Ohio.Drawing on extensive public records from a sample of Northeast Ohio cities, this report offers a snapshot of CANOs and how they are being used. • CANOs disproportionately impact renters, people using housing vouchers, and people of color. • Race and class stereotypes surface in public discussions of CANOs, and are sometimes invoked to justify the establishment or enhancement of CANOs • CANOs are frequently applied beyond their scope to target minor, non-criminal behavior • Many cities across Ohio put survivors of domestic violence at heightened risk of eviction by defining domestic violence as a “nuisance activity”; in some cities, more than half of CANO letters are sent in response to domestic violence incidents• If emergency services are sent to a home in response to a call made to a suicide hotline, that property can be deemed a nuisance • Seeking medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose crisis is a common reason that properties are placed on a nuisance list • It is often difficult or even impossible for a property owner or tenant to challenge a mistaken nuisance designationWhile the findings presented in this report center on Northeast Ohio, residents in the thousands of other cities with CANOs across the country may be experiencing similar impact. We encourage policymakers, researchers, and community stakeholders to use this report to inform deeper conversations on the implications of CANOs, and to expand research on the use and consequences of these laws

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Affordable Family Rental Housing: Successful Practices in Massachusetts Communities

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Massachusetts is the least affordable state in which to live. The burden of these high housing costs is disproportionately felt by low and moderate-income residents. As the prospect of owning a home becomes less of a reality for many Massachusetts families and as market- ·rate rents have soared, the need for affordable rental housing becomes more pressing. This paper explores what the best processes are for developing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families in Massachusetts. The identification of replicable practices demonstrates that creative options exist for cities and towns facing the dilemma of rising housing costs coupled with increased budgetary restrictions

Responding to the Foreclosure Crisis in Appalachia: A Policy Review and Survey of Housing Counselors

Existing research on the foreclosure crisis tends to focus on national trends or on metropolitan areas. Few studies focus on rural areas, and none look at Appalachia in particular. Existing research on rural housing issues suggests that rural communities face unique challenges in the wake of the foreclosure crisis due to capacity constraints, lack of qualified counselors in rural areas, and lack of funding availability. This study investigates the impact of existing policies upon Appalachian communities and households—analyzing whether communities suffering from widespread foreclosures lack the governmental and nonprofit resources necessary to adequately utilize funding and other resources to respond to the crisis. This paper presents findings from a survey of housing counselors serving the Appalachian region, which suggests that lack of directed federal funding is preventing counseling agencies from getting distressed homeowners aid in a timely manner or helping them to make modifications to their mortgages. I conclude with policy and planning recommendations designed to target assistance to these and other rural and distressed communities suffering from foreclosures

How Race and Class Stereotyping Shapes Attitudes Toward Affordable Housing

The development of affordable housing often involves a contentious siting process. Proposed housing developments frequently trigger concern among neighbors and community groups about potential negative impacts on neighborhood quality of life and property values. Advocates, developers, and researchers have long suspected that these concerns stem in part from racial or class prejudice. Yet, to date, empirical evidence supporting these assumptions is lacking. This study seeks to examine roles that perceptions of race and class play in shaping opinions that underlie public opposition to affordable housing. This study applies a public opinion survey to determine the extent to which stereotypes and perceptions of the poor and minorities relate to attitudes toward affordable housing. The results demonstrate that such perceptions are particularly strong determinants of negative attitudes about affordable housing. These findings provide advocates, planners, developers, and researchers with a more accurate portrayal of affordable housing opposition, thereby allowing the response to be shaped in a more appropriate manner