New Updates on The Edge

PD&R’s online magazine, The Edge, provides you with a snapshot view of our newly released research, periodicals, publications, news, and commentaries on housing and urban development issues. Stay informed on current topics and check back frequently, as our content is routinely updated.

Message from PD&R Leadership: International Collaboration on Housing Affordability Research

In the leadership message, PD&R’s former acting director for the policy development division Barry Steffen discusses the Penn/Oxford Symposium on Housing Affordability in the Advanced Economies. Held in Oxford, England, in May 2019, the symposium featured 21 researchers who examined housing affordability problems in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Poland. Steffen compares land use strategies in the four nations and suggests lessons that the US could take from the experiences of other countries.

Featured: The Middle-Class Experience of Housing Stress

In May 2019, the Brookings Institution and the Center on Regulation and Markets co-hosted an event centered on the impact of housing policies on middle-class households. Brookings fellow Jenny Schuetz delivered a presentation on a new report titled “Cost, crowding, or commuting? Housing stress on the middle class,” then moderated a panel discussion. The panel addressed strategies to increase affordability and decrease housing stress for middle-class Americans.

In Practice: Building a Community Out of Tiny Homes for Homeless Veterans in Sonoma County, California

Opened in February 2019, Veterans Village is a 14-unit community of 250 square-foot homes serving formerly homeless veterans in Sonoma County, California. The village, which was built on part of the county’s existing administrative campus to save on land acquisition, is in the first year of a two-year pilot phase. The developer was Community Housing Sonoma County and the general contractor was Wolff Contracting. Each unit is fully furnished and fully accessible. A community room, laundry room, and mail room are housed in a building on site.

Trending: Anchor Institutions’ Work Continues to Evolve

Anchor institutions are enterprises that are rooted in and committed to providing public benefits to their home communities while conducting their primary businesses. Universities and hospitals are traditional examples, although other entities such as philanthropic foundations or religious organizations can also fill the role of an anchor institution. As the anchor movement grows nationwide, institutions are pursuing new strategies to amplify their social impact.

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