Past CURA Housing Forum Topics
Summaries of past CURA Housing Forums. CURA often receives requests for copies of handouts, PowerPoint presentations, or other materials used by Housing Forum presenters. Where available, links to those materials are provided below.
2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
April 2008
The Pros and Cons for Cities Considering Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning
Jack Cann, Housing Preservation Project
Michael Noonan, Builders Association of the Twin Cities
Paul Merwin, League of Minnesota Cities
Three perspectives on how city plans could ensure provision of additional affordable housing in new developments. Materials from this Housing Forum are available for download:
March 2008
Margins to the Mainstream: Philanthropic Interests in Affordable Housing
Sandra Vargas, President, The Minneapolis Foundation
Kate Wolford, President, The McKnight Foundation
The new presidents of two large Twin Cities foundations discussed their future commitment to the provision of affordable housing. Kate Wolford’s PowerPoint Presentation (PDF, 214 KB) from the forum is available for download.
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February 2008
The Age Wave of Opportunity
Kathryn Roberts, CEO and President, Ecumen
A discussion with Kathryn Roberts, CEO and President of Ecumen, Minnesota’s largest senior housing and aging services company.
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January 2008
The Foreclosure Crisis: A Minneapolis Case Study
Mike Christenson, Director, Community Planning and Economic Development, City of Minneapolis
One local government’s response to ailing housing markets in the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Mike Christenson’s PowerPoint Presentation (PDF, 962 KB) from the forum is available for download.
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December 2007
Can Community Benefit Agreements Promote More Equitable Development?
Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Director of Research and Communications,
The Partnership for Working Families, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Art Rolnick, Senior Vice President and Director of Research for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank
Dr. Irma McClaurin,
University of Minnesota
Community development groups and individuals who have
participated in local community benefits agreements negotiations
The CURA Housing Forum partnered with the
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis' Community Development Forum for a special session on community benefits agreements. Community benefits agreements (CBA) raise hopes of enabling low- and moderate-income neighborhoods to share more equitably in the fruits of economic development projects. Can CBAs deliver on their promises? Several handouts from this forum are available for download:
Also available are PowerPoint presentations from this forum:
- Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, “Community Benefits Agreements:
Tools for Rebuilding Urban Economies” (PDF, 755 KB)
- Wireless Minneapolis, “Community Benefits and
Digital Inclusion Efforts” (PDF, 918 KB)
- Northside Residents Redevelopment Council, “A Community Benefits
Agreement with a Land Grant
University:
From a History of Distrust to Partnership” (PDF, 364 KB)
- Longfellow Community Council, “Community Organizing and
Community Benefits along the
Hiawatha LRT Corridor:
A Report from Longfellow” (PDF, 615 KB)
- African American Action Committee and others, “Building Our Community
Coalition:
Addressing Needs in
Brooklyn Park, MN” (PDF, 529 KB)
- Harrison Neighborhood Association, “A CBA for BVC” (PDF, 466 KB)
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November 2007
Why We Build Where We Build and Does It Make a Difference?
Paul Fate, Executive Director, CommonBond Communities
Elizabeth Flannery, Associate Vice President for Housing Development, CommonBond Communities
Ellen Higgins, Vice President for Business Development, CommonBond Communities
Al Raymond, Habitat for Humanity.
This Housing Forum was a follow-up to the September forum, which featured a public debate between University of Minnesota professor of Law Myron Orfield and professor of urban and regional planning Ed Goetz, who argued the topic, “Public funds to subsidize additional affordable housing should not be allocated to areas of impacted poverty within Minneapolis and St. Paul.” This forum featured a distinguished panel of housing advocates, who considered the question, “Why We Build Where We Build and Does It Make a Difference?”
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October 2007
Lessons Learned: Community Development Corporations and the Revitalization of East Franklin
Will Delaney, graduate student, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Alan Arthur, Aeon (formerly CCHT)
Theresa Carr, American Indian Neighborhood Development Corporation
Steve Cramer, Project for Pride in Living
Mike Haag, American Indian Community Development Corporation Mary Keefe, Hope Communities
A presentation on the role of community development corporations (CDCs) in the revitalization of East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis by Will Delaney, a graduate research assistant from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs who interned on a related project through Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization (NPCR). The presentation was followed by a discussion with a distinguished group of panelists. This forum was jointly sponsored by CURA and the Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers.
