Connecting affordable housing and healthcare programs can improve both—especially for seniors and disabled people.
As increasing numbers of seniors and disabled people rely on rental assistance, a new report suggests turning to a model of affordable housing that connects residents to healthcare services.
"Seniors and people with disabilities share many of the same non-housing needs; access to healthcare is perhaps the most crucial," Eillie Anzilotti explains in CityLab. "Affordable housing programs could act as a convener for less expensive and more sustainable health services for those in need."
Some HUD programs serve this purpose by siting health service coordinators in affordable housing developments, while private housing companies partner with non-profits to bring health services to their properties. The Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation, which authored the report, wants Congress to consider these models when crafting housing policy.
Anzilotti notes that PAHRC's report is among the first to establish the benefits of linking housing and healthcare. Other research has shown that housing throughout the country—and particularly in the suburbs—is inadequate to meet the needs of aging populations, and that there is an insufficient supply of housing that accommodates disabled people.
FULL STORY: Connecting Health Services With Affordable Housing
Study: Many American Seniors Can’t Afford to ‘Age in Place’
A lack of affordable housing and access to services and amenities make it difficult for many seniors to remain in their long-term homes or communities.
Middle-Class Seniors Losing Access to Housing and Healthcare
In the next decade, the number of middle-income seniors who can't afford assisted living will nearly double.
Parking, Density, and Affordable Housing in California
A bill to reduce parking minimums for residential or mixed-use developments that include affordable units passed a key Senate committee. AB 744 amends the state's density bonus law, itself controversial, that incentivizes building affordable housing.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.
Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service