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Housing Is Working Group 2023-2024 Calendar

Join the Housing Is Working Group to discuss special topics related to cross-sector initiatives and programmatic considerations particularly focused on the intersections of housing, health, and education.

This year’s public webinars cover topics such as the mobility asthma project, trauma-informed approaches to housing, resident-focused racial equity work, out-of-school time, and how FCC grantees are supprting voucher holders.

View Calendar
 

Elements of a Successful Partnership

With generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, CLPHA developed an in-depth report on regional housing-education collaborations taking place at housing authorities across the Pacific-Northwest.

Read the Multimedia Report
 
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Research
Community:
Feb 22, 2019
Thoughtfully developed, accessible communities may boost parent engagement and student outcomes in low-income neighborhoods

Authored by: Rachel Sturtz for University of Colorado Denver
Topics: Community development, Education, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Transportation
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Apr 2, 2019
The dormitory-style transitional housing program, run by Portland-headquartered nonprofit Bridges to Change, is designed to repair some of the harm the criminal justice system historically has inflicted on communities of color.

Authored by: Zoe Sullivan for Next City
Topics: Criminal justice, Housing, Mental health, Metrics, Pacific Northwest, Racial inequalities, Substance abuse, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 31, 2019
Miami is projected to face anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of sea level rise by 2060, and as sea levels rise, higher ground inland has started to look more and more desirable. Much of that higher ground is in the city's poorest neighborhoods, like Liberty City and Little Haiti. The shifting real estate landscape is just one example of how, in Miami, the effects of global warming are not hypothetical predictions but realities of everyday life, prompting action by government, businesses and individuals alike. Across the region, developers are changing how they build, wealthy homeowners are reinforcing their properties, and in communities that are farther from the coast — places like Liberty City — residents are working to make sure they don't have to leave their homes.

Authored by: Ian Stewart and Lulu Garcia-Navarro for NPR
Topics: Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, South
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019

Building For An Uncertain Future: Miami Residents Adapt To The Changing Climate

News Article
Mar 31, 2019
Ian Stewart and Lulu Garcia-Navarro for NPR
Miami is projected to face anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of sea level rise by 2060, and as sea levels rise, higher ground inland has started to look more and more desirable. Much of that higher ground is in the city's poorest neighborhoods, like Liberty City and Little Haiti.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 28, 2019
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday charged Facebook with discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. HUD says it believes the company was “encouraging, enabling, and causing housing discrimination through the company’s advertising platform.”

Authored by: Matt Novak for Gizmodo
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 2, 2019
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Research
Community:
Feb 1, 2019
The authors draw on interviews with 50 families in Cleveland and its suburbs to uncover their experiences in choosing a home and school for their children in the suburbs. Nearly all families were seeking the “package deal”— good schools in good neighborhoods — and looked to the suburbs to find it. Families were often convinced of the superior quality of suburban schools but, owing to the legacies of enduring structural racism and emerging segregation in the suburbs, Black families were more likely to be disappointed in their suburban schools than their white counterparts. Families of color were also constrained by the legacies of enduring structural racism that has reproduced racial inequalities.

Authored by: Anna Rhodes and Siri Warkentien for How Housing Matters Research (MacArthur Foundation)
Topics: Education, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 28, 2019

Even As The Suburbs Diversify, Racial Inequality Persists in Suburban Schools

Research
Feb 1, 2019
Anna Rhodes and Siri Warkentien for How Housing Matters Research (MacArthur Foundation)
The authors draw on interviews with 50 families in Cleveland and its suburbs to uncover their experiences in choosing a home and school for their children in the suburbs. Nearly all families were seeking the “package deal”— good schools in good neighborhoods — and looked to the suburbs to find it.
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Publication
Community:
Mar 27, 2019
Housing is at the epicenter of all opportunities and outcomes. It is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity, and a person’s access to opportunity is linked with that of their community. From health, to economic mobility, to educational opportunity, to racial equity, and beyond, housing shapes families and communities.

Authored by: Maya Brennan and Veronica Gaitan for How Housing Matters, The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Education, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mobility, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 28, 2019

To Improve Lives and Expand Opportunities, Recognize the Power of Housing

Publication
Mar 27, 2019
Maya Brennan and Veronica Gaitan for How Housing Matters, The Urban Institute
Housing is at the epicenter of all opportunities and outcomes. It is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity, and a person’s access to opportunity is linked with that of their community.
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Publication
Community:
The Home Preservation Initiative (HPI) for Healthy Living seeks to improve asthma outcomes related to unhealthy housing in five neighborhoods in West Philadelphia. By combining home repairs and community health worker home visits, HPI aims to significantly reduce emergency department visits and hospitalizations due to pediatric asthma. For these primarily African-American communities, substandard housing, unemployment, low wages and a lack of education are barriers to the overall health and well-being of residents. Using outcome data, the collaboration will show health care cost savings, aiming to make a strong case for Medicaid reimbursement for home repairs.

