New Updates on PD&R Edge

PD&R Edge, an online magazine, 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.

Featured: PD&R Quarterly Update: Climate and Housing

On September 22, 2022, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) held its latest Quarterly Update event, which focused on relationships between climate and housing and HUD’s role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Panelists explained that housing accounts for a significant percentage of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. At the same time, extreme weather exacerbated by climate change, in turn, threatens housing and communities. When pursuing strategies to cope with the effects of climate change, panelists emphasized the need for local governments to do so equitably.

PD&R Leadership: First-Ever G7 Ministerial for Urban Development

In the Leadership Message, Cynthia Campbell, director for international and philanthropic innovation at PD&R, discusses the first-ever G7 Ministerial for Urban Development, held in September 2022, in Potsdam, Germany. Topics included how cities can address climate change, how nations can work together to achieve sustainable urban development, and the devastating effects war has had on housing in Ukraine. Campbell also discusses remarks from HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.

In Practice: Building a New Multigenerational Neighborhood in Eagle River, Alaska

The Cook Inlet Housing Authority is helping revitalize downtown Eagle River by providing affordable housing and green amenities to seniors, families, and other residents. The fully built-out site will consist of 123 affordable senior and family rental units and several homeownership units known as Coronado Park. A newly built park encourages social connection and features a community garden and play area. Social services catering to the needs of senior residents enable residents to age in place while remaining involved in community life. For the town, the ongoing buildout of the development represents a significant new neighborhood in the downtown area that replaces a large and abandoned site.

Trending: A Tiny Home for Little Diomede, Alaska

Ensuring sufficient affordable housing is a challenge for many communities, but in the Bering Strait region of Alaska, topography, climate, and a lack of infrastructure can make housing construction especially difficult. In 2021, during the pandemic, the Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority partnered with builder Finished Works LLC to procure and build a tiny home. While the home awaits its final destination, the partners gained knowledge that may help them eventually deploy this cost-effective solution to the area’s affordable housing needs at greater scale.

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