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September 2007
Debate: Use of Public Funds to Subsidize Housing in Inner City Neighborhoods
Myron Orfield, Associate Professor of law and Executive Director, Institute on Race and Poverty
Ed Goetz, Professor, Humphery Institute of Public Affairs
A public debate on the topic: Public funds to subsidize additional affordable housing should not be allocated to areas of poverty within Minneapolis and St. Paul. Myron Orfield, associate professor of law and executive director of the Institute on Race and Poverty argued in favor of using public funds to subsidize housing in poor inner city neighborhoods. Ed Goetz, a professor in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs with expertise in housing policy, community economic development and politics of urban and regional planning, argued against it.
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May 2007
Low Income Housing Needs in the East Metro through 2020
Paul Anton, Chief Economist, Wilder Research
Craig Helmstetter, Senior Research Scientist, Wilder Research
This forum reported on a study that looked at current needs in the Twin Cities east metropolitan region (Anoka, Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington counties) and made use of a nationally recognized housing needs model developed by the state of Oregon to help predict how those needs will change through 2020. Results were compared to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency/Family Housing Fund’s Next Decade of Housing report and the Metropolitan Council’s projection of housing needs through 2020. The PowerPoint Presentation (PDF, 630 KB) from the forum is available for download.
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April 2007
Stable Neighborhoods and a Strategy to Maintain Affordable Housing in Brooklyn Park
Jason Aarsvold, project manager, City of Brooklyn Park
Joel Spoonheim, economic development director, City of Brooklyn Park
Brooklyn Park is a transitioning suburb with a large concentration of affordable but outdated one-bedroom apartments that destabilize certain neighborhoods. The City has a strategy to redevelop a number of complexes, as well as an innovative affordable housing replacement policy. Aarsvold and Spoonheim discussed the City of Brooklyn Park’s approach as a case study for housing redevelopment in older suburbs. The PowerPoint presentation (PDF, 1 MB) from the forum is available for download.
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March 2007
Lending Practices and Shattered Dreams:
What Can We Do about It?
Karen Reid, Executive Director, Neighborhood Development Alliance (NeDA)
D. Tyler McKay, Researcher, St. Paul Coalition for Community Development
Prentiss Cox, Clinical Law Professor, University of Minnesota Law School
This forum addresses the impact of rising foreclosures on St. Paul’s neighborhoods, including an analysis of the causes for the trend and opportunities for reform. A factsheet on predatory lending (MS Word, 37 K) is available to download. PowerPoint presentations for each of the speakers at the forum also are available for download:
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February 2007
Greater Minnesota Housing Fund: Affordable Housing Strategies for
Greater Minnesota Cities and Towns
Warren Hanson, President and CEO, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund
This forum provided an overview of the work and accomplishments of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund in financing, design, and production of affordable housing during the last ten years. The PowerPoint presentation (PDF, 7.7 MB) from the forum is available for download.
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January 2007
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency’s 2007 State Legislative Agenda
Tim Marx, Commissioner, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA)
This forum focused on the 2007 state legislative agenda for the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MFHA). A PowerPoint presentation (1 MB) from the forum is available for download.
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December 2006
Hennepin County’s Role in Affordable Housing
Gail Dorfman, Hennepin County Commissioner
Cathy ten Broeke, City/County Coordinator to End Homelessness,
City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County
Marge Wherley, Social Work Supervisor, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department
This forum considered a number of the affordable housing initiatives sponsored by Hennepin County. The presenters reviewed the County’s current housing programs and introduced the County’s new plan: “Heading Home Hennepin: The Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County.” More information about the initiative can be found on the Hennepin County website.
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November 2006
Local Government's Role in Affordable Housing Planning and Policy: St. Paul and Minneapolis
Cynthia Lee, Manager of Multifamily Housing Development,
Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development
Gary Peltier, Senior Manager,
St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development
A discussion of local planning and policy initiatives for affordable housing in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Two PowerPoint presentations from this forum are available for download:
October 2006
Forty Years of Affordable Housing Programs and Policies—Back to the Future: What’s Worked, What Hasn’t, and Where We Need to Go
Panelists:
Joe Errigo, CommonBond Communities;
Bill Gabler, Wells Fargo, Minneapolis;
Dick Brustad, Brighton Development, Minneapolis
Moderator:
Jim Gabler, Gabler Housing Solutions
A panel discussion on the history and future of affordable housing in the Twin Cities. A housing policy timeline (MS Word, 46 KB) from the forum is available for download.
