News & Events

The Impacts of Affordable Housing on Education

A growing body of research suggests that stable, affordable housing may provide children with enhanced opportunities for educational success. While schools and teachers bear principal responsibility for children's education, research shows that a supportive and stable home environment can complement the efforts of educators, leading to better student achievement.

This report by the Center for Housing Policy is an update to a 2007 literature review which examined the various ways in which the production, rehabilitation, or other provision of affordable housing may affect educational outcomes for children. Six prominent themes are discussed and include:

Stable, affordable housing may reduce the frequency of unwanted moves that can be disruptive to a child's educational experience;

Creating mixed-income communities increases the likelihood that all children will be exposed to more support for education and stronger school systems;

Providing decent, quality affordable housing reduces housing-related stress that can contribute to poor educational outcomes for children;

Safe, decent, well maintained housing will reduce the incidents of housing-related health hazards such as lead poisoning and asthma that impact learning;

Affordable housing developments can be a platform for educational improvement by providing residential-based after-school programs;

Affordable housing supports children's educational achievements by reducing homelessness among families with children.

Annually, funding for education is the largest line item in the budgets of all our jurisdictions in Northern Virginia. As a region, we understand the importance of, and are willing to invest in quality education for our children, so this issue has high community value and is allocated the necessary resources. If the provision of safe, affordable housing has an impact on a child's ability to learn and be successful, doesn't it make sense to protect that educational investment with an appropriate investment in affordable housing?

To read the report in it's entirely, click here http://www.nhc.org/media/files/Insights_HousingAndEducationBrief.pdf.

Fairfax County Affirms Their Commitment to Workforce Housing for Tysons

Last Friday, Fairfax County and the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing co-hosted a Tysons Workforce Housing Summit, showcasing the newly adopted comprehensive plan for Tysons and the future of workforce housing there.

The extension of Metro and the planned arrival of four metro stops in 2013 provided the framework for a multi-year community visioning process that produced comprehensive plan language to guide the growth of Tysons over the next twenty years, and a mechanism to revisit continued redevelopment beyond that date. The desired outcome of the plan is to create a more compact, pedestrian-friendly urban area with a mix of uses, multi-modal transit options, and plenty of opportunities for people to live, work and play. Central to the success of that vision are policies that dramatically increase residential development to provide balance to the job growth that is projected to take place over the next 40-50 years, the expected build-out period for the Tysons plan.

The new housing policies for redevelopment in Tysons require 20 percent of all residential development to serve households between 50 - 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). During a presentation at the summit, Fairfax County Chairman Sharon Bulova joined a distinguished panel of speakers led by former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and including Bart Harvey, former Chairman of Enterprise Community Partners; Tom Bozzuto, CEO of the Bozzuto Group; Ron Terwilliger, Chairman Emeritus of Trammell Crow Residential; and John McClain, Deputy Director, GMU Center for Regional Analysis in affirming the commitment of Fairfax County to housing at Tysons that serves households and a workforce at a variety of income levels. Among the themes reiterated during the presentation were:

A 20 percent workforce housing requirement is achievable at Tysons;
The provision of workforce housing is desirable and critical to the success of Tysons as a vibrant, economically sustainable urban center;
A supply of workforce housing will be essential to recruit and retain a 21st century workforce for Tysons;
The entire Board of Supervisors is supportive of and committed to the housing policies for Tysons.

Other key stakeholders spoke about the importance of workforce housing to the future of Tysons. SAIC, a landowner and large employer in Tysons, shared their plans for residential development in redesigning their 18 acre site, and spoke about the housing needs of the 25 percent of their workforce that makes between 50-80% of AMI. GMU's John McClain opened the discussion with statistics on the number of housing units that will be needed (80,000) to accommodate the projected job growth, and noted that 55% of all jobs in Fairfax County earn $50,000 or less.

At the close, the Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing announced that they will be a partner with Fairfax County to provide technical assistance and support for developers working through strategies for financing and developing the residential component of their site plans.

The Alliance was pleased to be a member of the Housing Committee of the Tysons Task Force that developed the recommendations for workforce housing, and we applaud Chairman Bulova and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for their strong support and commitment to the implementation of the Plan. The promise by the Terwilliger Center to assist Tysons developers who are less familiar with affordable housing financing strategies is good news, and a partnership that the Alliance would like to see replicated with other jurisdictions that develop inclusionary zoning requirements for affordable and workforce housing.

