EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.”

EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.”

EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.

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EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.”

 

EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.

EVIDENCE BASED PLANNING

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.