affordable housing

Stakeholders call for a smarter Opportunity Zone incentive to deliver a variety of housing types in wider range of communities

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On Thursday, May 8th, Smart Growth America, LOCUS, and a coalition of 12 other impact-focused stakeholders in the federal housing and community development policy space sent a letter to Congress detailing suggestions on how the Opportunity Zone (OZ) incentive could be sharpened for impact if extended in upcoming tax legislation. The letter emphasized that the … Continued

Land Use and Development

SGA testifies before Vermont State Legislature on analysis of new infrastructure financing program

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Through a partnership with AARP Vermont and as part of AARP’s Livable Communities Technical Assistance Program, SGA evaluated the proposed Community Housing Infrastructure (CHIP) program for its potential impact on housing development. The CHIP program offers a new approach to fund infrastructure for housing at the project scale —a common and challenging funding gap to … Continued

Land Use and Development Rural Development

Financing community growth and sparking prosperity: Five housing projects CDFI financing has made possible

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On Friday, March 14th, the Trump Administration released a new executive order calling for a reduction in personnel and operations at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to the bare minimum required by law. In the 30 years since the authorizing legislation was passed, CDFIs have become an essential pillar of community development … Continued

Economic development Land Use and Development

Continuing the momentum: Driving local-level housing reform in Massachusetts communities

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Smart Growth America is proud to continue supporting local advocacy efforts for affordable housing and zoning reform with the launch of the 2025 Massachusetts Technical Assistance cohort. Generously funded by The Barr Foundation, this year’s program builds on the successes of SGA’s previous iteration of the MA TA program in 2022-2023 and the Opportunity Zones … Continued

Land Use and Development Technical assistance Zoning

Counties for housing solutions: Building a path to affordable housing

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Over the course of 11 weeks, elected officials, planners, and local community-based organizations from six counties worked in partnership with Smart Growth America and the National Association of Counties (NACo) during our first Counties for Housing Solutions (C4HS) program. Through the program, participants from Guilford County, North Carolina; Harris County, Texas; Hidalgo County, Texas; Jackson … Continued

Economic development Land Use and Development Technical assistance

Supporting smart growth in Pittsfield and Somerville, MA

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Last fall, SGA concluded a technical assistance partnership with two Massachusetts community organizations, CultureHouse in Somerville and Westside Legends in Pittsfield. The Massachusetts Technical Assistance programming included three distinct phases of support for the two community organizations in their efforts to advance affordable housing production and economic development opportunities in their respective communities. CultureHouse: Encouraging … Continued

Land Use and Development Technical assistance

Westside Working Group Recommendations: Equitable Zoning Reform and Affordable Housing in MA

Over two months in 2023, Smart Growth America and Westside Legends convened the Westside Working Group as part of our technical assistance program to advance equitable zoning reform and affordable housing development in Massachusetts. The Westside Working Group consisted of community members, civic leaders, and business leaders to develop recommendations to support affordable housing preservation … Continued

Land Use and Development

New zoning reform technical assistance program in Massachusetts

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Smart Growth America is launching a new technical assistance (TA) program to support equitable development and housing attainability in Massachusetts thanks to generous funding from The Barr Foundation.  The program is designed to provide community-based organizations with the skills and tools to advance sustainable, equitable development and affordable housing, and to support generational wealth creation … Continued

Land Use and Development Technical assistance Zoning

SGA selected to administer HUD Community Compass initiative

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Smart Growth America, in partnership with the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), was selected to administer technical assistance as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Community Compass program. In the coming months, SGA will work to support three communities in assessing their zoning constraints to delivering affordable … Continued

Land Use and Development Technical assistance Zoning