New Updates on The Edge - 12/16/2014

New on The Edge

Message from PD&R Leadership:
The Power of Peer Learning in Chattanooga
Over a dozen U.S. cities recently participated in an inaugural Peer-to-Peer convening, where they shared priorities and successes, discussed common challenges, and strove to develop new strategies to tackle the problems facing their communities. Mark Linton, Executive Director of White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities, discusses those challenges and best practices and steps for cities confronting these challenges.

In Practice:
Social-Purpose Real Estate Investment Trust Preserves Affordable Housing in Aurora
Mercy Housing Lakefront recently renovated 2000 Illinois, preserving 128 units of affordable housing near transportation and employment opportunities in Aurora, Illinois. 2000 Illinois was possible in part due to the Housing Partnership Equity Trust (HPET), a new real estate investment trust focused on acquiring and preserving affordable housing, which enabled Mercy Housing Lakefront to quickly purchase the property and begin energy efficiency renovations.

Trending:
Lessons from Japan: An Interview with Salin Geevarghese
As a country with a large aging population, Japan is confronting many of the same demographically driven challenges as the United States. After a recent visit to Japan for the OECD Green Growth Conference, Salin Geevarghese, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Philanthropic Innovation observed that Japanese cities are addressing these challenges by creating multiage communities suggesting a similar strategy to U.S. neighborhood revitalization strategies.

Spotlight on PD&R Data:
U.S. Housing Market Conditions
PD&R's U.S. Housing Market Conditions (USHMC) website contains national, regional, state, metropolitan, and local data and analysis in one location. Featured USHMC charts highlight the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the S&P/Case-Shiller housing price indices as well as trends in quarterly home prices by region.

Policy Update:
How Housing Mobility Affects Education Outcomes for Low-Income Children
Improving educational outcomes for low-income children is a topic of pressing concern for researchers, policymakers, and educators, especially in light of evidence that over time, the widening gap in test scores between children from rich and poor families and the growing divide between these groups in completed schooling hinder the socioeconomic mobility of low-income children.