A new housing 'best practices' publication from MPC, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Chicago Metropolis 2020, helps municipalities learn from each other.
More and more local
municipalities are actively exploring how to provide a variety of housing
choices, responding to the leadership of the
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
, the state’s
new
Comprehensive
Housing Plan
and, most of all, the increasing housing demands of people who
live and work in their communities. Still, affordability, accessibility, and
racial and economic segregation continue to challenge the public, private and
nonprofit housing sectors.
With the support of developers,
advocates, and technical assistance providers, numerous towns are taking action.
From inclusionary housing ordinances in
North
Shore
communities to troubled building rehabilitation and infill efforts in
Chicago
neighborhoods, local leadership is proving that
affordable housing choice is more than a wish for
Illinois
residents.
MPC, along with the Metropolitan Mayors
Caucus and Chicago Metropolis 2020, has detailed a series of housing ‘best
practices’ in order to share innovative ideas with other communities looking to
tackle their own housing challenges, and with developers seeking to make
positive contributions to the regional housing stock.
Home Grown: Local Housing
Strategies in Action
,
released in December 2006, is a collection of more
than 30 housing-related ‘best practices’ from around the
Chicago
region.
This resource shows municipal officials
how their peers are addressing housing issues and provides ideas for replicating
or improving upon these approaches to address their specific housing needs.
As a ‘living’ document,
Home Grown
will be updated annually with
new programs and policies as they are developed.
Each ‘best practice’ summary
includes background on how and why the program, policy or development was
established, how it works, why it has been successful, the public participation
process, and how it is financed.
While most of the summaries showcase ways to address the affordability of
housing, the series also illustrates examples of fair housing and accessibility
solutions. Case studies in
Home Grown
include:
- Woodstock Commons, a multifamily rental project
located in McHenry County and developed by Pickus Companies, which serves a
range of households, the majority of which earn less than 50 percent of the
area median income
- Bolingbrook’s Fair Housing Ordinance, which protects
all residents and property owners from racial discrimination in the housing
market
- Chicago’s Homeownership Preservation Initiative, which helps prevent
foreclosures through financial education and emergency assistance and advocacy
for mortgage holders.
If your community would like to
submit a policy or development proposal for inclusion in
Home Grown,
please contact
Josh Ellis
with MPC at (312) 863-6045
or
jellis@metroplanning.org
.
For more information or to request a hardcopy of Home
Grown, please contact any of the partnering organizations.
Metropolitan Planning Council
Josh Ellis, (312)
863-6045
jellis@metroplanning.org
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
Beth Dever, (312)
201-4507
bethdever@mayorscaucus.org
Chicago Metropolis 2020
Nancy Firfer, (312)
332-2020
nancy.l.firfer@cm2020.org
Related Articles:
Accommodating
the Housing Needs of a Growing Region: an update for 2007
Opportunities
for Cooperation in Affordable Housing