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September 2006
Meeting Regional Housing Needs in the Next Decade:
The Met Council's New “Housing Need” Numbers,
Local Governments’ Response, and Citizen Action
Ed Goetz, Associate Dean and Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Tim Thompson, Senior Attorney, Housing Preservation Project
This forum will address the Metropolitan Council’s new system for forecasting need and the formula applied to produce affordable housing goals for each community, and how local governments are planning to respond. Edward Goetz will present preliminary findings based on interviews conducted in 40 large or high-growth communities in the region. Tim Thompson will describe efforts to create “Citizen Action Guides” tailored to each community, designed to provide the background and context for citizen advocacy for affordable housing. A PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint, 630 KB) from the forum is available for download.
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May 2006
Minneapolis Corridor Housing Initiative: Engaging Communities on
Affordable Housing, Density, and Design
Ann Forsyth, Director of the Metropolitan Design Center and Professor and Dayton Hudson Chair of Urban Design at the University of Minnesota
Gretchen Nicholls, Executive Director, Center for Neighborhoods
The Corridor Housing Initiative is an exciting partnership among neighborhoods, city government, and a technical team of development consultants, design experts, and facilitators to connect market opportunities with neighborhood goals. Forum speakers presented a community participation model to create great neighborhoods that support housing choices for a mix of incomes and households, with access to transportation options, retail amenities, parks, and jobs. Several handouts from the presentation are available for download as PDF files:
More information about the Corridor Housing Initiative is also available at the following websites:
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April 2006
Affordable Housing—A Better Way to Show and Tell?
Using Google Earth and a New Fiscal Impacts Model for Community Planning and Acceptances
Dan Marckel, EDGE Project Coordinator, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
Jim Solem, Senior Fellow, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
Using experiences from the EDGE Project at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, this forum presentation demonstrated two new tools—Google Earth and a fiscal analysis model—for creating community understanding and acceptance of affordable housing proposals. A PowerPoint presentation from the forum is available for download in PDF format (file size 206 KB).
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March 2006
Sustainability of Small to Mid-Sized Neighborhood-Based CDCs
Paul Williams, Twin Cities LISC (moderator)
Steve Cramer, Project for Pride in Living
Nieeta Presley, Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood CDC
Dawn Stockmo, Fannie Mae Foundation
Community-based development is most effective when motivated by interests and needs of community members in a neighborhood or “place.” Organizations that can maintain close ties with community members and evolve development and programming to reflect changes in the community are the most successful at this. Inherently, small to mid-sized community development corporations (CDCs) are the most nimble. But it is this size and (often) narrow focus that also makes these organizations the most difficult to sustain—financially, and with the right skills and leadership to accomplish goals. Leaders of several Twin Cities CDCs (small, mid-sized, and large) provided their perspective, including comments on how this issue plays out nationally. A PowerPoint presentation from the forum is available for download in PDF format (file size 262 KB).
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February 2006
Deconcentrating Poverty through Public Housing Redevelopment?
Evidence from the Harbor View Project in Duluth
Edward Goetz, Professor and Director, Urban and Regional Planning Program and Associate Dean for Academics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
In 1993, the Duluth Housing Authority received $20 million in HOPE VI funding to redevelop the Harbor View public housing project. Located just north of downtown, the site offers magnificent views of the harbor and Lake Superior. To make way for a mixed-income community, 200 units of public housing were demolished. Families were relocated throughout Duluth and beyond. This forum examined how the redevelopment has progressed, where the original families moved, and the experiences of the families in their new homes and neighborhoods. A PowerPoint presentation from the forum is available for download in PDF format (file size 3.5 MB).
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January 2006
Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative
Jacqueline King, Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Timothy Marx, Commissioner, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Missy Thompson, Director, Fannie Mae Community Business Center
As a step toward closing the significant homeownership gap between minority and immigrant households to that of White households, the State of Minnesota has launched the Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative (EMHI). This forum presented an overview of the EMHI implementation strategies and provided a perspective on how the strategies are currently being advanced through the committees of color. A PowerPoint presentation from the forum is available for download in PowerPoint format (file size 479 KB). A handout from the forum is also available for download in PDF format (file size 5.33 MB).