Housing Policy Framework For the Commonwealth of Virginia: An Interim Report to the Governor

Bob Sledd, senior economic advisor to Governor Robert McDonnell, presented the Interim Housing Policy Framework Report and the Initial Report of the Homeless Outcome Advisory Committee at the Governor's Housing Conference in Richmond on November 18. These interim reports, created by two separate work groups, were developed in response to the Governor's Executive Order issued in April 2010, to develop recommendations for a state housing policy that would acknowledge housing as an essential factor in economic development, the provision of human services and the development of transportation systems.

Work efforts from the Executive Order have resulted in: 1) the creation of the Virginia Foreclosure Task Force to respond to issues related to foreclosure and housing market recovery; 2) an initial action plan to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of state resources in order to prevent homelessness and address the needs of homeless Virginians; and 3) 14 policy recommendations that address the need to streamline regulations, better link housing with jobs and transportation, promote sustainable communities, and ensure the provision of a range of housing options that address the needs of all Virginians.

In his presentation, Mr. Sledd noted that, "these recommendations seek to realign existing priorities in light of no new resources," so there should be no expectation of new programs or new funding for housing, at least in the short term.

However, there are some positives that housing advocates can take away from this initiative. One of the 14 policy recommendations in the Interim Housing Policy Framework Report calls for the creation "of a structure authorizing a state housing trust fund to enable a consistent source of "gap" financing for affordable housing development." Other recommendations call attention to:

establishing priorities for mixed-income housing for all income groups and housing types;

balance between homeownership and rental opportunities,

preservation of existing affordable housing;

linking housing, employment and transportation through establishment and alignment of land use priorities and incentives; and

regional affordable housing planning incentives.

The recommendations of the Homeless Outcome Advisory Committee offer more encouraging news. While most of their recommendations focus on realigning priorities among specific state agencies to create efficiencies in levels of service for homeless individuals and families, the Committee did establish a quantitative goal of reducing homelessness in the Commonwealth by 15 percent in three years.

It is unclear at this time what the next steps will be, but both committees will continue to meet into 2011, and the Alliance will monitor and report on their progress. For now, advocates should view these interim reports as a structure or framework for a future housing policy that must be filled in over time with programs and resources to achieve the stated goals. These reports target all the right outcomes, but details, resources and implementation plans are lacking. Nevertheless, the Alliance applauds Governor McDonnell for initiating the discussion.

To read the reports of both committees, go to http://virginiahousingpolicy.com/.

Why Invest In Affordable Housing?

This two page document provides strong talking points with accompanying research that supports community investment in affordable housing. Advocates must continue to remind both our elected officials and the general public about the benefits that affordable housing provides for our communities, especially at this time when jurisdictions are deliberating priorities for their FY2012 budgets. Decent, affordable housing promotes family stability and a child's ability to succeed in school. The construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing creates jobs and fuels local economies; and if jurisdictions provide housing for the workforce near job centers, there would be fewer and shorter commutes - a benefit for us all!

We encourage you to download a copy of this document and share it with your advocacy community. Our thanks and appreciation goes to Klein Hornig for researching and creating this document.

To read the document, click here.

Call To Action: Restoring Housing Funding
Two new studies on the state of housing in the Washington metro area were released recently. These reports, from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Urban Institute, can be added to the established body of research that demonstrates the persistent and growing shortage of affordable housing for low and moderate income families.

As stated in ULI's report summary, "Despite recent shifts in the regional housing market, land values and home prices in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area remain unattainable for a large portion of workforce households."

Studies by GMU's Center for Regional Analysis and other research firms have shown that the Northern Virginia region needs tens of thousands of units of affordable rental housing near job centers and transit nodes for our workforce, as well as affordable housing for our most vulnerable families and individuals who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless or have special needs.

Housing advocates have an important role to play in addressing this shortage. First, using available research and the real life stories of low and moderate income families, advocates should continue to educate local elected officials about the need. Foreclosures and reduced real estate values have given many political leaders the mistaken impression that housing affordability is no longer an issue.

Second, it is time for all jurisdictions to identify an appropriate, dedicated source of funding that can be used to address this housing shortage. Providing housing opportunities for households of all incomes is a component of the infrastructure necessary for a healthy, vibrant sustainable community - no less important than excellent schools, adequate public safety and an efficient transportation network.

To assist advocates in this work, the Alliance has developed a new section on its Research and Publications webpage, "Call To Action: Restoring Resources for Affordable Housing." This section contains talking points, fact sheets and links to reports on our housing needs.

As local governments work through the fall to develop budgets for FY2011, housing advocates should be "at the table," working to restore funds for the preservation and construction of affordable housing that were eliminated in the last fiscal year. The Alliance will continue to share housing information and resources, and work with our partner organizations to develop the most effective strategies for restoring funding for affordable housing in our region. To review Call to Action, go to http://nvaha.org/NVAHA/ResearchPubs.html.