Affordable Housing Communities Research Articles

Factors Influencing Advance Care Planning Among Older Adults in Two Socioeconomically Diverse Living Communities.

Advance care planning (ACP) is an iterative, complex, and dynamic process of discussion, decision-making, and documentation about end-of-life care. The extent to which this process takes place in older adults in diverse socioeconomic settings is not well documented. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about ACP among older adults in two socioeconomically diverse settings to identify the individual and contextual factors that influence behaviors regarding end-of-life care. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An affordable independent continuing care retirement community and a high-income eligible (HIE) independent continuing care retirement community. Individuals aged 55 years and older who resided in independent living. A 61-item survey was administered. Simple descriptive statistics were used to examine the responses, and inferential statistics were used to evaluate which items were associated with key outcomes between the 2 settings. Seventy-seven older adults completed the survey. Significant differences in familiarity of terminology and knowledge of ACP, as well as significant differences in completion of advance directives and communication, were found between the 2 communities. No differences were found in attitudes and beliefs about end-of-life issues. Higher levels of knowledge and engagement in ACP were reported at the HIE community as compared to the affordable housing community. These findings provide insight into the influence of the contextual forces that encourage and support ACP.

No Competing Theory of Constitutional Interpretation Justifies Regulatory Takings Ideology

Compensation for excessive regulation of the use of property under the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment has gained wide acceptance. Introduced in 1922 in Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, and gathering considerable momentum in 1978 with Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, regulatory takings constrains government regulation protecting the environment, public health, consumer safety, affordable housing, and other community interests. Upon close examination, however, the regulatory takings doctrine does not appear to be justified by any of the competing theories of constitutional interpretation: textualism, originalism, or evolutionary document. Rather, the doctrine seems to arise from a misunderstanding of the Just Compensation Clause as guaranteeing a laissez-faire political economy. The initial parts of this article rely for the most part on existing scholarship analyzing regulatory takings under the textualist and originalists theories of interpretation. The bulk of the article is devoted to an examination of regulatory takings under the evolutionary document theory, which has received less attention in the literature of takings. The argument that the regulatory takings doctrine in its entirety is unwarranted under an evolutionary document approach is founded on the absence of precedent for granting the courts a significant role in the formulation of what is essentially economic policy, and profound conflicts between regulatory takings and core values of the Constitution, such as liberty, equality, and democracy. I also respond to claims that a broad reading of the Just Compensation Clause is necessary to balance the interests of property owners against society or that regulatory takings is a practical tool for property regulation. Finally, the article recommends an alternative system for government policy-making to control the use of property that relies almost exclusively on statutes and administrative regulations adopted by the political branches of government.

Space–time fixity and flexibility of daily activities and the built environment: A case study of different types of communities in Beijing suburbs

Space–time fixity constraint is an important concept in transport geography, but the influence of the built environment around both people’s residence and activity locations is not clear. Due to the housing reform and rapid suburbanization in China, various types of residential communities and diverse built environments coexist in the suburbs. Comparing how people’s space–time fixity/flexibility varies among different community types and built environments can thus enhance our understanding of the transition process in Chinese cities. This study investigates how space–time fixity/flexibility and their relationships with the built environment vary among different types of residential communities in Beijing suburbs. Activity-travel diary and 7-day GPS tracking data of 709 respondents in Shangdi-Qinghe area of Beijing collected in 2012 were used. We investigate how variations in space–time flexibility are associated with built environment factors and four different community types: danwei communities, commodity housing communities, affordable housing communities and relocated housing communities, controlling for personal, household and activity attributes. The results suggest the influences of the built environments at residential place and activity place are different, and the relationships between space–time fixity and the built environments of different community types are different. Space–time fixity is not so sensitive to the built environment for residents in danwei communities and affordable housing communities. Gender and age differences in space–time fixity are not consistent with what was observed in Western countries. This seems to reflect the influence of unique social, cultural and family norms in China.

Evaluation of a model community-wide bed bug management program in affordable housing.

Low-income apartment communities in the United States are suffering from disproportionally high bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., infestations owing to lack of effective monitoring and treatment. Studies examining the effectiveness of integrated pest management (IPM) for the control of bed bugs in affordable housing have been limited to small subsets of bed-bug-infested apartments, rather than at the apartment community level. We developed, implemented and evaluated a complex-wide IPM program for bed bugs in an affordable housing community. Proactive inspections and biweekly treatments using a combination of non-chemical and chemical methods until bed bugs were not detected for three biweekly monitoring visits were key elements of the IPM program. A total of 55 bed-bug-infested apartments were identified during the initial inspection. Property management was unaware of 71% of these infestations. Over the next 12 months, 14 additional infested apartments were identified. The IPM program resulted in a 98% reduction in bed bug counts among treated apartments and reduced infestation rates from 15 to 2.2% after 12 months. Adopting a complex-wide bed bug IPM program, incorporating proactive monitoring, and biweekly treatments of infested apartments utilizing non-chemical and chemical methods can successfully reduce infestation rates to very low levels.

