HousingForward Virginia’s Research Library is sorted by topic and geographic focus. All our resources can be sorted by geographic category: National, Virginia, and Other States. Our resources span some of the best and most widely cited housing and related research that is publicly available online. Our database is always growing as recent studies and reports are added, so please check back often.
Policy Report: New Policies to Re-Integrate School Systems
In the decades since Civil Rights-era desegregation policies, school systems have become increasingly more segregated, leading to concentrated poverty and a cycle of poverty. This report is a policy proposal to re-integrate school systems in an attempt to fulfill the promise of the desegregation policies of the past.
Read MoreStudy on Transit-Oriented Development an its effectiveness in Deconcentrated Poverty
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.
Read MoreNorfolk Plan to Reduce Poverty
Norfolk's poverty rate was double the national average and in 2014 the City issued a comprehensive, holistic approach to address concentrated poverty and the cycle of poverty in Norfolk. The report develops concrete steps the City will undertake to alleviate poverty through education, workforce development and neighborhood revitalization.
Read MoreState, Local, and Federal Laws Barring Source-of-Income Discrimination
An inventory and review of Source of Income legislation around the United States. Source of Income legislation restricts a landlords ability to deny housing based on the source of a potential tenant's income (ie., Section 8 vouchers).
Read MoreBuilding Opportunity II: A Fair Housing Assessment of State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Plans
2015 report that evaluates and ranks State LIHTC QAPs based on their efforts to deconcentrate poverty through their award of LIHTC allocations.
Read MoreNext Generation Community Revitalization: A Work in Progress
Six national models used in recent decades to comprehensively address community revitalization are evaluated in this report. These models approach poverty alleviation through a multi-pronged approach including social services, education,housing, etc.
Read MoreEvaluation of Housing for Health Permanent Supportive Housing Program
RAND conducted a formative evaluation to provide early feedback on program implementation and performed an outcome evaluation examining the effects of the PSH program on county service utilization and service costs.
Read MoreRental Housing Discrimination on the Basis of Mental Disabilities: Results of Pilot Testing
Rental Housing Discrimination on the Basis of Mental Disabilities: Results of Pilot Testing finds that when compared to people without mental disabilities, those persons who are living with mental disabilities receive fewer responses to their rental inquiries, are informed of fewer available units, and are less likely to be invited to contact the housing provider. In addition, HUD’s study found that they are less likely to be invited to tour an available unit, are more likely to be steered to a different unit than the one advertised, and are treated differently depending on their type of disability.
Read MoreState Strategies to Increase Energy and Water Efficiency in LIHTC Properties
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.
Read MoreHow Federal Dollars are Spent: The Case for New Priorities
This Terwilliger Foundation report reveals the striking imbalance of current federal housing assistance, where most of the benefits accrue to higher income households. It notes that the median income of homeowner households ($68,797) is more than double the median income of renter households ($33,784), but renters receive none of benefits of mortgage-related tax expenditures and most of these expenditures go to higher income homeowners.
Read MoreUnderstanding the Jobs–Affordable Housing Balance in the Richmond Region
This VCU Wilder School report documents the geographic location of jobs generally available for households requiring low-cost housing in Richmond, VA.
Read MorePreserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing Opportunities near Transit and the 50+ Population
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.
Read MoreIncreasing Home Access: Designing for Visitability
Visitability initiatives that support aging independently in one's home and community are the subject of this AARP Public Policy Institute Research Report. Authors Jordana Maisel and Edward Steinfeld of the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) and Eleanor Smith of Concrete Change discuss the barriers to visitability implementation and opportunities for further acceptance of these design parameters in the construction of new homes.
Read MoreExpanding Implementation of Universal Design and Visitability Features in the Housing Stock
This publication raises awareness about the need for universal design and visibility features that make homes more accessible for older adults and their families and also highlights actions that communities can take to encourage the creation of more accessible housing.
Read MoreBeyond “NIMBYism”: Why Americans Support Affordable Housing But Oppose Local Housing Development
Drawing on surveys of California and of the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, 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).
Read MoreNew Jersey Future Assessment of the NJ LIHTC Program
To evaluate whether those changes had their intended effect, New Jersey Future compared affordable housing projects that received federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) between 2005 and 2012 with projects that received credits between 2013 and 2015, after the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA), which administers the tax credits, made significant changes to the criteria it uses to award them.
Read MoreUrban Blight and Public Health
This Urban Institute report synthesizes recent studies on the complexities of how blight affects the health of individuals and neighborhoods while offering a blend of policy and program recommendations to help guide communities in taking a more holistic and coordinated approach, such as expanding the use of health impact assessments, tracking health outcomes, and infusing public health into housing policies, codes and practices.
Read MoreNot Telling the Whole Story: Media and Advocacy Discourse about Affordable Housing
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.
Read More“A House, a Tent, a Box”: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings of Healthy Housing
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.
Read MoreBoston Residential Investigation on Green and Healthy Transitions (BRIGHT) Study
For more than 15 years, Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has executed efforts to improve residents’ health through changes in environment and behavior. One of these initiatives was the Boston Residential Investigation on Green and Healthy Transitions (BRIGHT) study, a collaborative effort with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Committee for Boston Public Housing to measure the impact of healthy housing features and practices on resident health, satisfaction, and comfort. The study compared the health of residents living in the old housing with residents’ health in new units with healthy housing features and practices. The redeveloped housing included smoke-free housing policies, improved ventilation, and tight building envelopes.
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