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December 2005
Challenges and Achievements of the Plan to End Long-Term Homelessness
Richard Amos, Program Manager, St. Stephen’s Housing
Janel Bush, Director of Community Living Supports, Minnesota Department of Human Services
Laura Kadwell, Minnesota Director of Ending Long-Term Homelessness, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
A broad working group established by the Minnesota State Legislature in 2003 at the request of Governor Pawlenty completed a business plan to end long-term homelessness by 2010. The plan calls for multidisciplinary (housing, human services, corrections), multisector (government, business, nonprofit) and multijurisdictional (federal, state, local) strategies to address long-term homelessness. The key to success will be creating 4,000 additional supportive housing opportunities for people who have experienced long-term homelessness. This forum will focus on the achievements and challenges along the way to implementing the plan. The featured forum speakers are all key players in implementing the business plan. Janel Bush's PowerPoint presentation is available for download in PowerPoint format (file size 100 KB). Laura Kadwell's PowerPoint presentation is also available for download in PowerPoint format (file size 296 KB).
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October 2005
Thriving or Just Surviving? The Future for Twin Cities’ Nonprofit Housing Developers
Alan Arthur, President, Central Community Housing Trust
Jim Erchul, Executive Director, Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services
Joe Errigo, President and CEO, CommonBond Given the bleak outlook of federal funding for low-income households and state budget deficits, what are the prospects for the future survival of nonprofit housing organizations? This panel, representing three very different housing organizations, spoke to issues facing them, how they have been impacted to date, and how they plan to adapt and thrive in light of current fiscal and political environments. An article on European affordable housing efforts written by panelist Joe Errigo and referenced during the Housing Forum is available on the Star Tribune website.
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September 2005
Federal Housing Policy Shift and Local Challenges
Chip Halbach, Executive Director, Minnesota Housing Partnership
Recent federal government cuts to affordable housing are impacting low-income residents and communities in Minnesota. In light of these significant cuts, the Minnesota Housing Partnership is halfway through an 18-month project sponsored by The Minneapolis Foundation, Minnesota: Where Are We Going?, examining federal housing programs (particularly the federal Section 8 Rental Assistance Voucher Program). This initiative aims to help local communities organize to identify and support strategies for improving systems and changing public policies for the benefit of those Minnesotans most impacted. Chip Halbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Housing Partnership, presented details and preliminary findings to date of the project, challenges on the horizon, and spoke to broader structural forces at work in federal housing policy shift and strategies we can use to respond. Chip Halbach's PowerPoint presentation is available for download in PowerPoint format (file size 760 KB) and in PDF format (file size 1.8 MB).
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April 2005
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and Civil Rights
Myron Orfield, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the
Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program has become the primary means for funding new low-income housing throughout the U.S. as funding for public housing has dwindled. While HUD is required by law to “affirmatively further fair housing” by not building new units in segregated and very low-income census tracts, the LIHTC program has operated as if it is not under a similar obligation. Thus many of the LIHTC units are being built in neighborhoods already hobbled by concentrated poverty, arguably violating the federal Civil Rights Act of 1968. At the forum, Orfield will forcefully contend that the obligation to “affirmatively further fair housing” must be applied to the LIHTC program, as it was intended to apply to all federal housing programs and their grantees. Mryron Orfield's PowerPoint presentation is available for download (file size 2.95 MB)
March 2005
Tenant Screening in the Rental Housing Market:
What Are the Realities for Renters and Property Managers?
