Housing Barriers and Housing Strategies among Low Income Households in Polk County, Iowa

Traditional housing needs assessments rely on quantitative analyses focused on issues of supply and demand. These studies are not intended to look at the fine-grained details of how individual households manage the trade-offs created by limited resources. This study seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the housing needs of low income households in Polk County, including the barriers they face while trying to access affordable housing and the strategies they use in their efforts to remain housed within a context of economic constraints.This qualitative element of the Polk County Housing Needs Assessment study asked two questions: (1) What barriers do households in need of affordable housing face when trying to access affordable housing? And (2) What housing strategies are utilized by income households in Polk County? The findings reported in this study are based on nine in-depth interviews where respondents recounted their personal housing histories and housing aspirations

Collaborative Regional Initiatives: Civic Entrepreneurs Work to Fill the Governance Gap

Assesses the effectiveness of 17 Collaborative Regional Initiatives, which were supported by Irvine from 1997 to 2004, focusing on four of the most complex and mature of the California based partnerships

Network Analysis of Affordable Housing Organizations in Polk County

This study provides a picture of the institutional network engaged in the provision of affordable housing in Polk County, what we have termed the Polk County Affordable Housing Network (PCAH Network). It analyzes the web of relationships that structure the network including the number of connections, strength of connections, and degree of influence within the network. Understanding the structure of the PCAH Network and the relationships between the actors will enable funders, decision-‐‐makers, and others engaged in the issue to identify existing knowledge gaps and barriers to innovation and to improve how organizations work together to provide affordable housing in Polk County

Social vulnerability and participation in disaster recovery decisions: public housing in Galveston after Hurricane

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike caused massive damages to Galveston Island’s residential structures including four public housing developments. These developments were located in neighborhoods with some of the lowest incomes and highest percentages of people of color on the Island. Four months later, the Galveston Housing Authority (GHA) decided to demolish all four developments consisting of 569 housing units due to the damages to the buildings. Today, despite federal regulations requiring reconstruction, court orders mandating replacement of the demolished units, and available funding, only 142 low-income apartments have been rebuilt. We used the social vulnerability framework to understand these outcomes through the ability of groups to shape post-disaster recovery decisions. This paper argues that one of the overlooked characteristics of social vulnerability is a diminished ability to participate in post-disaster decision-making. We found that social vulnerability limited participation through three distinct mechanisms: the physical displacement of public housing residents, the stigmatization of public housing, and the reduction of residents to housing units in the debates. There were few local advocates arguing for the preservation of public housing units and even fewer remaining residents to speak up for themselves in the face of strong local resistance to the reconstruction of public housing units or the return of public housing residents. The void of a strong and authentic local pro-public housing perspective in Galveston provided an opening for various local campaigns to claim that their desired plan benefited the poor. The disaster recovery became an opportunity to remove or reduce public housing units and therefore public housing residents. Our findings show the dynamic features of vulnerability. While static factors of vulnerability can limit access to resources for recovery, dynamic processes of social marginalization and exclusion limit the voices of socially vulnerable groups in recovery decisions and exacerbate marginalization

2014 Housing Affordability Survey Results: Polk County, IA

This report provides a snapshot of housing affordability and housing conditions in Polk County, Iowa in 2014. The data in this report are based on a randomized, county-‐‐wide survey that was delivered via mail to 3,697 households in Polk County in 2013 and 2014. We received a total of 531 survey responses, giving us a maximum confidence interval of (±4.27) with 95% confidence. The primary purpose of the survey was to create a baseline measurement of housing affordability in Polk County. The survey instrument for this study consisted of 19 questions that covered basic demographics, housing costs and tenure, and satisfaction with current housing

Cores and Peripheries: Spatial Analysis of HCV Voucher Distribution in the San Francisco

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is touted as a mechanism for providing low income households with mobility, and through that mobility, access to higher opportunity neighborhoods (HUD, 2006; McClure, 2014; Winnick, 1995). However, the success of the voucher program requires an existing supply of available housing units with landlords who are willing to participate in the program. Tight housing markets, where households are most in need of rent subsidies, are typically also the most difficult markets to find available units and willing landlords, resulting in limited choices for HCV households (Basolo and Nguyen, 2005; Khadduri, 2005). In these conditions, we can expect to find that voucher holders behave like other housing seekers and search out locations where they can maximize their housing dollars in terms of both unit characteristics and locational amenities

Where to Invest Affordable Housing Dollars in Polk County?: A Spatial Analysis of Opportunity Areas

The objective of this report is to identify high impact areas within Polk County for future investment in affordable housing development. This analysis takes into account areas of existing need in the county as well as areas that are well served by bus service, schools, food markets, and medical facilities. Through a spatial analysis methodology that overlays these two sets of conditions (areas of need and areas with proximity to critical services), we are able to identify optimal areas for the development of new affordable housing in Polk County

Beaverdale Neighborhood Charter Plan Update

In September of 2011, the Beaverdale Neighborhood Association (BNA) filed an application to participate in the pilot Charter Neighborhood Program in order to update its original plan that was approved in 1991 with new goals for the future. On November 21, 2011, the Des Moines City Council approved the selection of Beaverdale as one of the five neighborhoods to participate in the Charter Neighborhood Program. Neighborhoods selected for the pilot program worked with City staff as well as graduate students from Iowa State University’s Department of Community and Regional Planning (ISU Planning Team) to update their respective neighborhood plans. Over the past two decades, major goals in the first Beaverdale Neighborhood plan have been accomplished. However, new issues have emerged as well, which brings about the need to establish a strategic plan for the Beaverdale Neighborhood for the next 5 to 10 years.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/resilientneighborhoods_plans/1003/thumbnail.jp

Woodland Heights Neighborhood Charter Plan Update

On January 1, 2012, the City Council of the City of Des Moines approved the recommendation supporting the selection of Woodland Heights as one of the five neighborhoods to participate in the Charter Neighborhood Program. Neighborhoods selected for the pilot program are required to work with city staff as well as graduate students from Iowa State University’s Department of Community and Regional Planning (ISU Planning Team) to update their respective neighborhood plans. The Woodland Heights Organization (WHO), the neighborhood’s representative neighborhood Whitmer Estate National Historic Register association, began the planning process with a survey of the residents of Woodland Heights. The survey was designed, distributed, and executed by members of WHO. They collected a total of 119 surveys, which were then analyzed by the ISU Planning Team. The survey provided a window into the needs of the neighborhood’s residents. It revealed that neighborhood residents are pleased with the quality of the life that Woodland Heights offers. For example, most respondents cited a high perception of public safety, a strong sense of community and education opportunities as qualities of the neighborhood. The survey data also indicates that the residents deeply care about the aesthetic quality and historic significance of the neighborhood. The results of this survey are fully presented in Appendix A at the end of this document.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/resilientneighborhoods_plans/1002/thumbnail.jp

Capitol East Neighborhood Charter Plan Update

The first Capitol East Neighborhood Action Plan, completed in December of 1990, was successful in achieving its goals. Neighborhood accomplishments borne of the first plan include the following: the construction of a new elementary school (Capitol View); housing redevelopment on Walnut Street between East 15th and East 16th Streets; improvements to Stewart Square Park; designing attractive green spaces in highly visible areas;establishing an organized an “alley clean up” process in one alley each month during the SCRUB season;and the Neighborhood Development Corporation’s commercial development along East Grand Avenue.This second neighborhood revitalization process is a pilot program designed to review and update the plans of charter neighborhoods whose plans are more than 10 years old.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/resilientneighborhoods_plans/1001/thumbnail.jp