In 2020, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission directed staff to conduct a review of affordable housing in Virginia. JLARC staff were asked to report on the number of Virginia households that are housing cost burdened; the supply of affordable quality housing statewide and by region; the state’s efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing and make existing housing more affordable through direct financial assistance; and the effectiveness of the management of the state’s housing assistance programs.
The League of Women Voters Virginia's Affordable Housing Committee conducted this study independently to help the LWV-VA arrive at a unanimous position on affordable housing. The study found high housing cost burden among very-low-income and extremely-low-income households, a severe shortage of rental units affordable to very-low-income and extremely-low-income households, minimum wages that could not support housing costs, and high rates of eviction in Virginia's poorest cities.
Pairing affordable housing development with public transportation access is a best practice in planning and poverty deconcentration. This report evaluates how significantly this practice has been adopted by the affordable housing development industry and what room there is for improvement.
A report by the National Housing Trust (NHT) and Energy Efficiency For All (EEFA) identifies 10 prominent strategies in use by state Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) to reduce operating expenses in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) properties.
This study analyzes the location of affordable housing in 20 metropolitan areas by mapping federally subsidized rental apartments in each area and measuring the amount of affordable housing within certain distances of transit. The study uses five areas as case studies—including site visits and interviews with residents 50 and older—to provide more information on the challenges and benefits of different locations of affordable housing.
Drawing on surveys of California and of the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, William Marble and Clayton Nall of Stanford University shows that opposition to new affordable housing is likely due to voters’ adopting independent attitudes on two dimensions of housing policy: redistribution (aid for housing) and development (construction of needed housing stock in an area).
The stories Americans hear about affordable housing can create opportunities for change or impede progress in the policy arena. FrameWorks researchers conducted a systematic analysis of the frames used by the media and by influential housing reform organizations. The result is a carefully drawn map of the narratives in play—with directions for navigating it strategically.
This 2016 Frameworks Institute study compares public and expert understandings of housing, and offers strategic guidance for how communicators can help ordinary Americans better appreciate the connections between affordability, quality, and health.
As federal tax reform looms, there is growing uncertainty surrounding the future of LIHTC. In contemplation of debate about these possible changes, this NYU Furman Center brief explores what we know about who LIHTC serves and what research has shown about the impact of the program.