Recap of What’s Ahead for Housing: A Symposium on Federal Housing Policy Change - Hosted by Housing Virginia

On Friday, June 14, Housing Virginia hosted its first Symposium on Federal Housing Policy Change at the Boar’s Head Inn in Charlottesville with almost 200 housing executives and officials in attendance! Kicked off by Kit Hale, the Chair of Housing Virginia, the action-packed agenda included a video presentation featuring Senator Mark Warner; the view from Washington with a panel of national housing experts; the view from Richmond with Susan Dewey, VHDA and Bill Shelton, DHCD; a working lunch with HUD Deputy Secretary, Maurice Jones; and three breakout sessions on critical affordable housing topics.

Beyond Bricks & Sticks. A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

How Better Traffic Models Can Lead to More Mixed-Use Development 

(RECAP: The EPA worked with transportation researchers around the United States to develop a better traffic prediction model for mixed-used development. Virginia has adopted it.)
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/06/04/how-better-traffic-models-can-lead-to-more-mixed-use-development/

Addressing Housing Affordability Using Cooperatives 

(RECAP: What if we could create more forms of cooperative housing to make sure families have the opportunity to own a home and at the same time have a certain amount of mobility?) 
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003745-addressing-housing-affordability-using-cooperatives

Old-Age Adaptation: Our Next Great Urban Challenge 

(RECAP: How do you get urban planners, transportation engineers and anyone running around a city in their prime to picture the places we live through the shaded eyes of an octogenarian?)
http://www.planetizen.com/node/63612

Finding Allies in the Sequester 

(RECAP: There are two good things to say about the sequester. First, it can be a call to action. Second, the shared predicament presents an opportunity for new alliances.)
http://www.rooflines.org/3251/finding_allies_in_the_sequester/

Beyond Bricks & Sticks. A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.

Selling the Public on Public Housing

(RECAP: Funded by Housing Authority Insurance, Inc., which provides insurance to public and affordable housing projects, ReThink aims to educate Americans about the benefits of public housing not only for the people who live in it, but for society as a whole.)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2013/05/selling-public-public-housing/5687/

 

Disruptions: Helper Robots Are Steered, Tentatively, to Care for the Aging

(RECAP: The technology is nearly there. But some researchers worry we’re not asking a fundamental question: Should we entrust the care of people in their 70s and older to artificial assistants?)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/disruptions-helper-robots-are-steered-tentatively-to-elder-care/?src=recg

 

Mixed-Income Community Dynamics: Five Insights From Ethnography

(RECAP: Mixed-income neighborhoods have become objects of policy and research attention. Ethnographic methods, a form of qualitative research defined by in-depth observations of social settings, offer an important complement to this quantitative research.)
http://www.huduser.org/portal/periodicals/em/spring13/highlight2.html#title

 

Study Points To Disability Housing Crisis

(RECAP: Housing is out of reach for many with disabilities, with a new report finding that though costs varied by location, rents for even the smallest apartments accounted for at least 60 percent of SSI payments in every state.)
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/05/24/study-housing-crisis/18019/

Don’t miss What’s Ahead for Housing? A Symposium on Federal Housing Policy Change

Do you lay awake at night contemplating the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?  Can’t get enough of talking about the Mortgage Interest Deduction? Does the thought of a day discussing potential changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits make you swoon? If so, you’ll want to attend What’s Ahead for Housing?  A Symposium on Federal Housing Policy Change.