Using GIS for Affordable Housing Policy Development and Design

Location is a key factor surrounding housing policy.
So, leveraging geospatial data and GIS is a natural fit to drive a data-driven approach to sustainable housing policy and design. This session will show how planners who aren't GIS experts are using these tools to develop their plans.

An effective and equitable housing strategy is a key component to a successful smart community.  Rising housing prices, increased counter-urbanization, and elevated financial burdens on middle and lower-class homeowners makes the role of the planning professional in sustainable housing more critical than ever. When people are not able to afford to live in the community in which they work, it can result in undesirable sprawl in surrounding communities, and even with an excellent transit system, increased traffic on roadways.  Implementing policies for sufficient affordable housing provides many benefits for communities, including increased spending power, more educational opportunities, job creation and economic mobility, growing municipal revenue, lower stress on transportation networks, and reduction of poverty by ending the cycle of homelessness. This presentation will show several modern examples of how GIS is providing the technology that helps governments of all sizes meet the expectations of planners, citizens, and decision makers in designing sustainable housing and sustainable economic mobility.