TO AWARD-WINNING PLANNING MAGAZINE
I’m honored to be a longtime contributor to Planning Magazine.
I am their go-to reporter on issues of Universal Design and design for people
with disabilities.
The magazine
won SIIA awards.
A gold for
General Excellence & Silver for the Magazine Website.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Teryn Zmuda, NACO’s Chief Research Officer/Chief Economist, said databases can share not only statistics, but examples to benchmark.
She mentioned a Salt Lake County public-private partnership that created housing units with priority for people who needed disability-accessible units.
The development was connected to a county service center.
A Hennepin County project
put local residents to work rehabbing homes, then those homes were put on the
market as affordable housing for families.
“Pick up the phone and call a county that solved something you
are working on,” she said, noting data must always be combined with a firm
knowledge of local needs and traditions as well as innovative ideas borrowed
from peer county success stories.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
“American Rescue Act funds are $65.1 billion in direct funding to counties that are flexible in a way that allows county leaders across the nation to invest in housing needs assessment studies,” said Teryn Zmuda, NACO’s Chief Research Officer/Chief Economist.
“It gives leaders an opportunity to take the time to assess the complete landscape of their county.
They can produce data that leads
to housing stock, transportation, zoning, land use, ADUs (Accessory Dwelling
Units), gap housing and other solutions.”
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
The National Association of Counties (NACO) has produced a Housing Needs Analysis and Community Engagement and Planning tool:
https://www.naco.org/resources/featured/affordable-housing-toolkit-counties
Along with the sobering stat that more than one-third of all American households are burdened by housing costs, the tool has easy-to-follow solutions relevant nationwide.
It has a
plethora of advice on addressing affordability via planning and zoning, funding
and financing, inter-jurisdictional partnerships and advocacy resources.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
MHP and its Center for housing data team have created several tools that are exportable to communities large and small across the nation that are wrestling with the housing crisis:
·
DataTown –
housing and demographic information for all 351 MA communities, including a
feature that allows users to compare communities.
·
Transit-Oriented Explorer (TODEX) –
allows users to review densities around all 261 Greater Boston transit stations,
with a recommendation that 250,000 more units could be created if the overall
unit average around these stations were boosted from the current six units per
acre to 10 units per acre.
·
Residensity (coming
in Aug-Sept) – An expanded version of TODEX that makes it possible for users to
do analysis and draw zoning districts for every parcel of land in
Massachusetts.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has created a user-friendly resource that helps communities to analyze housing data to assess what their community needs: https://www.housingtoolbox.org/assessing-needs
“A housing needs assessment is one of the first things we recommend because it focuses a community on understanding its housing needs and how it can use local, state and federal resources to build housing to meet those needs.
The
Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s housing toolbox was created to be
an A-Z clearinghouse of resources we have created to guide communities through
the affordable housing development process, from understanding need to creating
zoning to providing local funds to support affordable housing development
efforts,” said Ruston Lodi, MHP Director of Public Affairs.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
“More than 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 every day for the next 11 years,” Barry Long, of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty said.
“Now we need to mainstream this so every MLS
in the country lists features of homes that are accessible, adaptable and
visitable.”
Accessible is move-in ready, adaptable is a home that can be readily adapted to accommodate a person with a disability and visitable is a home where a wheelchair user can visit a neighbor through a level entrance, one accessible bathroom and adequate space to move about the first floor.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION MUST
INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
We’re all in this together. Proud to share this wheelchair accessible Mobi-Mat image from South Beach.
Combine people with disabilities, people of color + LGBTG
community and we have a majority.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
In the first 15 months the form went live, there were 158,000 listings in the state.
Barry Long,
of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty was hoping 500 REALTORS would use
the form, but more than 4,000 did – a success story right out of the gate.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Barry Long, of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty, said he and Tom Minty, of John L. Scott Real Estate, soon realized that accessibility wasn’t a hindrance, it was the very definition of residential real estate sales – that “every different human being is looking for a house that fits their unique needs.”
Because Long has
outfitted his own home to his needs, he knew that a simple check box on an MLS
that a residence is “accessible” would be virtually worthless.
“So we rated accessibility in terms of approach, entrance, living space, kitchen bedroom, bathroom, utilities, elevator, ramps – we broke it down so a REALTOR who doesn’t know anything about accessibility can find out the accessible aspects for a property,” he said.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
“We approached the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and they were great. They said `we don’t know ho to do this, but we’ll give you access to the back end of our data base.’,” said Barry Long, of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty.
We worked with the Northwest Universal Design Council and figured out how to break down a property – how to assess each room or element for accessibility.
We researched what makes
a house easier to use: if you use a manual wheelchair, power one, are blind,
deaf, have autism, development disabilities or are neurodiverse.”
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Barry Long, of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty, who “motorcycled myself into using a manual wheelchair 31 years ago,” got so interested in the power of data bases that he scaled down decades of success as a motivational speaker to become a REALTOR in his native King County.