Authored by: The BUILD Health Challenge
Topics: Asthma, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, East Coast, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 19, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 19, 2019
More than 20,000 African American residents were displaced from low-income neighborhoods from 2000 to 2013, researchers say.

Authored by: Katherine Shaver for The Washington Post
Topics: East Coast, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 19, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 18, 2019
For Yonkers families, the search for affordable housing is long and weary.

Authored by: E. Tammy Kim for The New Republic
Topics: Housing, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 18, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 30, 2019
Understanding health disparity causes is an important first step toward developing policies or interventions to eliminate disparities, but their nature makes identifying and addressing their causes challenging.

Authored by: Mathematica Policy Research
Topics: Health, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 18, 2019
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Interactive
Community:
The NQP Social Determinants of Health Data Integration Action Team brings together experts and recognized leaders from the private and public sectors committed to accelerating the integration of data on social determinants of health (SDOH) into clinical practice. Through a series of web meetings and one in-person forum, the NQP Social Determinants of Health Data Integration Action Team Action Team will develop and share successful approaches to integrating SDOH data to support providers and communities in their efforts to eliminate disparities.

Authored by: National Quality Forum
Topics: Data sharing, Health, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 18, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Feb 15, 2019
Last month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to dedicate $5 million to preventing housing discrimination and to develop an ordinance to protect housing choice voucher holders from source of income discrimination. The supervisors have until May to draft the ordinance’s language and have not yet developed a timeline for enacting it, but these actions are a step toward expanding voucher holders’ housing options.

Authored by: Alyse Oneto, Martha Galvez, and Claudia Aranda for Urban Institute
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, West Coast
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 13, 2019

Los Angeles County is taking steps to prevent discrimination against housing voucher holders

Publication
Feb 15, 2019
Alyse Oneto, Martha Galvez, and Claudia Aranda for Urban Institute
Last month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to dedicate $5 million to preventing housing discrimination and to develop an ordinance to protect housing choice voucher holders from source of income discrimination.
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News Article
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
Child poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half over the next 10 years with a few simple steps, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The cost would be high — at least $90 billion a year. But the National Academies report warns that the price of not doing anything would be far greater.

Authored by: Pam Fessler for NPR
Topics: Child welfare, Criminal justice, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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Report
Community:
These Principles are derived from a thematic review of mission statements and principles from 35 organizations representing the community development, health, academic, government, finance, and philanthropic sectors. More than 200 respondents provided over 1,800 comments which helped refine the Principles below.

Authored by: Build Healthy Places Network
Topics: Community development, Health, Housing, Partnerships, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 25, 2019
As a result of decades of legalized discrimination in the housing industry, huge racial disparities in homeownership still exist today. This is not acceptable in a country founded on equal opportunity. Nationally, 72 percent of white households own a home, compared to only 42 percent of black households and 46 percent of Hispanic households. Homes typically make up the largest portion of a family’s overall wealth, so these disparities in homeownership are the most significant factor in the racial wealth gap.

Authored by: Kevin Campbell for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
Over the past decade, the real estate fortunes for African Americans have reversed course. Despite a strengthening economy, including record low unemployment and higher wages for black workers, homeownership levels for that group have dropped incrementally almost every year since 2004. It fell to 43 percent in 2017, virtually erasing all of the gains made since the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, landmark legislation outlawing housing discrimination.

Authored by: Troy McMullen for The Washington Post
Topics: Asset building, Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

The 'heartbreaking' decrease in black homeownership

News Article
Feb 28, 2019
Troy McMullen for The Washington Post
Over the past decade, the real estate fortunes for African Americans have reversed course. Despite a strengthening economy, including record low unemployment and higher wages for black workers, homeownership levels for that group have dropped incrementally almost every year since 2004.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 5, 2019
Disasters are becoming more common in America. In the early and mid-20th century, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. counties experienced a disaster each year. Today, it's about 50 percent. According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, climate change is already driving more severe droughts, floods and wildfires in the U.S. And those disasters are expensive. The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage. But an NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth. Federal aid isn't necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk.

