Topic: Habitação

Ingrid Gould Ellen stands on city street

Land Matters Podcast

Season 2, Episode 2: Coauthor of Through the Roof on How Housing Can Be More Affordable
By Anthony Flint, Fevereiro 26, 2021

 

Early on in Through the Roof: What Communities Can Do About the High Cost of Rental Housing in America, the report’s authors describe the deep roots of the affordability crisis with what they say is “cruel math”: between 1960 and 2016, median income rose by about 11 percent, while median rents rose by 80 percent.

The pandemic has revealed just how precarious life has become for many of the 35 percent of households in rental housing, says one of the authors, NYU professor Ingrid Gould Ellen, in the latest episode of the Land Matters podcast.

“The decline in affordability over these decades has meant it’s very difficult for these renting households to put aside any savings for a rainy day, much less a global pandemic,” says Ellen, who coauthored the Lincoln Institute’s latest Policy Focus Report with Jeffrey Lubell and Mark Willis. “Even small shocks can put households over the edge.”

Restrictive land use regulations, local opposition to new housing, and a construction industry that’s incentivized to focus on higher-end housing have all contributed to a short supply of more affordable homes. Local governments should establish comprehensive plans, she says, that could aid progress through inclusionary housing, density bonuses, community land trusts, and accessory dwelling units. Some communities have put an end to single family-only zoning, so that multifamily housing can be built in more neighborhoods.

The conversation is the latest in a series devoted to the issues and innovations that are prominent in the work of the Lincoln Institute, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Last month the topic was confronting climate change, and this episode is based on another Lincoln Institute goal, reduced poverty and spatial inequality.

You can listen to the show and subscribe to Land Matters on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlaySpotifyStitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

 


 

Anthony Flint is a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and a contributing editor of Land Lines.

Photograph Credit: New York University.

 


 

Further reading:

Through the Roof: What Communities Can Do About the High Cost of Rental Housing in America

Inclusionary Housing: Creating and Maintaining Equitable Communities 

Tracking Growth and Evaluating Performance of Shared Equity Homeownership Programs During Housing Market Fluctuations

 

 

Overcoming Barriers to Housing Affordability Roundtable

Março 18, 2021 - Março 19, 2021

Offered in inglês

The Lincoln Institute aims to better understand the barriers to implementing housing strategies at the necessary scale in the United States, and specific strategies to overcome those barriers. This roundtable will provide an opportunity for presentation and discussion of research commissioned under the Institute’s Request for Proposals on Overcoming Barriers to Housing Affordability. The research papers and case studies focus on a diverse set of topics including zoning reforms in Oregon, the approval process for multi-family housing in Massachusetts, modular housing in Colorado, and accessory dwelling units in California. The program will conclude with a discussion on the key barriers to implementing housing strategies and the most promising approaches to overcoming those barriers.     


Details

Date
Março 18, 2021 - Março 19, 2021
Time
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Language
inglês

Keywords

Habitação, Zonificação

‘Through the Roof’ Confronts Affordable Housing Crisis, Bridges Divide in Policy Debate

By Will Jason, Março 2, 2021

 

Faced with a housing crisis that has grown even more urgent under the stress of the COVID pandemic, local U.S. governments need to adopt comprehensive and balanced housing strategies to ensure everyone can access a stable and affordable place to live, according to a new Policy Focus Report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Building on years of research and collaboration with public sector leaders, the authors lay out a multipronged framework for local communities to attack the housing crisis in Through the Roof: What Communities Can Do About the High Cost of Rental Housing in America. Housing policy debates are often split between advocates of deregulation and those who worry about the dangers of an unfettered market. Authors Ingrid Gould Ellen and Mark A. Willis of New York University and Jeffrey Lubell of Abt Associates bridge this gap. They recommend tailored approaches to meet the unique conditions of every community, with a focus on the rental market, where millions of households face unsustainable cost burdens. 

The report builds on the recommendations found on LocalHousingSolutions.org, a website hosted by Abt Associates and the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy that helps local government officials navigate policy options and craft housing plans.

