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Viewpoint: The Truth About Housing Affordability
 Editor's Note: This article focuses on the affordable housing issue in Chesterfield County, Richmond's suburban county to the south and west. The housing challenges that are faced in Chesterfield are similar to those that exist in many suburban counties throughout Virginia that experienced rapid growth in the 70s, 80s and 90s. These jurisdictions face the harsh reality that many of their neighborhoods are in decline and that growing concentrations of low income households are not conducive to economic growth and renewal.
This article is authored by Laura Lafayette, Executive Officer of the Richmond Association of REALTORS and Housing Virginia Board member. The article previously appeared in the Chesterfield Observer.
Ever since we entered the recession in 2008, people have often said to me: "housing must be more affordable now." That's a true statement. For those households with excellent credit and good paying jobs, the past few years have provided incredible home ownership opportunities. But the fact that housing is more affordable now than in the past is a truth that goes only so far.
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New Research:
Affordable Housing Works!
Editor's Note: Nearly 30 years ago, the Mt. Laurel housing decisions by the New Jersey Supreme Court set in motion one of the nation's most aggressive efforts to de-concentrate poverty by requiring communities to accept their "fair share" of affordable and assisted housing. This experiment has been the object of much tinkering and political grandstanding over the ensuing decades. While imperfect in its implementation, it has offered a unique opportunity to study the effects of affordable housing on its residents and on the communities where it located. Now, recent research conducted at Princeton University offers definitive proof of what housing advocates have been saying for years, that affordable housing in communities of opportunity is not just good for the families that live there, it also benefits the neighborhood. Please read this exciting research report and use it to make the case in your own community. The following article is authored by Douglas Massey and recently appeared in Shelterforce. In the suburb whose exclusive zoning led to New Jersey's fair share affordable housing law, new research explores what the affordable housing finally built there has meant to the town- and to the people who have moved in or are living there.
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Rally for Housing Attracts Big Crowd
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2,500 Homeless Kids
in Fairfax Schools this Year
Editor's Note: This article is authored by Michelle Krocker, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance and Housing Virginia Board Member
The Washington Post reports that the number of homeless school children in the Fairfax County public school system is likely to surpass 2,500 by the end of this school year.
School officials  say that homelessness affects children in all grades from kindergarten through high school, and at least 400 of these students are 'unaccompanied youths' who live without parents or guardians.
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Bay Aging Convenes Leaders
Housing Virginia teamed with Bay Aging in Gloucester on October 24th to present a symposium on linking Housing and Transportation: Connecting Home and Work. The symposium was attended by 30 of the Chesapeake Bay region's public and private officials interested in furthering more efficient land development policies. The video of this symposium can be viewed on the Housing Virginia website. www.housingvirginia.org.
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Home Energy Center Expands Training
Virginia residents may soon find it that
much easier to get  the expertise they need when it comes to making their homes more energy efficient, thanks to the Christiansburg-based New River Center for Energy Research and Training (NRCERT). Earlier this year, NRCERT became the first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weatherization training center in the nation to obtain IREC (Interstate Renewable Energy Council) ISPQ Training Program accreditation.
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What's Shaping the Future of Housing?
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Affordable Housing Plan for
Columbia Pike Wins Award
 Contributed by Diana Sun, Arlington County The Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan , the County's most ambitious long-term planning effort to preserve affordable housing, has won the 2012 Benjamin Banneker Award for Outstanding Social Commitment and Community. |
Check out Housing Virginia at the Governor's Housing Conference
 Housing Virginia has a special presence as it unrolls two new exciting resources for housers: PLAYBOOK and HOUSING 2020. READ MORE
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New Program: EPA Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities
Communities across the United States are turning their attention to smart growth and sustainable development approaches to revitalize their economies, create jobs, protect clean air and water and improve residents' quality of life. READ MORE |
HUD Announces New Income Calculator
 HUD is pleased to announce the CPD Income Eligibility Calculator, a new tool to help CPD grantees determine income eligibility and assistance amounts for beneficiaries of CPD programs. It is as easy as 1-2-3: simply enter the requested data and this calculator will work behind the scenes to generate a summary of results for each beneficiary.
READ MORE
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Calendar
www.vagovernorshousingconference.com
Housing Virginia has a special presence at the Governor's Housing Conference as it unrolls two new exciting resources for housers: PLAYBOOK and HOUSING 2020. The conference will kick off on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. with the Opening Plenary: A Federal Conversation, followed by the Opening Reception at 5:30 p.m. Virginia State Capitol Update, Discussion and Training to promote and protect Federal and State tax credits, and preparing for the 2013 Virginia General Assembly Session. The Virginia Downtown Development Association's Annual Workshop - Rescheduled!
December 6, 2012
The Candy Factory, 9419 Battle Street, Manassas The workshop's theme is asset-based economic development, the creation of goods and services based on a community's existing cultural and natural assets. The workshop will involve presentations from communities around Virginia about creating economic vibrancy by taking advantage of local assets, including battlefields and other historic sites, rivers, roads and trails and farms. Click the link above to register. |
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Give to Housing Virginia
Your generous gift helps Housing Virginia to make the case for increasing the supply of affordable housing options across the Commonwealth. |
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