New Updates on PD&R Edge

PD&R Leadership:
HUD and the Importance of Data Sharing
In the Leadership Message, Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, discusses data sharing efforts at HUD. While individual data sets often focus on a single dimension of an individual or household, linked data sets can illuminate a fuller picture of an individual, household, neighborhood, city, or region. HUD shares data with other federal agencies, research partners, local governments, and the general public, leading to better policy outcomes and more efficient service delivery.

Trending:
In Conversation with Matt Desmond: How We Can End Poverty in America
Sociologist Matthew Desmond, author of the 2016 book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City and a MacArthur Fellow, joined Mary Cunningham, vice president for metropolitan housing and communities policy at the Urban Institute, and Myra Jones-Taylor, the Urban Institute’s chief policy impact officer, in a discussion about how individuals, policymakers, and communities can address and resolve the problem of poverty. Panelists discussed how policy and funding choices could either mitigate or perpetuate poverty.

International & Philanthropic Spotlight:
Global Cities and Affordable Housing: Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal’s capital and largest city, is home to more than 3 million people and is currently facing sharply rising rents for locals, largely caused by an influx of short-term housing rentals and a visa program for non-EU residents. In 2023, the government decided to end the visa program and restrict short-term rentals, though the measures have yet to take effect. The government’s other measures to resolve the housing crisis include having the state pay up to 200,000 euros in interest on home mortgages, increasing the amount of available housing, offering aid to low-income families, and capping rents.

In Practice:
Affordable Housing Opens in Houston as City Recovers From the Global Pandemic
Dale Carnegie is a 170-unit permanent supportive housing project in Houston’s Sharpstown neighborhood. Developed by New Hope Housing, the Housing First development primarily serves people who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. Opened in October 2020, Dale Carnegie is helping vulnerable Houstonians rebuild their lives in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey and the coronavirus pandemic.

PD&R at 50:
The FHA TOTAL Mortgage Algorithm: Providing Machine-Learning Analysis for Two Decades
Since 1997, the Housing Finance Analysis Division of PD&R has provided independent subject-matter expertise to support the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in its efforts to automate the approval of mortgage applications. Working with FHA, PD&R developed the Universal Scorecard for FHA Lending, which became known as the Technology Open to Approved Lenders (TOTAL) Scorecard. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rolled out TOTAL in 2004 and made it available to other FHA-qualified underwriting platforms. Overall, the FHA TOTAL Mortgage Algorithm has proven to be effective at calculating risk levels and has contributed to capital adequacy and credit access goals.

Please send your comments and suggestions to editor@huduser.gov.