Housing Solutions Lab
To enhance local affordability. To foster inclusive communities.

City Population Size: large (500k +)

Designing a local remediation ordinance: Lesson from Cleveland, OH; Syracuse, NY; and Toledo, OH

Lead paint is shown This brief provides a practical guide to local “lead laws” for cities interested in preventing exposure to lead-based paint hazards. It begins with a primer on these ordinances: what they are and how they work. We then provide a brief scan of local lead laws around the country. The third section draws on interviews with practitioners working to implement three recently approved lead laws in Cleveland, OH; Syracuse, NY; and Toledo, OH; to identify key decision points. Finally, we provide individual case summaries on the three sites.

Lessons learned from a Community Benefits Agreement in Cincinnati, Ohio

Project leaders, local politicians, and members of the West End Community participate in a formal groundbreaking ceremony on a new stadium for the new Major League Soccer expansion team FC Cincinnati, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati. In 2017, FC Cincinnati proposed building a Major League Soccer stadium in the West End, a historically Black, low-income neighborhood. To address concerns of displacement and inequity, the club negotiated a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with the West End Community Council and the Port of Greater Cincinnati. This CBA aimed to support local youth, affordable housing, and community development. While it brought tangible benefits like financial support for neighborhood programs, the rushed negotiations and lack of enforcement mechanisms hindered its effectiveness in preventing resident displacement. Lessons from this CBA highlight the importance of community involvement, transparency, and strong legal frameworks in CBA processes.

Preserving naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in Brooklyn Park, MN

Images of houses used to illustrate naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) This case study examines a suburban community that dedicated funding to preserve its stock of market-rate affordable rental properties, commonly referred to as naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). The City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, established the Brooklyn Park NOAH Preservation Program in 2017. Since its inception, the program has preserved over 1,400 units through low-cost loans to developers and rental property owners for the acquisition or rehabilitation of NOAH rental properties. This case study reviews the program’s history and operations and its progress toward reducing displacement and improving the quality of existing housing stock.

Seattle “Grand Bargain”

Seattle’s Grand Bargain achieved national attention in large part due to the breadth of the stakeholder coalition that participated in developing and agreeing to the MHA initiative.

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