He gave a speech on how REALTORS can identify accessible or
potentially accessible homes and that led to him being matched with Tom Minty,
of John L. Scott Real Estate, -- who he didn’t know despite them living all of
eight minutes from each other.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
In the Seattle area, REALTORS Barry Long, of Marketplace Sotheby’s International Realty and Tom Minty, of John L. Scott Real Estate, have teamed up to use data to address a long-underserved market segment – people with disabilities.
CDC statistics find that up to one in four people experience some level of disability.
But HUD surveys have found, less than one percent of all housing is move-in ready for wheelchair users, and virtually all of that tiny one percent is newly built multifamily housing.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Guidance for Developing a Housing Needs Assessment, published by the Washington State Department of Commerce, cites several factors causing housing affordability problems, including:
Rising construction costs
·
New housing
construction that does not address local needs
·
Displacement, as middle- and
moderate-income households cannot find adequate affordable housing near job
centers
·
Short-term
rentals -- Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO make it easy for homeowners to convert
residential properties into commercial wealth generators.
·
Lack of
living-wage jobs, meaning workforce development can be as important of a
solution as lower cost housing.
“Shelter is the most basic of human needs,” the report states.”
When people can secure stable and affordable housing near locations of jobs and opportunity, they are able to focus on achieving other life goals, such as education, career advancement, health and wellness, or raising a family.
Without stable and affordable housing, residents face significant and sometime insurmountable challenges to achieving these goals.”
IT HAS FAILED AND SERVES NO ONE
It screams
that in one of the most-diverse cities in America, people with disabilities are
barely second class.
It says that
decades of mayors – from both major political parties – have failed.
They have supported
tax breaks and cushy deals for billionaires – promising tax revenue to fix
problems.
Yet long
into the 21st century, only a fraction of train stations have wheelchair
access.
Half the
elevators I examined were roped off, non-functioning or otherwise out of service.
The subjugating,
ignore the problem answer for decades has been that the bus system has wheelchair
access, so that’s enough.
Ever try to
get from Lower Manhattan to the Upper East Side…for a business meeting, for a
restaurant reservation…for a timed ticket to a museum?
The train
takes 15 minutes max.
Busses take
two to three times that long.
And the
irony is, for a lot of people with disabilities – such as those with rheumatoid
arthritis that have joint pain – the endless bumping and listing of a bus right
produces pain, discomfort and danger of injury.
So the default,
substandard ride option is the more stressful and fatiguing one – along with
taking up time.
It’s like
the city doesn’t think, a third of a decade after passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, that people with disabilities are vibrant, firm-leading
employees that need to move about the city rapidly: to keep their highly
productive lives in motion.
Imagine a transportation
system that said only White Anglo-Saxon Protestant abled-bodied males reaped
the benefits of the underground and elevated speedy trains – but everybody else
had to stand in the rain and snow for a slow, inefficient ride on a bus.
News of this discrimination would lead the local TV broadcast and top the newspaper headlines for weeks. Boycotts would take place.
Politicians would lead rallies
to overturn to abusive treatment.
How is it any
different when subways and elevated trains could have added elevators and ramps
for half a century, but have not?
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Brian Loughlin, Director of Planning and Urban Design at New York-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning, said data can help a city evaluate housing initiatives on the basis of affordability, accessibility and appropriateness.
Accessibility means access to jobs and services via walking or transit.
Appropriateness looks at the kind of housing needed.
Often there is a gap in
Missing Middle housing.
“The missing middle usually is more affordable than a single family home or high rise apartment.
People who are cost burdened can move into it.
Once they can afford other housing, they can move on and that frees up more
workforce housing,” he explained.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
“Housing is a regional thing. New York City housing depends on not just the city but New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island – we really need to approach things from an MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) to create regional solutions,” said Brian Loughlin, Director of Planning and Urban Design at New York-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning.
“The problems/challenges for everyday people -- transportation, economic, housing – are regional.”
Loughlin said data is proving that affordable housing is located
farther and farther from job centers – creating long commutes, traffic
congestion and a waste of urban core infrastructure in place to serve density.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Brian Loughlin, Director of Planning and Urban Design at New York-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning said the APA is trying to help smaller municipalities, the ones that don’t have the resources of huge cities and counties, to have tools that demystify the process of interpreting big data.
“We want all communities to be able to get a quick snapshot of
what their housing landscape looks like, so they can better address the housing
crisis,” he said.
Loughlin said a major issue holding back impactful planning
solutions is that programs and legislation stop at city/county boundaries.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Brian Loughlin, Director of Planning and Urban Design at New York-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning, is the chair of the APA’s Housing and Community Development Division.
“I’m based in New York and the good news is the city of New York spends a tremendous amount of money making data digestible -- down to a census block,” he said.
“It makes data accessible to planners – down to the census
block -- so it can be used as a tool to support the type of housing that is
needed: so we are not just relying on what the market is building.”
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
“Sometimes builders are not delivering what the community needs. Statistics can help demonstrate the demand to them,” Jones said.
“We hear all the time builders want to build it, (smaller units, more affordable/entry level housing) but cannot get financing.
