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: Local Strategies for Housing First

In March 2023, the National Low Income Housing Coalition held its annual Housing Policy Forum, “Onward to Housing Justice.” During one panel discussion, speakers examined the underlying causes of homelessness and how communities can use the Housing First approach to quickly provide housing to people experiencing homelessness without preconditions for sobriety, treatment, or participation in supportive services. Panelists explained how a Housing First approach incorporating streamlined triage systems, information sharing, and shared goals across partners in conjunction with collaboration among service providers, housing navigators, and street outreach teams can lead to better results for people experiencing homelessness.

PD&R Leadership: Cities Summit of the Americas

In the Leadership Message, director of the International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses the first Cities Summit of the Americas, held in Denver in April 2023. The goal of the Cities Summit of the Americas was to gather regional, subnational, and national leaders as well as representatives from local and regional organizations, business interests, academia, youth and cultural movements, the arts, and indigenous and underrepresented groups to focus on issues affecting cities, including housing, sustainable development, migration, climate action, finance and investment, technology, and good governance. Participants discussed climate adaptation and sustainability, strategies to address homelessness, and economic development, among other topics.

PD&R at 50: The Importance of Demonstration Projects to the Mission of PD&R

When the Office of Policy Development and Research was formed 50 years ago, HUD was already engaged in two very different demonstration projects: Operation Breakthrough and the Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP). Operation Breakthrough was a demonstration intended to spur housing production, and EHAP was designed to provide low-income families with high-quality, affordable housing through a housing allowance they could use on the private market. Over the past 50 years, PD&R demonstration projects have focused on the pressing policy issues of their time, including the Moving to Opportunity program, the Community Choice Demonstration, the First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration, the Housing Discrimination Studies, and many others.

In Practice: Affordable Housing Serving Those Who Served in Arlington, Virginia

By 2016, American Legion Post 139 in Arlington, Virginia, was grappling with declining membership and a 50-year-old facility that made fulfilling the organization’s mission — to serve and provide community for American veterans — increasingly challenging. In response, Post 139 connected with the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing to develop Lucille & Bruce Terwilliger Place, which consists of 160 units of affordable, transit-oriented housing — half of which have a preference for veterans — along with a new meeting space for Post 139. Strong support from local officials helped bring this project to fruition to the benefit of the area’s veterans and residents at large.

Trending: Understanding the Unique Housing Needs of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: HUD’s Commitment to Data Disaggregation

As part of its commitment to reduce disparities in access to safe and affordable homeownership for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), HUD has prioritized disaggregated data collection and analysis. In keeping with this work and in recognition of AANHPI Heritage Month, researchers within HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research analyzed data from both the American Housing Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey along with HUD administrative data to identify the unique housing characteristics of the AANHPI population.

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