“Balanced housing strategies are those that address a range of housing challenges, rather than a single narrow one,” the authors write. “Focusing on the full range of needs is important for maximizing both the political acceptance of a local housing strategy and the likelihood that a community’s strategy will succeed.”

The report describes the extent of the affordability crisis, explores the forces that drive housing prices, and explains the interaction among federal, state, and local policy. Its recommendations focus on local government, where most decisions about land use and housing are made in the United States.

“Local governments set the zoning rules that determine how many units can be built on a given piece of land and how many conditions landowners and developers must meet for permission to build at an economically viable density,” the authors write.

As the report details, rents have climbed much faster than incomes in recent decades. Nearly half of American renters now struggle to afford monthly payments, double the number in 1960. This percentage—based on the number of households that spend at least 30 percent of income on rent—has increased steadily for decades, dropping only slightly after the Great Recession as higher-income households delayed homeownership. Today, lower-income renters have less income remaining after paying rent—a measure known as residual income—than they did in 2000, and moderate-income renters have seen no change. Only higher-income renters have seen a small increase in residual income.

The economic impact of the COVID pandemic has deepened the crisis. Despite temporary protections against eviction, Americans collectively owed some $57 billion in back rent, utilities, and late fees in January, according to an estimate by Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, and Jim Parrott, a fellow at the Urban Institute.

While there is some debate about the relationship between regulations and housing prices, on balance, the available evidence suggests that restrictions on the construction of new dwellings limit the supply of housing and contribute to higher prices, the report finds. Examples of such restrictions include minimum lot sizes, bans on multifamily housing, minimum parking requirements, and complex and uncertain permitting processes. 

However, more permissive land-use policies alone will not solve the affordability crisis, the authors write. Other drivers of rising housing costs include the limited availability of land, the impacts of global investment capital, rising income inequality, stagnant incomes, and a lack of innovation in the construction sector. These challenges demand collaboration between the private sector and all levels of government to expand the stock of rental and for-sale housing with binding covenants that ensure long-term affordability and to protect residents from displacement. 

Further, even with more plentiful supply, the lowest income households will have trouble affording rental housing without government intervention. In weaker-market cities with relatively plentiful housing, low incomes are a greater barrier than limited supply. The private market alone is unlikely to reduce economic and racial segregation, which perpetuate disparities in health, wealth, and quality of life.

The report recommends that every community work with a diverse set of stakeholders to create a comprehensive housing strategy with clearly articulated goals and metrics. It offers a four-part framework for local housing reform with a menu of actions in each category:

1. Create and preserve dedicated affordable housing units: Local governments can adopt policies designed to create and preserve housing that stays affordable over time to low- and moderate-income households—including in wealthy neighborhoods. Doing so requires a combination of public expenditure and regulation. Examples of such policies include direct subsidies for dedicated affordable housing, inclusionary housing, in which a portion of new homes are rented or sold below the market rate, and shared equity models such as community land trusts, through which homeowners give up some of the gains in home equity in exchange for a lower purchase price.

2. Reduce barriers to new supply: To expand the overall supply of housing, communities can relax zoning and other regulations, provide incentives for desired housing development and shift the property tax to assess land at a higher rate than buildings, which encourages landowners to develop or sell vacant parcels.

3. Help households access and afford private market homes: Policies in this category include providing assistance to lower-income residents to help them afford private rentals, helping families become homeowners, and enforcing fair housing laws to combat discrimination.

4. Protect against displacement and poor housing conditions: Communities can create stability for renters by enacting protections that limit the rate of rent increases and provide financial and legal help to renters at risk of eviction. Similarly, they can assist low-income homeowners through targeted property tax relief and financial assistance to avoid foreclosure. Finally, communities can use regulations and incentives to encourage landlords to maintain apartments in good condition rather than selling them for conversion to higher-priced housing.

“Whether in San Francisco, California, or Gary, Indiana, too many people struggle to afford one of the most basic human needs—shelter,” said George W. “Mac” McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. “Through the Roof recognizes the complexity of the problem and provides an actionable framework for local governments to make housing affordable across a wide variety of market conditions.”

