LSA

Local Planning, Housing Research, Forecasts and Analyses

Blog

Featured Posts

October 15, 2019

All in the Family: The New Multigenerational Household

October 15, 2019

All in the Family: The New Multigenerational Household

In recent years, particularly since the Great Recession, multigenerational living has been on the rise across the country. Economic and demographic factors are the primary reasons why more people are…
September 30, 2019

Rent Control is Back Again

September 30, 2019

Rent Control is Back Again

In February, Oregon became the first state to enact statewide rent control. In September, California followed with its own statewide rent cap.  Only the District of Columbia and three other…

Recent Posts

April 7, 2017

Why Don’t Local Jurisdictions Track Housing Data Better?

An audit of the District of Columbia’s Housing Trust Fund (HTF) found that the fund was significantly mismanaged over the 2001 – 2015 period. Rules about certifying income eligibility for affordable units were unclear or ignored. Below-market-rate units that were supposed to be built with HTF dollars were sometimes never built. DC’s trust fund–and local […]
October 7, 2016

Housing as School Policy

There is abundant research showing that stable and affordable housing is associated with improved educational outcomes among children in low-income families. Access to affordable housing can result in fewer moves and can reduce overcrowding and other housing-related stresses. Housing assistance can help families move to neighborhoods with higher quality schools and housing investments can be […]
October 4, 2016

Can We Predict Gentrification?

There is no universally-accepted definition of gentrification; however, people usually think of gentrification as the movement of higher-income, often white households into lower-income, often minority city neighborhoods. Gentrification is associated with rising rents and home prices, and can lead to displacement of lower-income individuals and families. There can be positive outcomes associated with gentrification when […]
June 7, 2016

Housing as Part of the Roadmap for the Region’s Economic Future: The Prospect for Regional Collaboration

The Washington, D.C. area economy is the in the midst of dramatic restructuring – largely as a result of declines in federal spending in the region. A group of business and community leaders, along with advocates, philanthropists and funders, have come together to work on strategies for repositioning the regional economy to ensure that the […]
May 12, 2016

Separating Fact from Fiction in Research on Inclusionary Housing Programs

Why should we study the impacts of local affordable housing policies? One key reason is to help planners and policymakers design better programs that will meet their communities’ needs. But what if research studies seem to come to different conclusions? How can you figure out what research to rely on? In the report Separating Fact […]
May 11, 2016

Innovative State and Local Policies: Local Funding Sources

Local funds are critical to the financing of affordable housing. The combination of bank financing and tax credits will always leave a gap in high-cost markets like the Washington, D.C. region. As a result, very- and extremely- low income housing communities are most in need of a wide variety of gap funding. Federal resources, including […]
April 4, 2016

The Promise—and Realities?—of Mixed-Income Communities

After decades of public housing development that segregated people by race and income and led to pockets of enduring concentrated poverty – housing advocates, government officials and others now promote the development of mixed-income housing to help meet affordable housing needs. With the release by HUD of the affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) rule, there […]
March 17, 2016

Here’s how incomes have changed in DC since 2000

Over 20% of DC’s households make less than $25,000 per year. About the same number make over $150,000. That first group has has shrunk since 2000, when it accounted for over 30% of the population, while the number of high-income residents has more than doubled. Read more at Greater Greater Washington…