Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Housing Policy

  • http://www.housingpolicy.org/index.html
    Create a Successful Housing Strategy

    http://www.housingpolicy.org/building_a_strategy/index.html
    Toolbox
    Click on Toolbox for an overview of successful housing policies and examples of how they have been used to achieve key goals, including ensuring the availability of affordable homes, meeting the housing needs of older adults, and improving home resistance to natural disasters. The first page you'll see in the Toolbox section provides a portal to content in each of these areas, as well as the Key State Roles page - which provides special guidance on the unique contributions that states can make - and quick access to our A to Z Search page.

    In general, content within each of the major goal areas in the Toolbox has been organized into "roles" and "policies."  Roles represent overarching categories, each of which reflects a distinct way that states and localities can make a difference, and policy pages describe specific actions within those roles. Click here for a complete list of the roles and the policies that are included on HousingPolicy.org.

    Once you select a specific policy, you'll see a broad overview of the policy along with a case study of where it has been used effectively. To learn more, follow the links within the page or in the navigation box at the bottom of the page. These links will let you drill down to focus on the details of a specific policy. A "bread crumb trail" will appear at the top of each page to help you keep track of how far you have gone and navigate back to where you started.

    In addition to using the navigation box at the bottom of the page to move to the next section, you may find it useful to reference the "Quick Links" box in the upper right corner of each policy page. Use this box to view an outline of the content provided for each policy.  At any time, you can select All Roles & Policies from the Quick Links box to jump to another part of the Toolbox.

    Building a Strategy
    Click on Building a Strategy to learn how to put individual policies together to form a comprehensive housing strategy. This section of the site contains information about why a comprehensive and strategic approach to housing policy is important, how to develop a housing strategy, and the housing strategies that other communities have adopted. Building a Strategy also provides resources on how your housing strategy can contribute to other key goals, such as smart growth, energy efficiency, reduced traffic congestion and efficient public transportation, educational achievement, improved health outcomes, and reductions in housing discrimination.