Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter of the
Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing Design
The Center
for Innovation in Affordable Housing Design, is a partnership
between Penn Design
and the Peoples Emergency Center Community Development Corporation
(PECCDC). Dedicated to developing
new models of affordable housing, the Center combines an innovative
real-world development approach with housing designs produced in
the academic studio. Together, the partnership will offer tomorrow's
planners and architects the opportunity for first hand experience
in design and community development process while helping the West
Powelton community served by PECCDC accomplish sustained and equitable
development.
The Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing is funded by a Community
Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) futures grant from the Office
of University Partnerships of the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development. You can find out more about the OUP
here, and more about the current COPC grants here.
This newsletter is directed toward students, educators, affordable
housing developers, designers and anyone with an interest in affordable
housing. There are two components to the newsletter.
We will have news from the ongoing COPC Future’s programs,
including our own work in West Philadelphia.
Secondly, the newsletter will include articles that we feel are
pertinent to our audience. These articles are pulled from
several sources, and the sources are listed with each article.
We encourage you to look at these other newsletters and the additional
information hosted on their home sites. This month’s
newsletter is largely pulled from the newsletters of
ArchNewsNow, KnowledgePlex,
and Planetizen.
If you know of other sources to add to the digest, have comments
on the format, or have comments on the project please feel free
to contact us at copc@design.upenn.edu
. Also feel free to pass this newsletter along to anyone who
might find it interesting. We look forward to any comments
you have.
The Editors
Summary Articiles
Studies Released
Calls For Entries
ARTICLES
THE
PREFAB HOME IS SUDDENLY FAB:
Many are made in British Columbia. Are they a real housing solution?
Let’s hope that the mod prefab architects think long and hard
about whether it’s possible to “mass-customize”
ethically and with as much environmental and social consciousness
as possible.
ArchNewsNow June 1
$50
MILLION PLEDGED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN LOWER MANHATTAN
New York City officials unveiled the spending plan for the $800
million earmarked for rebuilding Lower Manhattan in the wake of
Sept. 11, reported Multi-housingnews.com.
KnowledgePlex June 1
REHABS
HELP SCHOOLHOUSES ROCK
Developers in Indiana have turned shuttered schools into low-income
and senior housing, reported the Indianapolis Business Journal.
KnowledgePlex June 1
CHICAGO
COMMUNITIES UNVEIL PLANS FOR REVITALIZATION
Sixteen Chicago communities that are engaged in "one of the
country's most ambitious private urban development efforts"
presented Mayor Richard Daley with 10-year plans for improving their
neighborhoods, reported the Chicago Sun-Times
KnowledgePlex June 1
PHILADELPHIA'S
SUCCESS SHAPES DENVER HOMELESS PLAN
The Denver Commission to End Homelessness presented Mayor John Hickenlooper
with a 10-year, $122 million plan to get the homeless off the streets,
reported The Denver Post
KnowledgePlex June 1
"IT
WAS JUST LIKE BEVERLY HILLS":
Memories stir to life each year when residents of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe
housing project reunite...the stark Modernist edifices live on as
an icon of failure, one of the great public-policy blunders of the
20th century. -- Minoru Yamasaki (1956) [images]- Riverfront Times
(St. Louis)
ArchNewsNow June 2
GENTRIFICATION
THAT LEAVES A NEIGHBORHOOD INTACT
South Boston has gentrified and yuppified, but its unique social
customs have remained.
Jun 01 -- Boston Globe
Planetizen June 2
WINDOWS
INSIDE AND OUT: THE DIFFERENCE DESIGN CAN MAKE
Imagine any building you know well - without the windows. Windows
are more than just the places we look out from, they are also, along
with the front door, the visual elements on the outside of the building
BILL
INTRODUCED TO DOUBLE HOUSING TAX CREDITS
A bill that would double the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from
$1.85 per capita to $3.70 per capita in 2006 has been introduced
in the U.S. House, reported Multi-housingnews.com. In an effort
to counter frequent community opposition to low-income housing,
the measure would also rename the credit the "Affordable Housing
Tax Credit," the article said.
KnowledgePlex June 8
AFFORDABLE HOMES READY NEAR TOYOTA PLANT
A San Antonio nonprofit has completed 10 of 133 homes for low-income
workers near a new Toyota factory, reported the San Antonio Express-News.
KnowledgePlex June 8
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS RAISE FUNDS TO HOUSE WORKERS IN CITY
An employer-assisted housing program for higher-education workers
in Albany, N.Y., could be launched by August, reported the Times
Union.
