Eden Housing
The impact of affordable housing on children’s health
February 9, 2009
In her work leading the Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group, Dr. Lauren Smith, Medical Director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, has uncovered many links between safe, appropriate affordable housing and children’s health. In this episode of the Affordable Housing podcast, Dr. Smith explains the ways in which children’s health suffers when they’re…
Affordable Housing in the Economic Stimulus package
January 22, 2009
Substantial investment in affordable housing constitutes economic stimulus that would create not only housing but jobs. In California alone, there are more than 32,000 shovel ready affordable homes that could be started this year, leading to the creation of an estimated 37,000 badly needed jobs. Matt Schwartz, President of the California Housing Partnership Corporation, explains…
Destination: Home – Efforts to End Homelessness
January 12, 2009
While an increasing number of families face foreclosure, Santa Clara County’s Blue Ribbon Commission to End Homelessness is doing all it can to provide coordinated services to get people into transitional and permanent housing. Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage describes how they’ve made significant progress is getting access to free transportation for homeless community…
Strategies for ending affordable housing crisis
December 29, 2008
In an effort to end America’s affordable housing crisis, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has set an ambitious goal: to build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million affordable rental units. Its president, Sheila Crowley, shares the history of the affordable housing crisis in America, her perspective on the progress made in addressing the problem, and…
Andre Shashaty, Founder and 15 year editor, Affordable Housing Finance
December 15, 2008
The subprime and foreclosure crises are clues to the deep-rooted housing crisis that has plagued our nation for decades. In this episode of the Affordable Housing Podcast, Andre Shashaty, founder and editor for 15 years of Affordable Housing Finance, shares the advice given to the Obama administration about housing and HUD, the federal department of…
Help for Homeowners Fearing Foreclosure
November 17, 2008
With proper guidance and assistance, many homeowners can avoid foreclosure even when all signs point to losing their homes. Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America, supports a network of more than 240 affordable housing and community development organizations serving over 4,000 communities. In this podcast episode, he addresses the state of the housing crisis in…
Dianne Spaulding, Executive Director Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
November 3, 2008
One of the major policy tools to address the affordable housing crisis is inclusionary housing, also called inclusionary zoning. These ordinances require or encourage market rate developers to include a percentage of homes in their projects – often 10-20% – that will be affordable to low and moderate income households.On this episode of the Affordable…
Foreclosure Impact and Permanent Funding with Lynne Jacobs, Dir., CA Housing & Community Develop.
October 20, 2008
Prior to the current foreclosure crisis, countless working Californians were not earning enough money to afford decent housing. While Proposition 1C created bonds to fund affordable housing, that money will run out. Lynne Jacobs, Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, discusses efforts to secure a permanent source of funding on this…
Transit Based Development with James Corless, Senior Planner with the Metropolitan Transit Commission
October 6, 2008
Those who build and manage affordable housing developments for low income families, seniors, and adults with disabilities prioritize locating this housing near good public transit. In the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) studies, develops and finances transit systems and is a key player in advocating for the development of transit-based…
Government Funding with California State Assembly Member Alberto Torrico
September 22, 2008
With a pervasive budget crisis in the state of California filtering down to the counties and cities, it’s hard to be hopeful about the continued funding of affordable housing projects. Yet state Assembly member Alberto Torrico is very optimistic. In this episode of the “Affordable Housing” podcast, Torrico proposes an alternative method to secure a…