News Roundup

  • Indiana Public Housing Development Caused Lead Poisoning in Children
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    A report exposes that for decades, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) field office in Indiana withheld information about unsafe environmental conditions and failed to comply with environmental assessments in the West Calumet Housing Complex, causing lead poisoning in children. The apartment complex, developed atop a former lead smelting facility in 1972, is one of more than 18,000 federally funded housing developments near potentially toxic sites. “HUD will continue its work with EPA to improve information sharing and to jointly evaluate the proximity of other HUD-assisted housing to contaminated sites, and will publicly release its analysis this year,” stated Meaghan Lynch, HUD spokeswoman.

  • Housing Insecurity Leads to Sleep Deprivation
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    A new study coauthored by RAND Corporation and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University finds people suffering from housing insecurity are more likely to face sleep interruptions, which compromise their physical health. The lack of sleep exacerbated by the current housing crisis places more people at risk of poor COVID-19 health outcomes and reduces the immune responses needed once vaccinated. “These economic and health stressors work in combination to compound one another,” states Robert Bozick, senior fellow at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and coauthor of the research.

  • Would Building Affordable Housing in High-Performing School Districts Narrow Achievement Disparities?
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    State zoning laws other public policies have clustered most affordable housing to low-income areas with substandard schools. A recent report by the New England Public Policy Center suggests New England states can close educational achievement gaps for low-income students of color by creating more affordable housing in areas with high-performing schools. Keri Rodrigues, president of Massachusetts Parents United, who works with low-income families of color, disagrees. Rodrigues thinks sending more aid to schools with low-income students and providing culturally inclusive classrooms can better address gaps.

  • Hawaii State Legislator Explores Replicating Singapore Affordable Housing Model
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    Hawaii state senator Stanley Chang reintroduced the ALOHA Homes (Affordable, Locally Owned Homes for All) package, originally inspired by Singapore’s government-managed savings funds, to address the state’s severe affordable housing shortage. Under the proposal, Hawaii would build approximately 67,500 units. The bill would build mass-scale public housing near transit and establish a housing savings account requiring contributions from employers and workers. Senator Chang acknowledged although the program is controversial, so is the current housing system that results in unaffordable, investor-owned vacant properties and homelessness.