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.
Rental Housing Discrimination on the Basis of Mental Disabilities: Results of Pilot Testing (HUD, 2017)
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 (NHT/EEFA, 2017)
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 MoreMoney Is Policy: How Federal Dollars are Spent: The Case for New Priorities (Terwilliger Foundation, 2017)
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 (VCU CURA, 2017)
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 (AARP, 2009)
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 (AARP, 2008)
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 (AARP, 2017)
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 (Stanford, 2017)
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).
Read MoreAssessment of the New Jersey LIHTC Program (New Jersey Future, 2017)
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 (Urban Institute, 2017)
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 Organizational Discourse about Affordable Housing (FrameWorks, 2016)
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 (FrameWorks, 2016)
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 MoreBRIGHT Study Finds Improved Health at Boston Housing Authority’s Old Colony Homes (HUD, 2017)
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.
Read MoreThe Effects of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (NYU Furman Center, 2017)
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.
Read MoreTurning the Tide on Persistent Rural Poverty: Blueprint for a Path Forward (NeighborWorks, 2017)
It is the goal of NeighborWorks America to make every place a community of opportunity. Unfortunately, some areas are being left behind more than others as our global and national economies continue to shift. Rural communities are among them.
Read MoreMeasuring the Economic and Human Impact of Nonprofit Organizations in Rural America (NRHC, 2017)
The National Rural Housing Coalition released its 2017 impact report, Measuring the Economic and Human Impact of Nonprofit Organizations in Rural America, providing information and data to policy makers and the public on the impact nonprofit housing organizations have on their communities.
Read MoreHome in America: Immigrants and Housing Demand (ULI, 2017)
A study by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing builds off prior research on immigrants and housing to examine the housing and residential location choices of immigrants in five metropolitan areas that each reflect a different type of immigrant gateway community: San Francisco; Houston; Minneapolis; Buffalo, New York; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Read MoreUnderstanding the Small and Medium Multifamily Housing Stock (Enterprise/USC, 2017)
This Enterprise report finds that small and medium multifamily housing -- properties with between two and 49 units -- provides 54 percent of the U.S.’s rental housing stock, which means that its preservation and expansion is a critical part of ending housing insecurity.
Read MoreA Place to Call Home: The Case for Increased Federal Investments in Affordable Housing (NLIHC, 2017)
A report by the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding.
Read MorePreserving Affordable Manufactured Home Communities In Rural America (HAC, 2011)
This report presents a case study highlighting the process one rural manufactured home community undertook to convert from investor to cooperative resident ownership.
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