My first natural response to this question is, “Why the hell are we even asking such a stupid question?” I am inclined to gravitate to technology solutions at a housing authority because I personally feel like we as an industry are behind the times. Most public housing authorities/social housing companies I visited across the USA,… Read More Mobile technology and Public Housing: Is it time?
I am sitting here from the confines of my counterbalance residence in Seattle contemplating technology and its role within a public housing authority or a social housing company if you want to be European/Australian about it. No I am not that damn boring that I cant think of something better to do but after a… Read More Public/Social Housing: Lazy Sunday Dreaming of Technology Solutions
Last week I wrote a little about the idea of process improvement in social and public housing. I made it clear that I do not consider any process improvement methodology religion and that common sense can be our best friend. With that said, I wanted to start writing about specific tools and ideas that I… Read More Process Mapping in Social and Public Housing
Can we process an annual review more efficiently? Can we make our ADA process more streamlined? How about improving the time it takes for us to turn a unit after a move out or increase the number of work-orders we close per day or week? If you buy a new housing software system or start… Read More Process Improvement within Public or Social Housing:The Basics
Portuguese Social Housing: Stronger, Smarter and Better Than Before. As I walk around the beautiful old neighborhoods of Lisbon, it is not easy for me to believe these are social housing units. The bright colors of the buildings seem to fit in well with the sunny skies and intensely colored lemon and orange trees. The… Read More Fear and Loathing in Portugese Social Housing Part I:
I am only three weeks returned to Seattle. Since returning, the city shocks me day by day with the fast transition and change. In many ways it does not look the same. Buildings that were under construction when I left 1.5 years ago are complete while double the number are now being built. Everywhere I… Read More Homelessness in Seattle: My Suprising Return Home from Germany
“Our program to help seniors has really done a lot to improve the morale in our senior community!” I heard this as I sat at a NAHRO conference several years ago and thought to myself, “How the hell do you know?” It’s not that I questioned the value. In many ways I believe programs to… Read More Public Housing Authorties Need to Start Using Social Return On Investment!
Over the last year I visited 33 German cities, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20 EU countries (who is counting?). I through several pictures of my travels in to illustrate and break up this longer blog. I managed in most of these trips to find a way to meet with a social housing company, a homeless organization, or… Read More What Did I Learn From a Year of Visting Social Housing Companies Around Europe
I visited the city of Mannheim Germany in October to speak with both city officials and social housing staff about affordable housing in this mid-sized German city. I met with Arno Knobel who works for the city of Mannheim. He focuses his attention on strategic issues including urban renewal and long term planning. For instance… Read More Social Housing in the German City of Mannheim
Federal, state and the state capital Stuttgart has promoted for decades the construction of social housing. In return, the owners have committed to comply with certain occupancy and rent restrictions. Basically owners will give tenants cheap apartment for rent with certain conditions. The person so entitled (usually the owner) may only leave a social housing… Read More Social Housing in Stuttgart: Make it Simpler Stupid
Housing Futures 