NYU Furman Center

Cities all around the world — including Vienna, Singapore, and Atlanta — have implemented various models of public development and ownership in recent years. But what exactly is public development and ownership? Public development and ownership involve scenarios where local or state government entities: ➡️ Act directly as a real estate developer, or engage closely with development partners, with the end goal of ensuring some degree of public ownership in the project ➡️ Invest significant financial resources in exchange for an active role in the decision-making, development process, and ongoing management of housing, beyond basic regulatory oversight ➡️ Are long-term owners of the housing or the land it’s built on, maintaining continuous public control and oversight over the properties State and local governments are revisiting public development for a diverse set of reasons. In some regions, limited capacity among private affordable housing developers has necessitated government action. Other jurisdictions face federal funding constraints and are turning to local resources to fill funding gaps. Additionally, among some policymakers there is an increasing interest in creating affordable “decommodified” housing, consisting of mixed-income communities in which private entities are not able to capitalize on rising land values over time. Learn more about the various models of public development and ownership that jurisdictions are implementing around the world and what we can learn from them in the NYU Furman Center’s and Housing Solutions Lab’s new Policy Brief: https://lnkd.in/ew-pd_Zs

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From Atlanta, GA to Montgomery County, MD, government entities are taking a more aggressive role in stimulating housing development, including taking an ownership stake, according to a new policy brief by the NYU Furman Center's Claudia Aiken, Matthew Murphy, and Hayley Raetz. In some pockets of the country,  limited capacity among private affordable housing developers has necessitated government action. Other jurisdictions face federal funding constraints and are turning to local resources to fill funding gaps. Additionally, among some policymakers, there is an increasing interest in creating affordable “decommodified” housing, consisting of mixed-income communities in which private entities are unable to capitalize on rising land values over time. However, an expansion of the public’s role in this direction raises several key considerations: Can these emerging models actually achieve deep affordability while maintaining high quality over time? How do they balance public ownership goals with financial sustainability? And at what cost? The NYU Furman Center and its Housing Solutions Lab’s policy brief examines emerging models of public development and ownership across three main groups, providing insights into their design, benefits, risks, and policy implications. Find the full report here ➡ https://lnkd.in/ew-pd_Zs #housing #housingpolicy #research #socialhousing #publicdevelopment #housingdevelopment 

Last call to register for the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solution Lab’s #ClimateWeekNYC webinar on how cities can reach climate and housing goals happening today. Tune in at 2 p.m. ET to learn how cities are facing dual crises: building more affordable housing and mitigating climate risks. Our panelist and moderator – Claudia Aiken; Director of New Research Partnerships, NYU Housing Solutions Lab, Aisha Balogun; Special Projects Associate, NYU Housing Solutions Lab, Wilson Kimball; President and CEO, The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers, and K. Dana Sjostrom, CFM; Planning and Programs Manager, Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development – will discuss the different city-level strategies to utilize housing policy for climate action. Register here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eBrtwbK3 #cities #climaterisk #housing #policy #research #data #climate

What is direct rental assistance, and why does it matter? The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, the nation’s largest tenant-based rental assistance program, currently pays rent subsidies to landlords on participating households’ behalf. Evidence shows that vouchers can be a critical source of housing and economic stability for residents. But at the same time, low rates of landlord participation and landlord discrimination limit the number of households that can benefit from vouchers. Recent research suggests that only about 61 percent of households offered a voucher can use it successfully, with rates even lower in tighter housing markets like New York City and Los Angeles. In a direct rental assistance (DRA) model, the rental subsidy would not go to landlords but instead directly to renters. By changing the subsidy recipient, DRA has the potential to address landlord nonparticipation and potentially make assistance easier and cheaper to deliver. It could also give renter households greater agency in decision-making to achieve their housing and financial goals and greater access to high-opportunity neighborhoods. Learn more about the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab six-month peer learning cohort focused on direct rental assistance, which is being generously supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