Praise for Through the Roof

Through the Roof is a ray of light in dark times. Housing has always been at the center of economic and racial inequality in our nation, and it must be at the center of creating real opportunity in every community. The authors explain masterfully how a quiet crisis became a national epidemic of housing insecurity over the past half-century. Even more important, at a time of division and paralysis in our federal government, they show convincingly how cities, towns, and counties can come together to solve our housing challenges and build more just and inclusive communities.”

— Shaun Donovan, Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

“The authors provide a thoughtful assessment of why housing affordability has become worse and they tackle the thorny question of what federal, state, and local governments can do to help. They marshal an impressive array of quantitative data and case studies in support of their conclusions, which are economically sound and politically pragmatic. This report will serve as an excellent resource and guide for policy makers.”

— Jenny Schuetz, Fellow, Brookings Institution 

“This report is a comprehensive, powerful look at the affordability crisis—how rent burdens hold families back from upward economic mobility and the actions that government can take to close this gap. An important resource at any time, Through the Roof is even more urgent as we face record unemployment and unprecedented housing instability across the country. Stable, affordable housing for all is a human right, and this report is a necessary guide for policy makers seeking to create this reality for their constituents.”

— Denise Scott, Executive Vice President for Programs, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

“Communities across the country are grappling with the challenge of how to meet the pressing need to build and preserve affordable housing. The COVID-19 crisis underscores the importance of decent, safe, healthy homes. Through the Roof offers critical insight into the housing crisis facing renters. It offers real-world examples of housing solutions. The concepts in Through the Roof should encourage all of us to join this community of practice and put these ideas to work!”

Linda Mandolini, President, Eden Housing 

About the Authors

Ingrid Gould Ellen is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a faculty director at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy.

Jeffrey Lubell is principal associate and director of Housing and Community Initiatives at Abt Associates.

Mark A. Willis is the senior policy fellow at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy.

About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

 


 

Will Jason is director of communications at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Photograph Credit: NicolasMcComber/Getty Images.

Accelerating Community Investment

Lincoln Institute Launches Initiative to Mobilize Investment in Low-Income Communities
By Will Jason, Janeiro 27, 2021

 

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy today launched an initiative to mobilize investment in low-income communities, especially those that have been excluded from access to mainstream financial and wealth-building resources.

The initiative, Accelerating Community Investment (ACI), seeks to create a more fertile environment for philanthropies and other mission-aligned investors to deepen investment in community and economic development, housing, and other areas that benefit society. The initiative will bring public finance officials, impact investors, financial institutions, and communities together to increase the availability of capital in the right place, at the right time and for the right purpose. Accelerating Community Investment includes field research, the creation of mission-oriented investment opportunities, and the convening of a national community of practice.

Supported by the Lincoln Institute and the F.B. Heron Foundation, ACI seeks to bridge the gap between low-income communities and financial markets, foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and other sources of investment and credit.

The initiative seeks to build a network of mission-oriented partners, grounded in community. It will focus on strengthening relationships between Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), which work closely with people and businesses on the ground, and Development Finance Agencies (DFAs) and Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs), public and private entities that issue bonds and facilitate other types of investment in economic development and affordable housing. At the heart of the three-year initiative is a national community of practice of select leaders from these organizations, who will build partnerships, receive training and technical assistance, and identify new investment opportunities.

More than 1,100 in number, CDFIs provided $9 billion in financing in 2018 for people who are underserved by mainstream banks. Among their customers, 85 percent are people with low incomes and 58 percent are people of color. CDFIs have supported small businesses in times of crises, including the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and several natural disasters. During the early months of the COVID-19 crisis, they outperformed larger financial institutions in lending money to small businesses.

Development Finance Agencies include local or state government entities, as well as nonprofit and private sector organizations, that fund economic development through municipal bonds, direct loans, and other vehicles. In 2018, they issued $25 billion in bonds. Housing Finance Agencies are state-chartered institutions that fund affordable housing through bonds, tax credits, and other methods. Together, they financed more than $37 billion in affordable housing development, rehabilitation, and purchase in 2018, and had access to $53 billion in untapped funds.