Reflections on the Construction of Affordable Housing Communities

From foreign experience and lessons, the urban living space differentiation has brought about serious social problems. At present, during the large-scale urban residential development and construction process in China, there is a trend of differentiation, but it is not yet fully formed. In this regard, the author is trying to find out the ways to build affordable housing communities through such measures as the government policy guidance, the building of a harmonious community, the employment of mixed living pattern, and the heritage of humanistic ideas.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Homelessness in Canada

In February 2009, over 700 people gathered for more than three-days at ‘Growing Home,’ Canada’s second national conference on housing and homelessness (www.nhc2009. ca) to explore causes and solutions to this urgent problem. Conference delegates included those who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, their families, policy analysts, political activists, politicians, professionals, scholars, those in the affordable housing community, and concerned citizens generally. Over 140 academic papers and workshops were delivered by the country’s leading researchers and homelessness-serving practitioners. There is an enormous scale of homelessness in advanced industrialized countries such as Canada. In a country of over 34 million people, between 150,000 and 300,000 are homeless, and various levels of government commit from $3 – $6 billion to supporting those on the streets. There are structural issues that can increase the risk of homelessness, including threats to income such as a rise in unemployment, low assistance levels for those with disabilities and seniors, lack of social housing and rent supports, insufficient affordable housing, and too many precarious jobs (involving job insecurity, low wages or high risks of ill health). Then there are events in a person’s life

Community Approaches to Meet Residents’ Needs in an Affordable Public Housing Community

The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Atlanta Housing Authority are working together to address the unique challenges and opportunities of naturally occurring retirement communities. Leveraging local partnerships and several converging initiatives, a multidisciplinary team is developing and coordinating resources and supports while re-imagining the physical structure of affordable public housing communities for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. This article will examine how the application of the Atlanta Regional Commission's Lifelong Community framework in one high-rise apartment building, Marian Road, has broadened supports for aging residents while changing the way the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Atlanta Housing Authority serve the needs of current and future older adults. However, it is clear that replication on any significant scale will require a shift in federal and state rules that regulate housing construction, housing subsidies, and community-based services that only marginally support and in some cases thwart this work.

The role of architectural research centers in addressing climate change

ABSTRACT: It is clear that an urgent, major transformation needs to happen in the design of the built environment to respond to impending climate change and other environmental degradation. This paper will explain the potential role of architectural research centers in this transformation and provide examples from the Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR) at the University of Minnesota. A research center can become a regional hub to coordinate and disseminate critical information. CSBR is leading the establishment of Architecture 2030 standards in Minnesota, assisting local governments in writing green building policy, providing design assistance to local government, developing tools to assist design decision making, providing technical assistance to the affordable housing community inMinnesota, and establishing a regional case study database that includes actual performance information. CSBR is creating a publicly accessible, credible knowledge base on new approaches, technologies and actual performance outcomes. Research centers such as CSBR can be a critical component of the necessary feedback loop often lacking in the building industry. A research center can also fill major gaps in providing in depth professional education as well as be a catalyst for demonstration projects and public education.

Computeen: A Randomized Trial of a Preventive Computer and Psychosocial Skills Curriculum for At-Risk Adolescents

Computeen, a preventive technology and psychosocial skills development program for at-risk adolescents, was designed to improve computer skills, self-esteem, and school attitudes, and reduce behavior problems, by combining elements of community-based and empirically supported prevention programs. Fifty-five mostly Latino adolescents from 12 to 16 years old who were living in affordable housing communities participated in this randomized wait-list control study. Results showed considerable improvements in computer self-efficacy, decreases in internalizing behavior problems, and excellent attendance and consumer satisfaction. Self-esteem and school motivation results were mixed. Computer self-efficacy mediated the relationship between improved computer skills and self-esteem. Younger adolescents showed greater improvement than did older adolescents. EDITORS' STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: Although there are limitations to this study's sample size and scope, Computeen appears promising as a developmentally appropriate, strengths-based prevention program.

Impact of Property Management Services on Affordable Housing Residents in Atlanta, Georgia

Several challenges and complexities are involved in managing affordable housing properties, including social programming, meeting financial goals, budgeting, complying with governmental and local housing regulations, decreasing tenant turnover and vacancy rates, and maintaining the physical building structure. Nonprofit organizations have recently taken on the task of housing the nation’s less privileged, lower-income households. Most nonprofit owners contract property management services to private management companies. This research measures how satisfied residents are with property management services at Defoors Ferry Manor, a nonprofit multifamily affordable housing community owned by Atlanta Mutual Housing Association. Of the thirteen variables, residents were least satisfied with expediency in which property management staff addressed their issues. A plausible explanation for this finding is the high turnover rate in property management staff. This research provides recommendations for successfully transitioning between property management staff.

Essential Function Bonds: An Emerging Tool for Affordable Housing Finance

Essential Function Bonds (or EFBs) are issued by housing authorities to finance the construction and substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing or other community facilities owned by state and local housing finance agencies. Although some state agencies issue EFBs as part of their efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities, local housing authorities have pioneered the use of this tool. As part of a broader effort to reform public housing, the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 authorized new ways to leverage capital and operating funds and stimulated interest in bond financing mechanisms. Building on information from a previous study, the Joint Center for Housing Studies surveyed local housing authorities and discovered that since the last survey in 1995 when agencies reported construction or rehabilitation of 16,063 units via EFBs, the use of EFBs has surged, resulting in the construction or rehabilitation of 41,615 units of housing between 1995 and 2002. This report briefly summarizes the nation's continuing affordable housing challenges and the efforts made by local housing agencies to expand production and rehabilitation of affordable housing. It discusses the survey methods used by the Joint Center for Housing Studies as well as the growing use and acceptance of EFBs. The report contains case studies documenting EFB use, and finally briefly discusses some of the policy challenges facing local housing agencies as they seek to meet continuing housing and community development needs.