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Affordable Housing Resources

Interested in affordable housing issues? The American Planning Association (APA) has put together an impressive list of affordable housing resources through a grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation. The list can be found here. APA has brought together over 100 articles and documents from APA publications that examine the issue of affordable housing in the US and identify and evaluate various possible solutions.

State of Illinois Housing Plan

On Monday, January 24, 2004, Governor Rod Blagojevich's office issued an advance release of Illinois’ first comprehensive housing plan, "Building for Success: Illinois’ Comprehensive Housing Plan," wrapping up the first year’s work of the Affordable Housing Task Force.

The Task Force was created by executive order to implement Illinois' first housing policy, as signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Sept. 16, 2003. The 35 member Task Force has organized itself into six working committees and includes various state and local officials, both appointed and elected, as well as 18 private sector individuals.

The Task Force was charged with developing a comprehensive plan for 2005 that prioritizes the housing needs of historically underserved constituencies: lower-income workers who cannot afford to live near their jobs, people struggling with homelessness, individuals with disabilities, seniors, and households living in "at-risk" affordable housing.

The plan kicks-off a multi-year agenda to promote affordability and choice for all Illinois households, create and preserve the state’s supply of affordable and workforce housing, and engage more local and state leaders in advancing housing solutions. It provides an over-arching message on the value of affordable and workforce housing to communities throughout Illinois, as well as detailed assignments, timelines, and accountability mechanisms for a variety of state departments and other key stakeholders. The Metropolitan Planning Council has been a leader on the Task Force and in policy and advocacy around affordable housing issues. Click here for their analysis of the report. Click here to download the full report from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

New trends in city street planning

In a recent issue of Sierra Club's magazine, there is an article about the Dutch concept of a woonerf - a living street - and how they are being re-introduced into European city planning to make streets safer for pedestrians and drivers alike.

Woonerfs work by using counterintuitive design principles: by eliminating traffic signals, stop signs and lane divisions, drivers are forced to slow down in order to navigate the road rather than drive on auto-pilot. Woonerfs are not straight lines - they wind and wend and lack sidewalks, forcing drivers to deal with pedestrians on a regular basis.

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