The NYU Furman Center invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Economics Fellow. The Fellow’s time is shared equally between independent research on topics of their choice, and Furman Center research projects, conducted jointly with faculty members, graduate students, and staff. Our ideal Post-Doc Fellow has: - a Ph.D. in Economics or other quantitative social science discipline - experience working with large data sets - strong econometrics skills - strong oral and written communications skills - strong skills in programming for data analysis (such as in R, Stata, or SAS) - the ability to work as part of a team and to meet deadlines - interest in housing, real estate, or local public finance are pluses More details and instructions to apply can be found in the link: https://lnkd.in/eZq-zteW

For many households, owning a home is both a means of wealth creation and a source of stability. However, residents of color face systemic challenges in attaining homeownership. These obstacles are deeply rooted in a long history of racist housing practices, including predatory lending, racial steering, and redlining. Even today, households of color continue to face bias and lag behind white households in income, wealth, and credit. These disparities are especially acute for Black households. Between 2012 and 2022, homeownership rates increased for Asian and Hispanic households but declined by nearly two percentage points for Black households, according to a recent analysis by NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solution Lab’s Tony B.. This decline is notable, as the homeownership rate for Black households was already the lowest among all racial and ethnic groups in 2012. Find the rest of the NYU Furman Center's Housing Solutions Lab’s analysis on recent homeownership trends here: https://lnkd.in/eMiumvn4  

Implementing retrofits is a vital strategy for strengthening both single-family and multifamily homes against climate-related natural hazards, according to a recent brief by the NYU Furman Center's Housing Solutions Lab. These initiatives encompass various improvements, such as the installation of energy-efficient windows and doors, upgrades to more efficient lighting and appliances, and the addition of roof overhangs, storm shutters, and cool roofs. By embracing retrofits, cities can enhance energy and water efficiency, and promote equity for lower-income residents, who are more likely to live in older homes, spend a higher share of their income on energy costs, and are at higher risk from climate-related natural disasters. This approach also contributes to improving the overall health and safety of homes, while concurrently enabling households to save money and improve their resilience. Read more about important strategies and policy choices that localities can promote to encourage retrofits in their communities at the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab climate resource page #cities #climaterisk #housing #policy #research #data #climate

The NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab has built a one-stop housing policy platform – Local Housing Solutions – to help provide small- and midsize-cities necessary tools and step-by-step guidance to assist localities develop, implement, and monitor local housing strategies. Developed for policymakers and practitioners from cities of different sizes and different levels of resources and technical capacity, Local Housing Solutions presents a rich and evolving set of resources to support comprehensive, balanced, and equitable housing strategies that enhance affordability, protect low-income residents from displacement and unsafe conditions, and foster inclusive neighborhoods. Resources include: -> Learn more about affordable housing -> Explore a variety of housing policies -> Develop and implement a local housing strategy to address your community’s housing needs -> Discover how to leverage public data to draw insights about your community -> Read case studies to learn from cities around the country about how they are using housing policies to reach their goals Local Housing Solutions also provides information to help cities pursue housing policies that reduce disparities, advance opportunity, and promote racial equity. Visit NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab to learn more

Equitable disaster preparation and recovery efforts seek to ensure that all community members can prepare for and recover from natural disasters, according to a recent brief by the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab. Key steps and resources localities can use to promote more equitable planning for disaster preparedness and recovery include: 1. Determine people and places at risk of climate-related natural disasters. Several existing tools can help localities identify communities with an elevated risk of being impacted by climate change and determine where to focus their planning and recovery efforts. 2. Structure equitable resilience and recovery programs. Localities should prioritize the housing needs of those who may be least able to prepare for and respond to disasters to ensure these communities can access and benefit from disaster management efforts. 3. Tailor resilience and recovery efforts to the needs of specific communities that face disproportionate risks related to climate change due to social, economic, or geographic factors. 4. Evaluate equity metrics and program outcomes. Localities can use this data to assess whether the programs are reaching their target audiences and adjust their outreach and engagement efforts as needed. Read more about how cities can ensure equity in disaster preparedness and recovery efforts here #cities #climaterisk #housing #policy #research #data #climate