The availability of clean, high quality, and affordable housing is a core need for low-income families and individuals. Serving as the catalyst for the community development movement 40 years ago, affordable housing has been foundational for the advancement of the community development field with the development of extensive networks, supportive policies, and specialized capital to fund it. Yet challenges persist. Federal and local funding for projects and the entities that develop the housing remain tenuous; uncertainties in federal housing policy; economic factors affecting the recovery of the housing sector; and a growing consensus that affordable housing is integral but not sufficient for building a more comprehensive approach that is needed to address poverty and create economic mobility are just a few. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco seeks to support the stabilization of the affordable housing sector while identifying ways to meaningfully integrate it with other critical sectors such as health, transportation, and employment.
Publications
Innovations in Neighborhood Stabilization: Responses to the Foreclosure Crisis
Community Development Investment Review, Volume 9, Issue 2, 2013
The New Era of Affordable Housing
Community Investments: Volume 25, Issue 1, 2013
Housing Market Recovery in the 12th District: Implications for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
Research Brief (August 2013)
The Subprime Crisis in Suburbia: Exploring the Links between Foreclosures and Suburban Poverty
Working Paper 2013-02 (February 2013)
Investing in What Works for America’s Communities: Essays on People, Place, and Purpose (2012)
School Quality and Affordable Housing in the Bay Area
Research Brief (June 2011)
Sought or Sold? Social Embeddedness and Consumer Decisions in the Mortgage Market
Working Paper, 2010-09 (December 2010)
Transit-Oriented Development
Community Investments: Volume 22, Issue 2, 2010
The Current Landscape of the California Housing Market
Working Paper, 2010-03 (September 2010)
Place-Based Initiatives
Community Investments: Volume 22, Issue 1, 2010
The Effects of the Real Estate Bust on Renter Perceptions of Homeownership
Working Paper, 2010-01 (April 2010)
External Resources
Habitat for Humanity International
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Multi Housing Council
San Joaquin Valley Fair Housing and Equity Assessment (pdf, 4.4 mb)