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How is this website organized?
Local Housing Solutions is organized into five main sections which appear in the menu at the top of each page.
The Housing 101 section walks users through the basics of housing policy with a series of explainer videos, links to the first in our series of planning briefs, introduces our Housing Policy Framework, and provides a broad list of curated resources around specific housing issues.
In Build a Strategy, users will find a series of planning briefs to guide them through the detailed process of designing and implementing a local housing strategy.
Visit Explore Policies to learn more about the LHS Housing Policy Framework, to browse over 90 briefs in the Housing Policy Library, to review your own strategy and see LHS resources most relevant for your situation, or to learn how to accomplish a specific policy objective.
The Housing Data section features an interactive Housing Needs Assessment developed in partnership with PolicyMap, which aggregates federal Census data into a comprehensive report on demographics and housing need for every jurisdiction in the country. Users can also read about how to supplement Census data with local data sources, how to gauge the feasibility of a given housing development or certain housing policies, or how to establish goals and monitor progress.
To see policies and strategies in action, visit the Case Studies section.
A site map is also available at the bottom of every page.
What is the Housing Policy Framework?
The Housing Policy Framework is our way of organizing the dozens of local housing policies that communities can use to address affordability challenges. The Framework is intended to simplify the process of identifying appropriate policies based on your jurisdiction’s needs and priorities. The Framework also serves as a “road map” that local jurisdictions can use to develop a comprehensive housing strategy.
Within the Framework, policies are organized into four main categories that together help to increase housing affordability and improve housing quality and residential stability:
- Create and preserve dedicated affordable housing units
- Align housing supply with market and neighborhood housing conditions
- Help households access and afford private-market homes
- Protect against displacement and poor housing conditions
Policies in each of these categories are further divided into functional sub-categories that represent different ways to achieve these goals.
Read a brief that provides more details about the Framework, including how it can be used by cities, towns, and counties, or visit the Housing Policy Library to see the full list of policies organized by category and functional sub-category.
Where can I find information about a specific housing policy?
There are three ways to find information about a specific housing policy on Local Housing Solutions:
- Visit the Housing Policy Library and find the policy within the Housing Policy Framework
- Use the “Sort” feature to browse the library of policies from A-Z
- Use the search bar at the top of the Housing Policy Library to search for the policy