by Cynthia Adcock, National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy
“Investing in What Works for America’s Communities,” a collection of articles by some of America’s foremost community development experts, was released today by Low Income Investment Fund (an NHC member) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The collection highlights integrated approaches to antipoverty efforts aimed at creating stronger more resilient American communities that pay attention to both place and people. The book calls on leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to recognize that they can work smarter and achieve more by working together. Among the 43 contributing authors are NHC’s 2011 Housing Persons of the Year: Sister Lillian Murphy of Mercy Housing and Nic Retsinas of the Harvard Business School.
Taken as a whole, the writings presented in “Investing in What Works for America’s Communities” provide a glimpse into a future where communities are more sustainable, more resilient and more resistant to economic downturns. Through dozens of examples of innovative thinking and descriptions of what is already working, this book uncovers new ways of working and thinking that will help create the “entrepreneurial” approach to development called for by Elizabeth A. Duke, a Federal Reserve System Governor, who wrote the foreword.
Duke reminds us that truly sustainable communities not only provide decent housing, but also have the resources to support individuals and families and to create a dynamic business environment. Says Duke, “For this reason, community development today is a multidisciplinary exercise that challenges us to think holistically about how housing relates to jobs, educational opportunities, transportation, health care, and other services and amenities.” Jeffrey Lubell, executive director of the Center for Housing Policy, who served on the advisory committee for the project, said that research about housing’s impact on other social areas has been a top priority for the Center. “It’s important that these connections are being accepted and acted upon, and particularly that we recognize the need to work together.”
To review or download single articles, visit www.whatworksforamerica.org.