New Updates on PD&R Edge

PD&R Edge, an online magazine, provides you with a snapshot view of our newly released research, periodicals, publications, news, and commentaries on housing and urban development issues.

PD&R LEADERSHIP

Factory Built Housing: A new age of experimentation

In the Leadership Message, Todd Richardson, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, discusses efforts to better understand offsite (factory-built) housing construction, identify barriers to its wider use in the United States, and explore whether this construction method could solve the challenge of providing more resilient and energy-efficient rental and homeowner housing at a cost that is affordable to more people.

IN PRACTICE

Pioneering Affordable Housing with Integrated Healthcare Services in Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, the third-largest city in New Jersey, relies on St. Joseph’s University Medical Center as its leading provider of comprehensive hospital services. A recent surge in redevelopment has strained healthcare services, disproportionately impacting low-income residents. Recognizing the connection between housing and health, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency launched the Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program in 2019 to encourage hospitals to invest in affordable and supportive housing. In response, the medical center partnered with the New Jersey Community Development Corporation to create Barclay Place, a 56-unit development serving as a pilot project for addressing the social determinants of health through quality affordable housing, services, and amenities.

TRENDING

HUD Charts on Existing Non-Rent Fee Policy

Rental housing fees (including application and screening fees) can significantly burden renters, making the true cost of housing less affordable. As part of the President’s Initiative on Junk Fees and Related Pricing Practices, HUD recently released charts compiling existing policy and guidance regarding non-rent fees in HUD’s Multifamily, Public Housing, and Housing Choice Voucher programs. These charts serve as a comprehensive guide to non-rent fees so that PHAs, owners, landlords, and tenants will better understand which fees are permissible. These resources will serve as an important reference in the ongoing discussion of the impact of non-rent fees on renters.

INTERNATIONAL & PHILANTHROPIC SPOTLIGHT

OECD Workshop on Homelessness: Preventing Homelessness and Securing Long-Term Housing Solutions

The challenge of homelessness is experienced worldwide, and although every country has its own cultural and institutional practices to address the issue, many aspects of homelessness transcend these variations. In November 2023, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) hosted a workshop for academic, public, and private-sector experts from OECD member and nonmember counties to help surface common challenges and identify effective strategies. Topics discussed included lessons learned during the pandemic and new approaches to addressing homelessness that combine rapid rehousing with Housing First principles.

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