Kim Skobba, HousingLink
Jack Horner, Horner Law Office and General Counsel for the Minnesota Multi Housing Association
Increasingly, property managers are relying on private tenant screening agencies for information about prospective renters. While tenant screening can offer benefits to renters and property managers, there is concern that widespread use of tenant screening creates additional barriers for lower-income renters. Meanwhile, community initiatives, local ordinances and federal laws are making tenant screening a required part of the rental application process. The forum will examine tenant screening from the perspectives of both the property manager and renters. It will include the results of a recent HousingLink study on local tenant screening practices commissioned by the Fair Housing Implementation Council and discuss community crime-free initiatives, local ordinances and laws that are contributing to property managers’ use of tenant screening services. Kim Skobba's PowerPoint presentation is available for download (file size 438KB)
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February 2005
Using GIS for Community Development
Kris Nelson, NPCR Program Director
Jeff Matson, GIS Coordinator
Elena Gaarder, Executive Director, Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
Margo Dean, Community Development Director, Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
Since 1997, CURA has been working with community revitalization organizations in the Twin Cities to increase their capacity to use GIS (geographic information systems) for neighborhood revitalization and community development. This involves partnerships between university resources, community-based organizations, and public agencies. This forum focuses on the Minneapolis Neighborhood Information System (MNIS) project and M3D. MNIS resulted in greater access to online data and the development of an early warning system to identify a map “at risk” residential properties in Minneapolis neighborhoods. M3D, our current project, brings together labor market and origin-destination data on jobs and workers, and community level data to analyze and influence the spatial mismatch of growing employment and housing opportunities in the metropolitan area. M3D involves a partnership with several state agencies, including the Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Twin Cities’ metropolitan community development organizations and agencies. Jeff Matson and Kris Nelson’s PowerPoint presentation is available for download (file size 4 MB)
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January 2005
So What About Long-Term Affordability?
Jim Solem, Senior Fellow, University of Minnesota, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA)
Jim Solem, Senior Fellow at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, discussed the various financing tools that are available for providing long-term affordable housing. The discussion addressed a variety of issues including land trusts, single-family and multi-family housing tools, national/state/local funding issues, as well as the limitations and adequacy of these tools and how we can improve them or add new tools. Jim Solem's PowerPoint presentation is available for download (file size 529 KB).
2004
December 2004
Making Affordable Housing Sustainable
John Carmody, Center for Sustainable Building Research
Billy Weber, Center for Sustainable Building Research
John Carmody and Billy Weber from the Center for Sustainable Building Research addressed making affordable housing so that it is also energy efficient, healthy, durable, and has a low environmental impact. They presented the “Minnesota Green Affordable Housing Guide,” a web-based tool to aid in decision making (www.greenhousing.umn.edu). They also discussed the activities of the University’s recently funded HUD Community Outreach Partnership Center. Under this program, a series of innovative pilot projects are being constructed in partnership with the Wilder Foundation and the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation.
November 2004
Why Does Housing Cost So Much?
Michael Noonan, Vice President, Rottlund Homes
Jerry Boardman, Director of Housing Development, Central Community Housing Trust
Michael Noonan, a land developer and builder, analyzed the factors that have contributed to major increases in the costs of housing. Over the past five years, the median cost of housing in the Twin Cities has increased by almost 43% while median incomes have only increased by 20%. He contends that all forms of housing are more expensive than they need to be. He discussed what can be done to make housing less expensive and affordable for the population at-large. Jerry Boardman represented the non-profit developer community to offer his insights on the rising costs of housing from the non-profit perspective. Jerry Boardman PowerPoint presentation (PDF, file size 92.1 KB) is available. Michael Noonan’s Affordable Housing Paper (PDF, file size 135 KB) is also available.
October 2004
Housing 2004—The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The Changing Landscape of Housing Policies and Its Impact on Low-Income Housing
John Gutzmann, Executive Director of St. Paul Public Housing Agency
Susan Kimberly, Director of Department of Planning and Economic Development for City of St. Paul
What are the longer term prospects to provide housing for very low income households in light of shifting federal and state policies and priorities? How policy shifts could impact both Public Housing Authorities and the availability of Section 8 vouchers is a key issue impacting the housing prospects for this population. Susan Kimberly and Jon Gutzmann addressed this not only as it affects St. Paul’s Housing Authority and overall housing goals, but the potential impacts across the nation as well. John Gutzmann’s PowerPoint presentation (PDF, file size 797 KB) is available, as well as a Handout (PDF, file size 55.4 KB) from his presentation.