KnowledgPlex June 8
AFFORDABILITY
CONCERNS CHALLENGE RESIDENCY RULES
Last year, escalating home prices persuaded Washington, D.C., officials
to eliminate a 49-year-old requirement that police officers and
firefighters live within 25 miles of the U.S. Capitol, reported
The Washington Times.
KnowledgePlex June 8
YWCA
INCORPORATION STRATEGY PAYS OFF IN NEW DIGS
YWCA Boston has redeveloped its 160,000-square-foot Y to provide
more housing for low- and moderate-income people, reported The Boston
Globe.
KnowledgePlex June 8
GREEN
AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE
The first New England project to receive funds from The Enterprise
Foundation's green affordable housing initiative is under construction
on a North Cambridge site that was once a bus warehouse, reported
The Boston Globe.
KnowledgePlex June 8
IS
GENTRIFICATION REALLY A THREAT?
Should the social virtues of urbanism and new investment in cities
get washed out in the hue and cry over gentrification?
Jun 06 -- Planetizen
GENTRIFICATION
REALITY TOUR: NEITHER BENIGN NOR BENEVOLENT:
Claims that the threat of gentrification are grossly exaggerated
belie a fundamental misunderstanding of the real threat, the real
victims, and the real consequences of inner-city redevelopment.
Planetizen June 13
THE
NEXT GENERATION OF FACTORY BUILT HOMES
Factory-built houses are increasingly popular as an inexpensive
solution to affordable housing. Jun 13 -- Los Angeles Times
Planetizen June 16
CITY JOINS
WITH LENDERS, FOUNDATION TO KEEP OWNERS IN HOMES
The city of Dallas has teamed with mortgage lenders and the Minneapolis-based
Homeownership Preservation Foundation to set up a free, round-the-clock
phone hotline for residents worried about foreclosure, reported
The Dallas Morning News.
KnowledgePlex June 16
SHARED
SWEAT EQUITY HELPS FIRST-TIME BUYERS INTO HOMES
An initiative in Spokane, Wash., seeks to build community among
home buyers who pay off their down payment and closing costs by
helping to construct their homes, reported the Spokesman Review
KnowledgePlex June 16
BOOST
FOR SENIOR HOUSING, NO LONGER JUST LACKLUSTER OPTIONS
With state and local government support, companies in the Chicago
area are purchasing and redeveloping amenity-rich affordable housing
for seniors, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
KnowledgePlex June 16
COUNCIL
INSISTS ON AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR DISCOUNTED LOTS
In Paterson, N.J., the City Council underscored its intention for
affordable housing to be constructed on 41 city lots that were sold
at a discount, "quashing the plans of some developers to build
market-rate houses priced in excess of $300,000," reported
The Record.
KnowledgePlex June 1
STUDENTS
ROLL OUT HOUSING MESSAGE ON TREK ACROSS CONTINENT
This summer, college students are hitting the road -- on their bikes
-- "to increase awareness about affordable housing and to bring
an end to substandard housing," reported the Winston-Salem
Journal.
KnowledgePlex June 16
HOUSING
BOOM: GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The housing boom is likely to last. That's the good news...and the
bad news. Jun 16 -- The New Republic
Planetizen, June 20
CALIFORNIA'S
HOME PRICES AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH
The lack of affordable housing is reaching epic proportions all
across the state. Jun 17 -- Los Angeles Times
Planetizen June 20
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING AT ALL TIME LOW IN SPITE OF RECORD MARKET
2004 saw record growth in the housing market, but a shift in the
economy could be disasterous to owners. Jun 17 -- RISMedia
Planetizen June 20
PHILADELPHIA
HOUSING TRUST FUND PASSES COUNCIL
The Philadelphia City Council approved a bill that would create
the city's first housing trust fund, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer
KnowledgePlex June 22
NEW
FEES FOR DOWNTOWN PROJECTS COULD FATTEN TRUST FUNDS
City commissioners in Sarasota, Fla., voted to raise the fees that
developers of downtown projects pay for density bonuses, reported
the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
KnowledgePlex June 22
COMMUNITY
LAND TRUSTS CAN BE VALUED RESOURCE
Community land trusts are increasingly popular in areas where rising
home prices are pricing low-income workers out of the market, according
to a column in the Ventura County Star.
KnowledgePlex June 22
BEIJING'S
AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
Amid the flurry of other construction in the city, affordable housing
gets lost in the shuffle.
