The National Housing Conference (NHC) and its research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy recently announced the release of two reports that identify specific regulatory and administrative changes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could adopt to improve access to mainstream supportive services by residents of subsidized housing and facilitate and encourage the development and preservation of affordable and workforce housing in location-efficient areas.
“Connecting Residents of Subsidized Housing with Mainstream Supportive Services: Challenges and Recommendations” identifies four ways HUD could strengthen and expand the role of subsidized housing as a platform for services that enrich residents’ health, safety, economic self-sufficiency, and quality of life:
- Promoting co-location and coordination among housing and services providers
- Enabling housing providers to use existing funding streams and other resources more effectively
- Supporting access to well-trained service coordinators
- Developing and implementing a forward-looking research agenda
“Challenges and Policy Options for Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing near Transit and in Other Location-Efficient Areas” addresses administrative and regulatory steps that HUD and other federal agencies could take to increase the availability of affordable and workforce housing near transit, employment centers, and other location-efficient areas. The paper is organized into four sections:
- Developing communities that are both sustainable and inclusive
- Preserving access to sustainable communities over time through long-term affordability
- Providing housing affordable to very low-income residents
- Addressing spill-over effects of planned investments
Challenges and Recommendations
