HOPE VI Reauthorization Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate Committee

Last month, a bill to reauthorize HOPE VI was introduced in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. HOPE VI is a federal housing program instituted 15 years ago to revitalize severely distressed public housing developments, creating healthy and vibrant mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhoods in their place. Between 1993 and 2001, $4.5 billion of HOPE VI grants were awarded, resulting in the redevelopment of tens of thousands of public housing units and the production of both project-based and voucher-assisted affordable housing options. CNU leaders were instrumental in creating the HOPE VI design guidelines, and CNU members have since given the program life, designing a big share of HOPE VI projects around the country, including multiple Charter Award winners. This bill would reauthorize HOPE VI through 2012 at $600 million, adding emphasis on revitalizing local schools, securing local government support, and improving relocation services for residents. Read more on this topic from Capital News Service.

A focus of CNU's Affordable Housing Initiatve is to support the reauthorization of HOPE VI. You can learn more about New Urbanism's role in affordability at CNU XV -- click the initiative link above to read about three affordability sessions at the Congress.