September 2004
Hmong Homeownership Trends: A National and Local Perspective
Richard M. Todd , Vice-President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Michael Grover, Senior Quantitative Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Within the context of the recent Hmong influx into the Twin Cities and the new Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative in Minnesota, this CURA Housing Forum examined how a specific low-income minority population has experienced strong homeownership gains in the Twin Cities, but not everywhere in the nation. Notably, in California's Central Valley, which has the largest concentration of Hmong-Americans in the country, Hmong homeownership has remained low. Based on a review of field studies and their own analysis of U.S. Census and other data, Michael Grover and Richard Todd assessed potential economic, policy, cultural, and demographic explanations for how such a sharp divergence in homeownership has emerged within the Hmong-American community. Todd and Grover’s PowerPoint presentation (file size 136 KB) is available.
May 2004
Adaptive Reuse of Signature Buildings
Warren Kramer, Director of Housing Development, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
Kevin Walker, Housing Program Manager, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
Large vacant and underutilized structures are common in many Midwestern communities. Often these buildings have local or regional significance associated with their prior use, architectural design and construction, or location in the community. In markets with documented demand, redeveloping these buildings in lieu of new construction can be accomplished in a way that delivers a unique housing type well accepted by the market and preserves landmark structures in the community. This forum included a quick overview of the feasibility analysis associated with a project of this type—including market, structural, and financial considerations—as well as case studies of actual projects, including examples from here in the Twin Cities. Kramer and Walker’s PowerPoint presentation (PDF, file size 3.2 MB) is available.
March 2004
Contrasting Perspectives on the Livable Communities Act and Affordable Housing in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Region
Karen Anderson, Mayor, City of Minnetonka
Edward Goetz, Professor, University of Minnesota
The Livable Communities Act (LCA) is the region’s framework for affordable housing development and has been in place since 1995. Has the program been an effective way of addressing the region’s affordable housing needs? Has it been an important source of support and resources for communities trying to increase lower cost housing? What is the program’s track record? Mayor Anderson and Professor Goetz offered contrasting views of the program in a panel discussion.
February 2004
Subprime Lending and Foreclosure in the Twin Cities
Jeff Crump, Housing Studies Program, University of Minnesota
Increasing homeownership among low-income and minority communities is a major goal of housing policy at national, state, and local levels. In particular, policies intended to open up mortgage markets to underserved populations have helped to increase homeownership in neighborhoods that previously had little access to financial resources. Although these loans—often referred to as “subprime” loans—may open up opportunities to underserved populations, critics argue that the high costs associated with such loans may undo hard-won gains. To better understand the potential effects of subprime lending, Crump presented an empirical analysis of subprime lending and foreclosure in the Twin Cities. Crump’s research findings were summarized in a Spring 2005 article he wrote for the CURA Reporter (PDF, file size 3.3 MB).
January 2004
Mid-Term Updates on the Housing Agendas of Mayor Randy Kelly and Mayor R.T. Rybak
Bob Schreier, Program Administrator for St. Paul
Lee Pao Xiong, Director of Housing Policy and Development for Minneapolis
Following up on visits from the mayors’ offices when they were first elected two years ago, these top officials come back to the CURA Housing Forum with updates on each city’s housing agenda. They discussed accomplishments during the past two years, as well as the outlook and challenges for the next two years that each mayoral office has for housing, including regulatory, funding, and production strategies and provisions for affordable housing. Lee Pao Xiong also reported on the reorganization of Minneapolis’ planning and development functions to facilitate affordable housing. Lee Pao Xiong’s PowerPoint presentation (file size 1M) is available for download.
2003
December 2003
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency—Housing Resource of Choice: Agency Goals and Priorities
Tim Marx, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner Tim Marx addressed the Agency’s five key goals for the coming years, provided an update on the progress of the Interagency Working Group on Supportive Housing and Long-Term Homelessness, and touched on some of MHFA’s legislative priorities for the upcoming legislative session. A PowerPoint presentation (file size 396 KB) from this Housing Forum session is available.
November 2003
Housing Policy: Where We Are At, Where We Need to Be
Cushing Dolbeare, Senior Fellow at the Harvard Joint Center on Housing
In 1949, Congress established the national goal of a “decent home and suitable living environment for every American family.” Today, with rising homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing, we are further from the goal of decent, affordable housing for all than at any time since the Great Depression. Cushing Dolbeare presented a direct perspective on current housing policy—where we are and where we need to be. Founder of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition and senior fellow at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Dolbeare has an outstanding record of leadership in affordable housing policy. In 2002, she received the prestigious Heinz Award for the Human Condition. A true voice for affordable housing policy, Cushing Dolbeare challenges our thinking for the future.
