Registration is open for the 8th National Housing Mobility Conference, to be held on Thursday, November 4 between 12 PM-5 PM. Registration is free (though we are asking participants to consider making a small donation to support the conference). Sponsored by Mobility Works, PRRAC, and the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. See the registration page here.
AFFH and schools: we recently submitted this letter to HUD and the Department of Education on behalf of a coalition of organizations and researchers urging closer collaboration between housing agencies and school districts in the affirmatively furthering fair housing planning process.
Housing infrastructure in the reconciliation package: the $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” package that emerged from the various House committees this week has major levels of support for housing infrastructure, with some highlights including:
- $75 billion for new Housing Choice Vouchers, including important investments in housing mobility services ($750 million) and landlord incentives in lower-poverty neighborhoods ($500 million)!
- $80 billion in long-overdue public housing capital funding – with an express override of the 1998 Faircloth amendment which restricted expansion of public housing programs, and more than $70 billion for the HOME program and the National Housing Trust Fund (although we and other civil rights groups had argued for AFFH siting principles, none of these project-based funds have particular geographic restrictions, which will leave to HUD the responsibility of encouraging off-site replacement public housing development and enforcing fair housing site and neighborhood standards for new and redeveloped low-income housing).
- $15 billion for Project-based Rental Assistance, which does include a priority for developments located in areas of opportunity.
- An unprecedented $7.5 billion commitment to a “Community Restoration and Revitalization Fund,” with grants for “community-led” housing and community development, including setasides for community land trusts and limited equity coops.
- A new $4.5 billion “Unlocking Possibilities Program” to incentivize planning for affordable housing and reducing exclusionary zoning.
- A 50% increase in the size of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, phased in over five years.
The bill next heads to the Senate.
Other news and resources
School attendance boundaries: powerful new research from the Urban Institute highlights patterns of segregation and resource disparities across school attendance boundaries for neighboring schools. See the report, Dividing Lines: Racially Unequal School Boundaries in US Public School Systems, and their online data tool.
New housing-schools brief from the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign looks at links between housing security, housing mobility, and education outcomes. See brief here.
Source of income discrimination: the updated dataset of state and local source-of-income laws that protect voucher holders from discrimination is now available on the Urban Institute’s open data catalogue.
Events
Tonight! PRRAC board member Sheryll Cashin discusses her new book, White Space, Black Hood with Paul Butler, a virtual book talk sponsored by Politics and Prose – register here.
Housing and school reform in Maryland: the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (home of the Baltimore housing mobility program) will be hosting a conversation with Mohammed Choudhury, the recently appointed Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Choudhury comes to Maryland from the San Antonio and Dallas school districts where he did pioneering work on school integration. The interview will air on September 24 at 10 AM; register here.
