States' Affordable Housing Effort: Evolving Federalism and Implications for Housing Policy in the U.S.

Professor Victoria Basolo from Urban Planning and Public Policy at University of California, Irvine to speak at luncheon regarding the ongoing changes to state-federal relations are reshaping the U.S. federalism model. In the area of affordable housing, the nation appears to be moving toward a reduced federal role and an increased effort by states in this policy domain. States to some extent have addressed a shrinking federal commitment to affordable housing with state funding, as well as legislation aimed at compelling local governments to respond to affordable housing needs in their jurisdictions. However, the support for affordable housing varies across states. It differs by direct forms such as state fund appropriations and indirect forms such as tax expenditures and regulation. While research has examined single approaches to affordable housing support, including single and multi-state studies, the literature lacks a comprehensive analysis aimed at explaining affordable housing support by states. This research examines a range of actions by states with two objectives: 1) to summarize many approaches to current state support for affordable housing; and 2) to develop an initial model aimed at explaining the level of state affordable housing support. This research uses a secondary data set constructed from a set of sources including the Census, the National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies, the Council of Development Finance Agencies, and existing literature. Quantitative methods are employed to describe and analyze numerous forms of state support and reveal predictors of state support for affordable housing. The implications of the analytic results are discussed within the context of a changing federalism framework.

Sponsored by the Public Administration and International Affairs Department on behalf of Engineering.

Pls contact Laura Steinberg at 315-443-2311 or ljs@syr.edu