Jun 26 -- Xinhua News Agency
Planetizen June 27
ILLINOIS
EXTENDS TAX CREDIT THAT AIDS HOUSING WORK
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation extending the state's
housing tax credit, which was set to expire at the end of 2006,
to the end of 2011, reported The News-Gazette.
KnowledgePlex June 29
FOUNDATION APPROVES LAND PURCHASE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Florida's largest community foundation will develop "a first-of-its-kind
housing development for middle-class workers" in Venice, Fla.,
reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
KnowledgePlex June 29
NEW
APARTMENTS HELP HOMELESS AND SAVE ENERGY
The first apartment building in Durham, N.C., with solar water heating
will provide permanent homes for homeless adults with mental illnesses
or substance-abuse problems, reported The Herald-Sun.
KnowledgePlex June 29
INNOVATIONS
KEEP ENERGY BILLS LOW IN NEW SUBDIVISION
A new energy-efficient subdivision in Ashe County, N.C., seeks to
fill a need for affordable housing in the northwestern part of the
state, where "average wages are lower than in more-urban areas,
but land prices are rising as retirees, vacation homeowners, and
developers flock to the mountains for their beauty," reported
the Winston-Salem Journal.
KnowledgePlex June 29
ANNOUNCEMENTS
STUDIES RELEASED
HAC
MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS MARKETING OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The spring issue of Rural Voices, a publication of the Housing Assistance
Council, features 10 organizations that are using street theater,
traditional advertising, and other strategies to make the case for
affordable housing.
KnowledePlex June 8
HOT
HOUSING MARKET MASKS ERODING AFFORDABILITY AND MOUNTING RISKS
Harvard Study Reports - RIS Media
ArchNewsNow June 13
SURVEY ASSESSES SUPPORT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
A survey from the National Association of Realtors® shows that
Americans support affordable housing under certain conditions. According
to the third annual National Housing Opportunity Pulse, people are
more likely to support affordable housing in their community if
they are certain that the homes won't reduce property values, lead
to overcrowded schools, or increase traffic
KnowledgePlex June 16
PAPER URGES AID FOR THE 'HARD TO HOUSE' IN PUBLIC HOUSING
A new brief from the Urban Institute lays out a strategy "for
effectively serving 'hard-to-house' residents who remain in distressed
public housing or who are experiencing hardship as a result of HOPE
VI-related relocation."
KnowledgePlex June 22
CALLS FOR ENTRIES
2005
COMMUNITIES OF QUALITY AWARDS PROGRAM GUIDELINES ANNOUNCED
The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) has
announced participation guidelines for its 2005 Communities of Quality
Awards program, which recognizes outstanding property management
companies providing the highest possible quality of safe, affordable
multifamily rental housing in communities around the country.
NAHMANewsrelease June 10
EVENTS
WORK FORCE HOUSING SEMINAR, JULY 14-15
The Harvard Design School will present a seminar on developing workforce
housing July 14-15 in Cambridge, Mass.
nowledgePlex June 1
NAHRO
CONFERENCE AND SYMPOSIUM, JULY 14-17
The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
will hold its summer conference July 14-17 in San Francisco. The
event, which is open to nonmembers, will focus on creating sustainable
communities.
KnowledePlex June 8
PRODUCTION
POWER: DO MORE AND BETTER,
Ten Great Ways to Increase Your Affordable Housing Development Production
will be on July 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET. LISC eNewsletter June 15
NEIGHBORWORKS
TRAINING INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 22-26
NeighborWorks Training Institute is pleased to return to our nation’s
capital to offer a week of comprehensive courses and an unequaled
opportunity to learn from experts and peers in the field of community
development.
NeighborWorks Alert June 17
ONLINE
DISCUSSION: HOUSING AWARD FINALISTS, JULY 14
On Thursday, July 14 at 2 p.m. ET, KnowledgePlex and the Government
Innovators Network will present an online discussion featuring the
three programs that are finalists for the Fannie Mae Foundation
Innovations in American Government Award in Affordable Housing:
KnowledgePlex June 22
GREEN
COMMUNITIES: INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS
The 3rd in a Series of Green Live Online Classes Thursday, July
14, 2005
90 minutes beginning 2:03p ET, 1:03p CT, 12:03p MT, 11:03a PT
The Enterprise Foundation
COMMUNITY
LAND TRUST CONFERENCE, AUG. 17-19
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy will hold its 2005 Community
Land Trust Conference Aug. 17-19 in Portland, Ore. Lawrence Wallack,
dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State
University, will give the plenary speech. Three workshops will provide
a comprehensive introduction to community land trusts.
KnowledgePlex June 29
|