Authored by: Rebecca Hersher and Robert Benincasa for NPR
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 7, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 23, 2019
Gerrymandered school boundaries and greater transportation costs are the trade-off school districts must make in order to achieve racial integration and close the racial achievement gap, said a researcher from the Urban Institute.

Authored by: Roger McKinney for Columbia Daily Tribune
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities, Research, Transportation
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 28, 2019
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Research
Community:
Feb 21, 2019
In many cities, low-income residents live far from available jobs, and employers can’t find people to fill open positions. Economists call this “spatial mismatch”—a mismatch between where jobs are located and where job seekers live, which can cause high unemployment rates and lead to longer spells of joblessness.

Authored by: Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Racial inequalities, Research, Transportation, Workforce development
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 28, 2019
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Interactive
Community:
This decision-support tool enables you to exhibit economic conditions among communities in the Portland-Vancouver region and it provides a data picture of the regional economy to align investments that achieve the coordinated vision of Greater Portland 2020, the 2040 Growth Concept, the Regional Transportation Plan, and Metro’s six desired outcomes, focused on ensuring current and future residents benefit from the region’s sustained economic competitiveness and prosperity.

Authored by: Oregon Metro
Topics: Community development, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 28, 2019

Economic Values Atlas

Interactive
Oregon Metro
This decision-support tool enables you to exhibit economic conditions among communities in the Portland-Vancouver region and it provides a data picture of the regional economy to align investments that achieve the coordinated vision of Greater Portland 2020, the 2040 Growth Concept, the Regional Tra
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Publication
Community:
Feb 15, 2019
Despite that consensus, the digital divide is about to get worse, and current policies will exacerbate it. We need to replace those policies with a coordinated approach that provides appropriate incentives for all stakeholders to bridge widening gaps.

Authored by: Blair Levin for The Brookings Institution
Topics: Broadband, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 28, 2019
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Publication
Community:
We can imagine a future where everyone can find and afford a quality home. Where every neighborhood offers a diversity of housing options. And where people up and down the income ladder can enjoy housing security and build wealth through ownership. Achieving this vision requires more than incremental tinkering with today’s market institutions and public policies. It requires bold innovation by changemakers at all levels of government and in the private and nonprofit sectors.

Authored by: Urban Institute
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Mobility, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 21, 2019

What would it take to ensure quality affordable housing for all in communities of opportunity?

Publication
Urban Institute
We can imagine a future where everyone can find and afford a quality home. Where every neighborhood offers a diversity of housing options. And where people up and down the income ladder can enjoy housing security and build wealth through ownership.
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Research
Community:
What is source of income discrimination, and who are the Rhode Islanders affected by it? The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, familial status, sex, and disability. Rhode Island state law goes further, granting residents additional rights. Yet both still allow landlords to reject a prospective tenant based solely on where his or her income comes from, even when the applicant can lawfully pay the requested rent.

Authored by: SouthCoast Fair Housing
Topics: East Coast, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 19, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 7, 2019
When we stereotype or lazily assume low-wage workers to be “low skill,” it reinforces an often unspoken and pernicious view that they lack intelligence and ambition, maybe even the potential to master “higher-order” skilled work. In an economy that is supposed to operate as a meritocracy—but rarely does—too often, we see low wages and assume both the work and workers are low-value. This bias makes us overlook people for better-paying positions in which they might have excelled, hindering their social mobility.

Authored by: Byron Auguste for Forbes
Topics: Asset building, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 19, 2019
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Research
Community:
Feb 5, 2019
Baltimore is the 30th-largest US city by population and is a study in contrasts. It has a low average income compared with other wealthy Northeast cities, has nine colleges and universities, and is a magnet for people pursuing higher education but has undergone decades of population loss. A large social sector provides important services to residents and buoys the local economy: nearly every third job in the city is with a nonprofit employer. But this also illustrates the city’s limited economic vibrancy. This mix of market and nonmarket forces makes Baltimore an important place to examine the geography of opportunity in an American city.

Authored by: The Urban Institute
Topics: Community development, East Coast, Housing, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 14, 2019

"The Black Butterfly:" Racial Segregation and Investment Patterns in Baltimore

Research
Feb 5, 2019
The Urban Institute
Baltimore is the 30th-largest US city by population and is a study in contrasts. It has a low average income compared with other wealthy Northeast cities, has nine colleges and universities, and is a magnet for people pursuing higher education but has undergone decades of population loss.