October 2003
Mixed-Use Development in the Twin Cities: Issues and Best Practices
Mike LaFave, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
JoAnna Villone Hicks, Neighborhood Development Center
Inspired by regional demand for new housing, by the hope of creating vibrant commercial centers, and by the ethos of the “smart growth” movement, planners, policy makers, and neighborhood residents have, with increasing frequency, been advocating for mixed-use approaches to development opportunities throughout the Twin Cities. “Mixed-use” typically involves one or more uses for a real estate project, including housing and commercial/retail components. Successfully accomplishing this type of development, however, has proven extremely difficult. Recognizing both the opportunities and challenges associated with mixed-use development, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) have partnered to conduct an analysis of key issues and best practices in this type of development—particularly from the perspective of making commercial space succeed in housing developments. A PowerPoint presentation (file size 4.3 MB) from this Housing Forum session is available.
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September 2003
A Lethal Agenda Called “Smart Growth”
Steve Belmont, Author of the book Cities in Full (published in 2002 by the American Planning Association) and founder of the Great Cities Alliance
“Smart Growth” practitioners try in vain to urbanize America’s suburbs, even as the leaders of core cities embrace the suburbanization of their devitalized neighborhoods. Urban neighborhood revitalization lies at the heart of any effective strategy to mitigate the social and environmental maladies of the American metropolis, but America’s urban leaders pursue stabilization rather than revitalization. Urban leaders who stifle the post-industrial evolution of their cities, thereby forcing population growth to suburbs, must accept responsibility for the lethal consequences. A handout (365 KB PDF file) from the presentation is available. Mr. Belmont’s PowerPoint presentation (WARNING: file size 14.7 MB) is also available for download.
May 2003
Fair Housing 35 Years Later: Reality or Illusion?
Mark Hendrickson, Principal Planner in the Housing Department for Hennepin County
Justin Cummins, Civil Rights Attorney with Miller-O'Brien and Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Minnesota
The Fair Housing Act was passed 35 years ago this April, but much work still remains to make this legislation reality. Hendrickson and Cummins led a discussion about the status of implementing recommendations from the Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing and other efforts to reduce barriers to fair housing in the metropolitan area. They described the underlying context of these efforts and touched on the fair housing implications for the ongoing affordable housing crisis. A handout (PDF format) from Mr. Cummins’ presentation is available.
April 2003
Affordable Housing Programs for Discrete Populations: Considering the Many Rivers Project for Native Americans as a Case in Points
Gordon Thayer, American Indian Housing and Community Development Corporation
Larry Leventhal, Larry Leventhal & Associates
Gordon Thayer is heading up the Many Rivers Project, which is a bold, new experiment to provide affordable housing to the Native American community. He spoke about the Many Rivers Project and developing affordable housing in a competitive market, and about finding housing solutions for homeless families and individuals in the Native American community. Larry Leventhal is an attorney with a wide array of experience in Native American issues. He spoke about the legal aspects of housing programs that are directed to Native Americans and other discrete populations.
March 2003
The Rental Housing Affordability Crisis in the Twin Cities: An Analysis of the Data and Policy Options
Ron Feldman, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Mr. Feldman reviewed the most detailed demographic and housing-quality data on households living in unaffordable rental housing in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and then reviewed several options for addressing this affordability problem. In particular, Mr. Feldman focused on the advantages and disadvantages of production programs relative to more cash-based alternatives. A PowerPoint presentation (PDF format) used during the forum is available. A working paper (PDF format) on this topic is also available.
February 2003
Changing the Face of Housing in Minnesota
Paul D. Williams, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Tom Fulton, Family Housing Fund
George Stone, Corporation for Supportive Housing
Changing the Face of Housing in Minnesota Initiative, which was officially launched in December 2002, is an attempt to increase the number of people of color in high-level and decision-making roles in the affordable housing and community development industries. The Family Housing Fund (FHF), Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) are cosponsors of the initiative, and Williams, Fulton, and Stone are leaders in each of these organizations. Their presentations described the proactive strategies that have been used to implement the initiative. A handout from the presentation that describes CSH is available for download (PDF format). For more information, visit the Changing the Face of Housing in Minnesota Initiative website.
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