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: Getting to Know the Important Local Work of PD&R’s Field Economists

In the leadership message, general deputy assistant secretary for PD&R Todd Richardson discusses the 33 local field economists working in the Economic and Market Analysis Division. In addition to producing and updating the many housing market reports available through HUDUser.gov, the field economists fill several other roles, from collecting data for Comprehensive Market Analyses to advising local stakeholders or preparing congressional briefings.

Featured: The Affordable Housing Potential of Manufactured ADUs

With housing affordability a concern in nearly every community across the nation, many localities have changed local zoning to allow backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — additional, detached independent living quarters on single-family lots. In August 2020, the Population Health Learning Collaborative held an online summit, “Innovations in Naturally Affordable Housing,” that included a webinar on the affordability advantages of factory production of ADUs.

In Practice: Supportive Housing in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, Aims To Blunt City’s Homelessness Crisis

Opened in 2019, the David T.C. Ho Family Building is the first of a two-phase affordable housing project called PATH Metro Villas in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The five-story, $28.5 million building has 64 units for low-income households and households coming out of homelessness and is located within three blocks of the Vermont/Beverly station of the LA Metro, further enhancing affordability for tenants. The second phase of PATH Metro Villas is slated for completion in 2020.

Spotlight on PD&R Research: Employment Growth in Fresno HMA Despite High Unemployment Rates

The most recent article in a series focusing on HUD's Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses examines the Fresno Housing Market Area (Fresno HMA). The single-county HMA has an estimated population of approximately 1.01 million, and as of 2019 tends to experience unemployment rates of higher than 7 percent because of a high reliance on seasonal agricultural work. The HMA has homeownership rates lower than the national average, with a balanced sales and tight rental market.

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