New Updates on The Edge

PD&R’s online magazine, The Edge, provides you with a snapshot view of our newly released research, periodicals, publications, news, and commentaries on housing and urban development issues. Stay informed on current topics and check back frequently, as our content is routinely updated.

Featured: Zoning Reform at the State Level

In September 2021, the American Planning Association held a virtual panel titled "Winning Strategies to Zoning Reform at the State Level." The assembled experts discussed using data and research to advocate for beneficial zoning legislation and examined coalitions as a tool for achieving desired outcomes. The panelists also explored storytelling as a means of communicating with stakeholders.

Message from PD&R Leadership: A Worthwhile Challenge

In the leadership message, director of the research utilization division for PD&R Heidi J. Joseph discusses the recent publication of the digitized HUD Challenge archive on HUDUser.gov. HUD Challenge was a departmental magazine published from 1969 to 1978, recently rediscovered in the HUD library. Joseph describes a selection of articles of potential interest to contemporary readers, including the recurring Lines & Numbers column on housing data.

In Practice: Abandoned Naval Barracks in Seattle Converted Into Affordable Housing

Though it once functioned as a Navy barracks on a sprawling 413-acre base, by 2016, Building 9 sat vacant and deteriorated as vandals stripped its wiring and plumbing. That year, with the surrounding Navy installation long ago converted into a Seattle public park, the state of Washington signed Building 9 over to Mercy Housing to convert it into Mercy Magnuson Place. The complex now features 148 affordable apartments in 2 four-story wings and a 2-story central building with an education center, a community room, and a health clinic.

Research: Biennial Worst Case Housing Needs Assessment Reveals Ongoing Challenges in Years Before Pandemic

Every 2 years, HUD delivers a report describing the current state and long-term trends of worst case housing needs to Congress. "Worst case" needs describe the extent of unmet needs for quality, affordable rental housing, focusing on very and extremely low-income renters. HUD delivered the 18th report in 2021. It describes a nationwide deficit in decent rental housing affordable to low-income renters from 2017–19, the period immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts.

Trending: The American Housing Survey: Then and Now

The trending article provides a brief history of the American Housing Survey, the largest, most comprehensive national survey of housing in the United States. The longitudinal survey follows housing units over time, and has been collected every 2 years since 1973 by the U.S. Census Bureau with HUD sponsorship.

Spotlight on PD&R Research: High Home Sales Prices in a Tight Housing Market as Economic Activity Resumes in Spokane, Washington

The most recent article in a series focusing on HUD's Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses examines the Spokane Housing Market Area (Spokane HMA). This eastern Washington HMA includes three counties and has an estimated population of 593,700. Unemployment in the Spokane HMA was 4.3 percent in July 2021, lower than the national average, and economic activity had nearly resumed to pre-pandemic levels. The home sales market is tight, with low vacancy driven by population growth, and the rental market is balanced.

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