International Observatory on Social Housing
Examine the world of social housing from an international perspective.
Public and affordable housing in the USA is always at risk of budget cuts and over-regulation. Our cries as an industry for more funding and attention are often ignored. Below is a mixture of theoretical high level ideas and concepts to shake up the industry. I do realize these ideas might come off as flippant... Continue Reading →
HUD and the EPA are clearly putting a large focus back on lead based paint. Recently, staff from both agencies in D.C. swung through the Pacific Northwest and conducted lead based paint reviews with several housing authorities. There is a good chance that more housing authorities will be reviewed in the upcoming weeks and months.... Continue Reading →
Are there too many PHAs? I am not postulating but simply asking a question. There are around 3500 public housing authorities throughout the United States administering around 3.2 million affordable housing units mainly through public housing and housing choice voucher programs. The majority of these housing authorities are extremely small. In some states there... Continue Reading →
Private contractors are becoming a reality in the world of public housing. Growing costs, increased complexities and the training of staff has made managing voucher programs extremely difficult. Enter the contractor. I am making zero recommendations here but just giving an overview of some of the major players in the game. I have friends who... Continue Reading →
Dr. Carson's appointment to be the leader of HUD was universally derided by many within the public housing sector. His lack of experience in the housing sector was often cited as the reason. While Dr. Carson might not have experience in the housing arena, he has the opportunity to make a major mark on... Continue Reading →
This is a very controversial subject within the public housing world. When it comes to time limits in federally subsided housing programs, there are many on both sides of the argument. This blog is meant to simply introduce a few of the housing authorities that went down this road and their reasoning for... Continue Reading →
There are so many dedicated professionals working on the homeless issue around the world that we can sometimes forget to stop and appreciate the hard work and innovation. Below are 5 interesting programs, developments or ideas that have been implemented around the world. Hyper Aggressive Housing First in Finland: Finland as a country made housing... Continue Reading →
How do Social and Public Housing Associations respond to tenant needs? It is hard to imagine a better example of responsiveness to tenant needs than what is taking place in Copenhagen. I recently met Ulia Gregor who works for a large social housing organization called DAB Copenhagen. In fact, her organization has over 50,000 units.... Continue Reading →
There are often complaints that the public sector is not innovative enough or is far behind the private sector. While there is truth in that statement, there are still hundreds of housing authorities around the world trying out and experimenting with new ideas to help the citizens and residents of their communities. Here are a... Continue Reading →
I recently had a chance to meet and hear from Dr. Rudiger Ahrend the head for the Urban Programme in the OECD’s Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. He gave a presentation at Housing Europe's yearly conference regarding the rise of large cities and the challenges that it presents for housing. Dr. Ahrend... Continue Reading →
International Observatory on Social Housing 