Silverman and Yin Receive Federal Grant for Research on Affordable Housing Development in Shrinking Cities

Department of Urban and Regional Planning faculty members Robert Mark Silverman and Li Yin, along with Kelly Patterson, assistant professor of social work at UB, have been awarded a $125,000 research grant for their project, Sustainable Affordable Housing in Shrinking US Cities: Developing an Analytic Tool for Siting Subsidized Housing and Evaluating HUD Program Outcomes.

The Sustainable Affordable Housing in Shrinking US Cities research project will develop an analytic tool that establishes benchmarks for siting affordable housing in shrinking cities. This study will focus on identifying the boundaries of neighborhoods of opportunity near shrinking core cities located in the 10 fastest declining city populations between 2000 and 2010.

The project is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Sustainable Communities program, which awarded five total grants ranging from $75,000 to $125,000 over a two-year period.

This research will provide HUD with a decision-making tool for allocating funds for affordable housing development by incorporating a broad spectrum of neighborhood and institutional characteristics. The tool is designed to promote equity and assist HUD in affirmatively furthering fair housing.