Data can
help planners and housing authorities to partner with local banks willing to
help – the numbers can show the reality of what kind of housing is needed.”
The APA’s Mel Jones said land banks, housing trust funds, and land trusts are the three best tools for creating affordable housing and preserving land to accommodate it.
“Housing is not just the four walls. It is your connection to community, job opportunities, family, social networks,” she said.
“Housing is your foundation for everything -- affordable, quality, stable safe housing
is the way to cultivate a good citizenry.”
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
The APA’s Mel Jones encourages planners and government bodies to take action once they understand the housing needs data.
“Reducing uncertainty and risk reduces costs for developers.
If they know that a locality needs a particular type of housing and that the local government is going to support their efforts to build it, it is very likely that the locality can achieve its housing goals.
The more information a locality can provide to developers about where residents want to see housing built, what type of housing they are looking for, what they want it to look like, etc., the more likely developers are to respond to the community’s plans and goals,” the APA report states.
The APA guide suggests that municipalities create relationships with developers that have experience doing Low Income Housing Tax Credit deals, to deliver affordable housing.
TO TELL DISABILITY POSITIVE STORIES
I put on my
public relations hat and l reached out to friends at WSVN to pitch the story of
Rhonel Cinous' virtual flight to the moon.
Reporter
Kevin Ozebek delivered a pitch perfect story
I hope
everyone -- from space exploration fans to those who champion equity and
inclusion for people with disabilities – will share this story.
Rhonel's work with the Artemis1 crew for NASA was made possible by the amazing folks at the United Spinal Association.
Brilliant
Chief Marketing Officer Tom Scott led this.
United
Spinal's leadership by CEO Vincenzo Piscopo is opening new horizons for people
with disabilities.
I’m proud to work with a client as successful at United Spinal.
Here’s the story:
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Mel Jones, a Research Scientist at the Virginia Center for Housing Research, during an interview, tossed out a data analysis 101 caution.
She said some public officials might interpret stats that show 30
percent of their community is cost burdened and 20 percent are severely cost
burdened – add them together – and state half the community is burdened when it
comes to housing costs.
“The extremely cost burdened are also in the cost burdened numbers, so it’s a mistake to add the two together,” she said.
“Numbers are very interesting to people in terms of communicating the problem and bringing some sense of need to do something about it,’ Jones added.
“But use your intuition and knowledge of your own community.
In small and rural areas, a census tract may take in such a large area that the block level data is not totally reliable.”
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
In regard to housing affordability, Mel Jones’ APA work explains that HUD coined the term cost burdened to describe families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.
Planners are advised that cost burdened households may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
HUD identifies families who pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing as severely cost-burdened.
The agency notes households in this category may have to make difficult choices between housing and other basic necessities.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
The American Planning Association (APA) published a two-part series that is virtually the bible on data-driven housing assessments and action plans.
It was authored by Mel Jones,
a Research Scientist at the Virginia Center for Housing Research.
The APA memo guides users toward meaningful data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Consolidated Housing Affordability Strategy and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
A Housing Needs Assessment concludes with quantifying the number of housing units needed in the market by specifics such as:
·
Rentals vs.
for-sale
·
Price point
·
Number of bedrooms
·
Market segment (percentages
of housing types needed by families, seniors, young professionals, people with
disabilities, etc.)
The assessment typically provides recommendations on how to achieve certain housing goals and will provide recommendations on potential housing policy initiatives that would benefit the local housing market.
In instances where a community has available land that could be used to develop new housing or the adaptive reuse of existing structures, site-specific analysis can also be included as part of an overall Housing Needs Assessment.
An analysis can even be conducted on submarkets or select neighborhoods within the subject community.
Data sorts can be customized to pave a pathway toward meeting the
specific needs of a community.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
A Housing Needs Assessment is a tool that can turn data into a vivid picture of what a community needs now and in the future – for the core basic need of all humans – safe, affordable, well-located housing.
A Housing Needs Assessment typically involves compilation and evaluation of specific demographic data, economic characteristics and trends, current housing inventory and characteristics, government policies and incentives, and the adequacy and availability of selected community services.
PUTTING HOUSING NEEDS
ASSESSMENTS AND
HEALTH DATA TO WORK FOR
YOUR COMMUNITY
The United State is in the midst of an historic housing crisis.
Each day TV news lead
stories, newspaper headlines and online news sources tell the stories of
homeownership out of reach for the middle class, rents doubling in a few years
in hot markets and the working poor teetering on homelessness as millions spend
more than half of their gross income on housing alone.
Planners, long before the days of super computers and instant internet access to reems of data, have tried to create land use policy that meets the needs of a diverse population.
CIDADE DOS MIRADOUROS
Lisbon panorama from Mirador da Senhora do Monte, the highest point in the city and footsteps from my home away from home in Graca.
CIDADE DOS MIRADOUROS
Moon over Lisbon. Miradouro da Senhora do Monte Graca.
View next to Secret Garden social club -- with its Bossa Nova and Sangria Vinho Branco.
Portugal is filled with
romantic images.
