New Awards Competition from the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute has announced a new awards competition, the Robert C. Larson Workforce Housing Public Policy Awards program, which recognizes innovative public policies and practices for the production, rehabilitation, or preservation of workforce housing. The winners will be emerging or established state and local programs that have considered local needs and conditions and actively fashioned an environment that fosters the production of workforce housing. The policies and programs honored with the award can serve as models for other communities facing affordability challenges.

Applicants will be judged on a number of factors, including the impact on the supply of affordable housing, comprehensiveness of the tools and programs employed, use of innovative strategies and tools, involvement of public/private partnerships, ability to leverage private and nonprofit funds, quality of the housing, extent to which workforce housing is located near employment and/or transportation centers, and extent to which the efforts are worthy of replication. The award application, directions for submitting the award, and contact information for questions are available from the Urban Land Institute. Applications are due by June 15, 2011.