By Julie LaPalme and Nicholas Gazzard The residential rental market differs from other consumer markets in certain key ways that result in the market being unable to meet the housing needs of many Canadian households at a price they can afford. So what are the causes of this market failure? To begin with, prices in the rental… Read More Housing Market Realities: Part I
There are often complaints that the public sector is not innovative enough or is far behind the private sector. While there is truth in that statement, there are still hundreds of housing authorities around the world trying out and experimenting with new ideas to help the citizens and residents of their communities. Here are a… Read More 5 Brilliant Public Housing Innovations
Early in my public housing career, I had the chance to work with the Family Self Sufficiency Program (FSS). I loved the idea from the first time I heard of it. Any program that would encourage our residents to acquire and develop the skills necessary to realize the dreams they have sounds like a winner. … Read More Time to Blow Up the Family Self Sufficiency Program
Any fair-minded person will always try to give someone a chance. Although I clearly understand Republicans are not typically good for public housing, I sat back and let the new President and Secretary of HUD lay out their plans. The first plan was not good. It was clear that their intention was to significantly… Read More Trump’s War on Public Housing
We at ^Housing Futures believe in celebrating leaders who chose public housing as their career and passion. Today we examine three leaders that work at medium to large sized housing authorities across the USA. Fred Mckinnies: Jacksonville Housing Authority: Phil has been the ED at this housing authority for several years. This PHA has made… Read More 3 Public Housing Leaders from Medium Sized Agencies You Should Know
By Emily Casebeer Development costs in western Washington and across the United States continue to increase. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Associated General Contractors of America, the cost of construction is rising (Anderson, 2018). Hard construction makes up a large portion of these costs. 30% of hard construction costs are… Read More Affordable Housing is Unaffordable to Build
By Diane Anastos Anyone who has ever volunteered with a community council, a nonprofit board or a nonprofit organization is familiar with turnover; the complaint that it’s always the same people doing all of the work and the personality conflict that crop up. As the Resident Initiatives Coordinator for the St. Paul Public Housing Agency in… Read More Public Housing Resident Councils: How to Encourage Resident Participation
Take a look around you. Look at the leaders of the Chicago Housing Authority. Look at the leader of the New York Housing Authority. What is happening down in Atlanta and on the coast in LA and Seattle? In many large public housing authorities across the country, you are seeing a lot less executive leadership… Read More Why Do Large Public Housing Authorities Not Hire Executive Housers?
The latest assault by the Republican Administration on affordable housing should have every executive team at every PHA across the nation thinking about ways to diversify, streamline and mix up their operations. One of the most interesting ways to protect your PHA might just be to get into the Moving to Work game. If you… Read More Why Every PHA Should Go For Moving To Work (MTW)
We at ^Housing Futures believe in highlighting those who dedicate their careers to the provision of social housing. Today we learn about the Executive Director of Home Forward in Portland, Oregon. Q: What is your background (place of birth, place of residence, education, profession)? I grew up in a small town in Washington state and… Read More Public Housing Profile: Michael Buonocore from Home Forward in Portland Oregon
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