A case study emerging from the Brookings Institution’s Community of Practice on Regional Housing Solutions.
Margaret Kaplan, community development director of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, writes the latest installment of a series of articles on the Brookings Institutions website that highlights innovative strategies and tools designed to help increase and diversify the supply of quality rental housing in opportunity and priority reinvestment areas.
Kaplan is sharing information about Minnesota’s Consolidated Request for Proposals—"an initiative that brings together multiple funding partners to advance state and regional housing priorities" and has funded $298.9 million in investment from Minnesota Housing and partners in the past years, "resulting in $883 million in housing development activity for the creation or preservation of 5,074 affordable housing opportunities."
Kaplan shares more of the history of the Consolidated Request for Proposals since its creation in 1994, it's key characteristics, and the changes implemented over the years.
FULL STORY: The state’s role in financing regional housing priorities: Minnesota’s Consolidated RFP
Minnesota Investing $346 Million in Affordable Housing
A $988 million bonding bill approved by Minnesota state legislators earlier this year is paying off in funding for affordable housing projects around the state.
Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.
Boston Affordable Housing Program Meets 1,000-Unit Goal
The program offers zero-interest loans to developers that keep rental units affordable for at least 50 years.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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