CRP 388K
Affordable Housing Policy

Instructor: Michael Oden
Unique Number: 01270
Time: Thursday 2:00-5:00 P.M.
Office Hours: Mon., Weds. 3:30-5:30 P.M.
Office: Sutton 3.120

CONTENT: Government support for low-income housing, like other areas of social policy, is undergoing a period of fundamental reexamination and debate. The objectives of housing policy and specific policy tools used to subsidize families or housing producers are being revised and reformed. In particular, state and local governments are assuming greater responsibilities for affordable housing provision with little additional financial support from the federal government. In this environment, local planners are challenged to devise more innovative ways to allocate scarce public resources to meet a growing demand for affordable, decent housing. This course will be organized around an intensive study of the planning process used by the City of Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office (NHCDO) to allocate affordable housing resources. The class will collaborate closely with an ongoing Policy Research Project (PRP) on this topic directed by Professor Pat Wong at the LBJ School.

The first part of the course will involve an intensive review of key theories and concepts pertaining to low income housing policy and the evolution and current status of specific federal, state and local housing programs. In the second part, the class will meet with the LBJ-PRP team to discuss their broader project, the specific tasks that our class will undertake, and the ways that the teams will integrate their work and research findings. The research carried out by this class will concentrate on three areas:

1. An evaluation of the current process used by (NHCDO) todevelop and implement their Consolidated Plan;
2. A study of alternative approaches to increase involvement of all segments of the community in the planning process and heighten citizen awareness of affordable housing needs
3. An analysis of innovative policies used in other cities to expand housing options for low income households. The final class product will be a set of reports that will concisely summarize research findings and advance feasible planning and policy recommendations to help the NHCDO improve the housing conditions of low-income residents.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to do all assigned readings, collaborate effectively with the LBJ-PRP team, and complete, in a timely manner, team research tasks and projects. Students are also required to produce polished final research reports by the end of the semester for inclusion in the LBJ-PRP final report.

1. Three interim research reports - 60% of final grade (each report, 20%)
2. Final research project report - 40% of final grade.