New Case Study Posted

May 09, 2017  

BRIGHT Study Finds Improved Health at Boston Housing Authority’s Old Colony Homes

HUD User publishes a series of case studies based on federal, state, and local strategies that increase affordable housing opportunities and support sustainable community development. The projects and community development efforts featured in these reports have demonstrated innovation through a multitude of partnerships and initiatives.

To measure the impact of healthy housing features and practices on resident health, satisfaction, and comfort, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) partnered with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Committee for Boston Public Housing to conduct the Boston Residential Investigation on Green and Healthy Transitions (BRIGHT) study. The BRIGHT study used BHA’s redevelopment of several public housing properties, such as the distressed 840-unit Old Colony public housing community built in 1941, to examine the effects of the new housing on residents’ health. The study revealed better indoor air quality and health outcomes for residents living in the new units built with healthy housing practices and features, such as improved ventilation and tight building envelopes, than for residents of the older housing.

Visit HUD User’s Case Studies page to learn more about healthy housing and to view other promising examples of how communities across the nation are raising the bar on sustainable community development.

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