“Deepening the skills of public finance practitioners and creating connections with impact investors will help to drive investments that improve the quality of life in underserved communities across the country” said Robert J. “R.J.” McGrail senior research fellow for the Lincoln Institute and director of the initiative. “Our development and housing finance partners have not only the capacity to tap large pools of funds, but they and their community partners can also help impact-minded investors place capital and channel it to communities that need it most.”

“Even in communities with effective urban planning and property tax systems, major decisions about land and development are often made based on the wrong criteria. Investment decisions can dramatically improve people’s quality of life and access to opportunity, but not if they’re slavishly predicated on short-term financial returns,” said George W. “Mac” McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. “That’s why the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy launched Accelerating Community Investment—to build the skills and relationships needed to redirect capital to where it can produce better social, environmental and financial returns.”

“Better integration of development and housing finance and community development strategies that will come from the ACI project can help drive more and better projects on the ground and help embed a focus on economic equality and racial justice in public finance,” said David Wood, director of the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard Kennedy School. “A community of practice like this one can build capacity for public finance and connect it to private investors, in support of what’s needed to build back from COVID-19.”

Accelerating Community Investment will make use of private activity bonds, tax-exempt instruments that can be used to fund a number of private sector projects that serve a public purpose such as affordable housing, economic development, access to health care and education, home ownership, and renewable energy. The initiative will also seek to foster the expansion of other financing tools such as direct lending, and to develop new ones.

The initial community of practice is comprised of the following participants.

California

  • California Housing Finance Agency
  • California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank
  • California Affordable Housing Agency
  • Golden State Finance Authority

Georgia

  • Georgia Housing Finance Authority
  • InvestAtlanta

Kentucky

  • Kentucky Housing Corporation
  • Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development
  • Greater Clark Foundation
  • FAHE
  • LHOME

Louisiana

  • Louisiana Economic Development
  • Louisiana Housing Corporation
  • Finance Authority of New Orleans
  • Build Baton Rouge

Maine

  • Department of Economic & Community Development
  • MaineHousing
  • ROC USA
  • Maine Municipal Bond Bank

Mississippi

  • City of Jackson 
  • Jackson Redevelopment Authority
  • Mississippi Development Authority
  • Small Business Capital Fund of Mississippi
  • Mississippi Home Corporation

Montana

  • Montana Housing
  • Native American Development Corporation

New Hampshire

  • NH Housing
  • NH Community Development Finance Authority
  • NH Business Finance Authority

New Mexico

  • New Mexico Mortgage Finance Agency
  • New Mexico Economic Development Department
  • City of Santa Fe
  • New Mexico Impact Investing Collaborative

New York

  • New York State Homes & Community Renewal
  • New York City Economic Development Corporation

Ohio

  • Ohio Housing Finance Agency
  • Port of Cincinnati Development Authority
  • Greater Ohio Policy Center

Texas

  • Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation
  • Houston Land Bank

Washington

  • Washington State Department of Commerce
  • Washington State Housing Finance Commission

Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA)
  • Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation

 

Will Jason is director of communications at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Photograph: Customers at food trucks in Atlanta, Georgia. Representatives from Georgia, including InvestAtlanta and the Georgia Housing Finance Authority, and 13 other states are participating in the Lincoln Institute’s new Accelerating Community Investment Initiative. Credit: BluIz60/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Plus.

Oportunidades de bolsas

2021 Lincoln Institute Scholars Program

Submission Deadline: April 16, 2021 at 11:59 PM

This program provides an opportunity for recent PhDs specializing in public finance or urban economics to work with senior economists.

For information on previous Lincoln Scholars, please visit Lincoln Scholars Program Alumni


Details

Submission Deadline
April 16, 2021 at 11:59 PM


Downloads


Keywords

Economia, Tributação Imobiliária, Finanças Públicas