Housing Choice Vouchers: Moving to Work Program in California

This research project examined whether the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Moving To Work (MTW) program enabled California’s public housing authorities to provide more efficient service, while meeting MTW program goals, from 2015 to 2020

Data Snapshot: Doubled Up in the United States

There have been recent proposals to expand the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition of homeless to include households that are doubled up for economic reasons. To assess the impact of this proposal, a new data snapshot from the Homelessness Research Institute at the Alliance looks at how many people would be added to the homelessness population if the proposal were adopted. The data snapshot shows that expanding the definition would increase the current homeless population (744,313 on any given night) by 3.8 million. The amount that would have to be appropriated so that the amount of funding per homeless or doubled up person matched the actual amount of funding per homeless person in 2005 is $7.725 billion

The Housing Affordability Gap for Extremely Low-Income Renters in 2013

This brief provides information on national trends in housing affordability for ELI renter households, as well as insights into which major counties are making the most and least progress on closing the housing affordability gap. The findings are based on data from the 2000 Census as well as three-year averages from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 and the 2011, 2012, and 2013 1-year American Community Surveys. For the sake of simplicity we refer to data averaged from 2011 -- 13 estimates as 2013.This brief is the first publication on housing affordability to combine detailed county-level data on ELI renter households (those with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median) and the impact of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rental assistance

Sustainable Water Management on Brownfields Sites

This practice guide was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Through a cooperative agreement with HUD, EFCN is providing capacity building and technical assistance to recipients of grants from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency collaboration that aims to help towns, cities, and regions develop in more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways

Housing the Homeless: A Regional Analysis of the Impact of Available Beds on Rates of Homelessness

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has been collecting national data on the homeless population and the beds available to these individuals since 2007. This analysis utilizes those data by separating the United States into 11 regions and examining the impact of bed types on five demographics of the homeless population. This study finds that the impact of each bed type varies by region depending on these demographics. One striking finding is that while Safe Haven beds increase the homeless population in several regions, they cause a decrease in multiple homeless demographics in Region 6 [Prairie]. My analysis suggests some directions in policy making for reduction in homeless populations

State Mandates, Housing Elements, and Low-income Housing Production

In order to create low-income housing opportunities and mitigate exclusionary zoning, in 1968 Congress mandated that municipalities receiving comprehensive planning funds must create a housing element. In tandem, many states mandated that municipal housing elements must accommodate low-income housing needs. After examining empirical research for California, Florida, Illinois, and Minnesota, this review found aspirational success because those states rewarded the municipal planning process. In order to increase low-income housing, this review argues for state housing policy reform. Under US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s revised fair housing rule, which requires an assessment of local data, states can no longer ignore the exclusionary behavior of municipalities

City of Lorain Slum and Blight Analysis: Final Report

The City of Lorain engaged the CSU Center for Community Planning and Development to assist with developing a rationale for defining Blighted Properties and Blighted Areas within the City. These definitions will be incorporated into the City’s Code of Ordinances in order to provide criteria for allocating funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). The criteria and analysis method can also be useful to the City in prioritizing neighborhoods at the block group level which are in need of rehabilitation. The full report outlines the key issues, and explores alternative approaches for defining Blighted Properties and Blighted Areas based on property condition. This analysis was conducted using GIS to conduct spatial analysis of property condition data

Counting the Impossible: Sampling and Modeling to Achieve a Large State Homeless Count

Objective: Using inferential statistics, we develop estimates of the homeless population of a geographically large and economically diverse state -- Georgia. Methods: Multiple independent data sources (2000 U.S. Census, the 2006 Georgia County Guide, Georgia Chamber of Commerce) were used to develop Clusters of the 150 Georgia Counties. These clusters were used as strata to then execute traified sampling. Homeless counts were conducted within the sample counties, allowing for multiple regression models to be developed to generate predictions of homeless persons by county. Results: In response to a mandate from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Georgia provided an estimate of its unsheltered homeless population of 12,058 utilizing mathematically validated estimation techniques. Conclusions: Utilization of statistical estimation techniques allowed the State of Georgia to meet the mandate of HUD, while saving the taxpayers of Georgia millions of dollars over a complete state homeless census