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Research & Policy
Furman Center Releases Report on Assisted Housing and Education
November 14, 2012 - A new Furman Center/Moelis Institute report, “Do Federally Assisted Households Have Access to High Performing Public Schools?,” finds that that families in Project-based Section 8 developments and Public Housing and recipients of Housing Choice Vouchers typically live near schools with lower test scores than the schools near other poor families. Only families in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) housing have access to schools that are slightly better than the schools available to other low-income families. The report also finds that, despite the flexibility provided by vouchers, families receiving Housing Choice Vouchers, on average, live near lower performing schools than families in Project-based Section 8 or LIHTC developments. The report also provides results for the 100 largest metropolitan areas, which show that assisted households tend to live near relatively higher performing schools in metropolitan areas with certain characteristics, including smaller size and less racial segregation. Read the full report here.
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News & Events
Furman Center Researchers Present at 2012 APPAM Conference
November 11, 2012 - Featured as speakers, leading discussions, and presenting papers, thirteen Furman Center staff and affiliates including Co-Directors Vicki Been and Ingrid Gould Ellen participated in the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management Annual Conference this weekend in Baltimore. Highlights of the six Furman Center papers presented at the conference include research on the impact of the mortgage crisis on home values and inter-generational wealth transfers, the effects of community violence on student performance, the market for transferable development rights in New York City, and the quality of schools near households receiving federal housing assistance. Full details on the papers presented and Furman Center contributions here.
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News & Events
Furman Center Researchers Present at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference
November 4, 2012 – Three Furman Center researchers presented papers at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference this weekend. Center Co-Director Ingrid Gould Ellen presented the paper, “Preserving History or Hindering Progress: The Effect of Historic Districts on Local Housing Markets in New York City,” (Abstract available soon) written with fellow Furman Center Co-Director Vicki Been and Brian McCabe of Georgetown University. In addition, Jackie Begley presented, “Neighborhood Housing Values and Intergenerational Bequests” (Abstract), which investigates whether the housing boom and bust affected intergenerational wealth transfers, and Josiah Madar presented on the accumulation of bank-owned properties in New York, Atlanta and Miami, a preview of the upcoming paper “The Foreclosure Crisis and Community Development: Exploring REO Dynamics in Hard-Hit Neighborhoods” (Abstract).
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News & Events
Mark Willis Speaks at National Community Investment Fund Conference
November 1, 2012 – Furman Center Research Fellow Mark Willis joined a panel on the future of community development banking at the annual conference of the National Community Investment Fund. The panel considered how changes in regulations, technology, and overall competition are affecting how community development banks will be able to operate in the future and explored new models and roles for mission-oriented banking institutions. More on the conference here.
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News & Events
Mark Willis Speaks on Role of Financial Counseling in the Provision of Social Services
October 24, 2012 – Furman Center Research Fellow Mark Willis spoke at a conference jointly sponsored by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition that explored the value and feasibility of adding financial counseling as an integral accompaniment to the provision of social services.
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Research & Policy
Furman Center Releases Policy Brief on LIHTC Program Tenants
October 22, 2012: A new analysis released by the Furman Center and its Moelis Institute for Affordable Housing Policy, “What Can We Learn about the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program by Looking at Tenants?” examines LIHTC tenant income to assess the extent to which the program’s target demographic is served. The brief finds that forty percent of LIHTC units house extremely low-income (ELI) households. In addition, the report finds that more than 70 percent of ELI households are in units receiving some form of rental assistance, which suggests that additional subsidies are crucial to the functionality of the program. In terms of rent burden, LIHTC tenants, particularly those without rental assistance, have higher rent burdens than HUD tenants. The full report may be accessed here.
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News & Events
Furman Center Hosts Policy Breakfast on Transferable Development Rights in New York City
October 17, 2012: The Furman Center hosted “The Role of Transferable Development Rights in NYC Land Development,” at the NYU School of Law, convening a panel of experts, including developers, city planners, and real estate attorneys, who have worked first hand with TDRs. The event is the first of two policy breakfasts to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by existing TDR programs in New York. Among the topics discussed, panelists explored the advantages and relative costs to developers of using TDRs rather than seeking rezoning or other alternatives. Learn more about the event here.
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News & Events
Ingrid Gould Ellen Discusses Crime and Community Development
October 8, 2012: Furman Center Co-Director Ingrid Gould Ellen disscussed the importance of crime on community development for a Q and A in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Public Health blog. Professor Ellen’s comments reflect research available in “Crime and Community Development,” a chapter of the recently published book Investing in What Works for America’s Communities. Read the interview here. More on the book chapter here.
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News & Events
Ingrid Gould Ellen Presents at Federal Reserve Conference
October 5, 2012: Furman Center Co-Director Ingrid Gould Ellen spoke about the impact of foreclosures on children and families for a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York titled, “Distressed Residential Real Estate: Dimensions, Impacts, and Remedies”. Her comments covered the impact of foreclosures on crime, renters, and school mobility. Download the full presentation here.
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Research & Policy
New Paper: American murder mystery revisited: do housing voucher households cause crime?
October 5, 2012: A new journal article by Furman Center Co-Director Ingrid Gould Ellen and NYU Wagner Professor Katherine O’Regan finds that there is no direct causal relationship between the number of Housing Choice Voucher residents in a neighborhood and increased crime. Critics of the voucher system, which provides rent subsidies to allow low-income residents to live in otherwise unaffordable neighborhoods, have alleged that an increased presence of voucher holders leads to increased crime in some neighborhoods. Systematically and empirically studying the question for the first time, the article finds that while neighborhoods with a higher proportion of voucher holding residents tend to see higher crime rates, there is not a causal relationship. The research reveals that other neighborhood characteristics are much more significant in determining crime. Read the full paper here.