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Journal Article
Massachusetts mortgage summit issues recommendations
In April 2007, the Massachusetts Division of Banks reported on the recommendations of its mortgage summit. The summit brought together a wide range of stakeholders to develop concrete responses to the problem of rising foreclosures. This article describes the collaborative process used in the mortgage summit and the recommendations issued. These recommendations illustrate a number of possible remedies to limit foreclosures and their impact on consumers and communities.
Journal Article
Data corner: remittances
Recent data on remittances to Latin America, including remittances from New England.
Journal Article
The Elm City resident card: New Haven reaches out to immigrants
Cities with sizable immigrant populations are responding to the issue of illegal immigration in different ways. In 2004, the City of New Haven began to actively collaborate with its immigrant population for the purpose of finding ways to increase public safety and integrate immigrant residents into the civic life of the community. This article describes some of the policy choices made by the city in recent years.
Journal Article
What do the neighbors think?: assessing the community impact of neighborhood stabilization efforts
In the wake of the mortgage crisis, neighborhood stabilization efforts have been launched to allay some of the "secondary effects of the mortgage crisis?the economic and social impacts on properties, neighborhoods, and communities." One example of this kind of effort is the federally funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which provided several million dollars to the City of Boston in order to acquire, rehabilitate, and resell abandoned, foreclosed homes in high-foreclosure neighborhoods. The author discusses preliminary findings from ongoing research exploring the effect of ...
Journal Article
Variations on an American dream: alternative homeownership models
With homeownership central to the national economy and U.S. housing policy, the drop in homeownership rates could have long-term negative consequences. A growing body of research argues that alternative homeownership products, such as limited equity cooperatives and lease-to-own models, can offer participants many of the benefits of ownership while reducing some risks. However, these models are not widely implemented or understood. This article asks experts in the housing field about the prospects of greater adoption of these models.
Journal Article
The changing faces of America's children and youth
Recent U.S. Census Bureau projections indicate that by the middle of this century, non-Hispanic whites will cease to be a majority of the American population. In this article we document how for America's youngest residents, the future is already here. America's rapidly changing racial and ethnic composition has important implications for intergroup relations, ethnic identities, and electoral politics.
Journal Article
Massachusetts’ efforts to address foreclosed properties
Massachusetts has been ahead of the curve in combating neighborhood deterioration as real-estate-owned (lender-owned) foreclosed properties increase. Affordable housing developers, community groups, municipal and state officials, and nonprofits have created a Foreclosed Property Task Force and an online database that is accessible by all the partners. The database is already improving decision making about where resources would have the most impact.
Journal Article
Challenges of the small rental property sector
Most rental housing in America is found in small multifamily buildings and this sector provides most of the options for low- and moderate-income (LMI) renters. With a growing wave of investors buying distressed properties in LMI neighborhoods, there are concerns about the ability of investors to properly maintain their investments. The author explores the small multifamily sector and suggests ways that policymakers can move beyond code enforcement and provide a combination of carrots and sticks to incentivize and increase the presence of ?good actors."
Journal Article
The marriage of green and affordable
Developers are beginning to apply green design to affordable housing. The budding practice has the potential to provide significant benefits to lower-income families, who pay proportionately more for energy and are disproportionately affected by poor air quality. This article discusses the case for uniting green and affordable and highlights the first national design and construction criteria for green affordable homes.
Journal Article
Using new markets tax credits to mitigate the impact of foreclosures on communities
The author presents an overview of what is being done and offers community development practitioners? ideas about how to refine and strengthen the federal program. One example: change the program to allow a separate, additional allocation of tax credits for the purchase and resale of foreclosed property in low-income areas.