Scale in Housing Policy: A Case Study of the Potential of Small Area Fair Market Rents

65A0527 TO 017].Public Domain article. Citation: Palm, Matthew. Scale in Housing Policy: A Case Study of the Potential of Small Area Fair Market Rents. Cityscape, vol. 20, no. 1, Spring 2018.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) caps subsidies for Section 8 housing vouchers using limits known as the Fair Market Rents (FMRs). HUD recently implemented Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs), based on ZIP Codelevel rents, to improve options for voucher recipients in high-opportunity areas. I use a proprietary dataset of for-rent listings to test the ways in which SAFMRs would change the number of listings below FMR across five California HUD metropolitan FMR areas\u2014Oakland-Fremont, Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, San Diego-Carlsbad, San Francisco, and San Jose-Sunnyvale, Santa Clara. I examine local housing authorities\u2019 concerns regarding the SAFMRs. I find the SAFMRs will increase the number of listings below FMR in high-opportunity neighborhoods across each area studied except San Francisco. I confirm Oakland housing authorities\u2019 concerns that the SAFMRs would reduce the number of units below FMR in areas with rapidly rising rents. I find that Sacramento and San Diego may benefit most from the SAFMRs among those studied. These findings validate HUD\u2019s criteria for identifying areas in which to implement the SAFMRs, as Sacramento and San Diego are also the only two areas among the case studies in this article that HUD initially approved for SAFMRs implementation. The SAFMRs highlight the importance of geographic scale in housing policy implementation

Small Area Fair Market Rents Can Increase Section 8 Voucher Access to Jobs-Rich, Low Poverty Communities in Sacramento [Policy Brief]

This brief summarizes findings from the project, which evaluated this HUD policy by calculating if a set of for-rent listings across California are accessible to a voucher holder under the current FMRs limits and again under the proposed SAFMRs limits. The rental listings, from a proprietary source, include data from 2012 and 2013. This brief focuses on results for the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado Counties

Low emission development strategies in agriculture. An agriculture, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) perspective

As countries experience economic growth and choose among available development pathways, they are in a favorable position to adopt natural resource use technologies and production practices that favor efficient use of inputs, healthy soils, and ecosystems. Current emphasis on increasing resilience to climate change and reducing agricultural greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions strengthens the support for sustainable agricultural production. In fact, reducing losses in soil fertility, reclaiming degraded lands, and promoting synergistic interaction between crop production and forests are generally seen as good climate change policies. In order for decision-makers to develop long-term policies that address these issues, they must have tools at their disposal that evaluate trade-offs, opportunities, and repercussions of the options considered. In this paper, the authors combine and reconcile the output of three models widely accessible to the public to analyze the impacts of policies that target emission reduction in the agricultural sector. We present an application to Colombia which reveals the importance of considering the full scope of interactions among the various land uses. Results indicate that investments in increasing the efficiency and productivity of the livestock sector and reducing land allocated to pasture are preferable to policies that target deforestation alone or target a reduction of emissions in crop production. Investments in livestock productivity and land-carrying capacity would reduce deforestation and provide sufficient gains in carbon stock to offset greater emissions from increased crop production while generating higher revenues

Cost of Building Affordable Housing in Major Cities Driven by Multiple Factors\u2014But Not by Proximity to Transit [Policy Brief]

Project Name: The Effect That State and Federal Housing Policies Have on Vehicle Miles of TravelThere has been limited analysis of the interactions between policies that prioritize affordable housing development in transit- and jobs-rich neighborhoods and the cost of affordable housing in general. To better understand this interaction, this project studied the key drivers of affordable housing production costs across four regional metropolitan areas in California: Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). This brief summarizes the findings of that study

Individual preparedness and mitigation actions for a predicted earthquake in Istanbul

This study investigated the process of taking action to mitigate damage and prepare for an earthquake at the individual level. Its specific aim was to identify the factors that promote or inhibit individuals in this process. The study was conducted in Istanbul, Turkey-where an earthquake is expected soon-in May and June 2006 using qualitative methods. Within our conceptual framework, three different patterns emerged among the study subjects. Outcome expectancy, helplessness, a low socioeconomic level, a culture of negligence, a lack of trust, onset time/poor predictability, and normalisation bias inhibit individuals in this process, while location, direct personal experience, a higher education level, and social interaction promote them. Drawing on these findings, the paper details key points for better disaster communication, including whom to mobilise to reach target populations, such as individuals with direct earthquake experience and wome