Beyond Bricks and Sticks

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

Bank of America- Merrill Lynch: Low Income Housing Challenge

RECAP:  Building strong communities is an enduring commitment at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. For 25 years, the Low Income Housing Challenge has helped drive innovation and commitment among college students, and empowered new generations of affordable housing leaders. Students form teams and enlist an academic advisor and developer sponsor. They work together to create a forward-looking, and feasible project that addresses all aspects of an affordable-housing development, including community needs, building design and financing.
https://www.bofaml.com/en-us/content/low-income-housing-challenge.html

Using Data to Make Better Decisions: Norfolk Selected to Join ‘What Work Cities’ Initiative

RECAP: Norfolk has been selected to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities initiative – one of the largest-ever national philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector. Norfolk will work to improve its ability to make data more consumable and readily available for city staff and residents. And, Norfolk will work to develop performance metrics to measure progress towards the city’s priority of safe, healthy and inclusive communities. With Norfolk’s selection, the growing national initiative, launched in April 2015, is now partnering with 67 mid- sized U.S. cities. All together, these cities come from 35 states, represent more than 21 million residents and have annual budgets exceeding $70 billion.
http://altdaily.com/using-data-to-make-better-decisions-norfolk-selected-to-join-what-work-cities-initiative/

Alternative Spring Break group heads to Virginia

RECAP: This year, 24 Butler students and two staff advisors made the eight-hour bus ride to Roanoke, Virginia to work on an affordable housing project. Alternative Spring Break was founded in 2005. For the last 11 years, Butler students travel to a location in the United States during spring break to work on affordable housing projects and provide disaster relief for communities in need. These Bulldogs will pair with a service organization called Renovation Alliance. This group typically works to restore the housing of families, veterans, the disabled and the elderly. https://thebutlercollegian.com/?p=28003

The Continued Growth of Multigenerational Living

RECAP:  A substantial number and share of older Americans are living in “multigenerational” households, according to our analysis of recently released 2015 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year population estimates. In total, 20.3 percent of all non-institutionalized adults aged 65 and over – about 9.4 million people – live in multigenerational households that include at least two generations of adults (individuals over the age of 25). The ACS data also show large differences in the prevalence and composition of multigenerational homes by age, race, and ethnicity. The new data not only reflect the fact that there are a growing number of older Americans, but also that the share of older Americans living in multigenerational homes has been growing steadily since the 1980s. These trends are likely to continue as baby boomers age.
http://housingperspectives.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-continued-growth-of.html