On March 17, 2005 the field of affordable housing lost a "national treasure," as Cushing Dolbeare passed away. "Many of you knew, or at least knew of Cushing Dolbeare, but for those who didn’t, she was a true champion for housing and the rights of low-income people," said Steve Tuminaro, an officer of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.

Cushing addressed the National Council of State Housing Agencies as recently as March 11. View article

Included among her many accomplishments, Cushing founded the National Low Income Housing Coalition; served on the Millennial Housing Commission; served as Fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University; received the Heinz Award for the Human Condition; designed and advocated for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit – and her accomplishments and awards go on and on.

"But for so many of us in this field, Cushing was an inspiration, and a friend," said Tuminaro. "She leaves a real legacy – and a void that will be hard to fill."

Speaking at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition Conference today, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan cited Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as an example for "adopting a data system that defines and tracks success measures of its member organizations." Greenspan added: "The Success Measures Data System is a participatory evaluation model designed to document the outcomes and measure the impact of community development programs, using parameters defined by the leaders and stakeholders in the field." View speech.

The NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute (CLI) was named as one of 50 semifinalists for the Innovations in American Government Awards — often referred to as the “Oscars” of government prizes. The institute is a regional training conference for NeighborWorks organizations that aims to strengthen the voices and skills of neighborhood residents that live and work in the neighborhoods they serve. Since 1995, Neighborhood Reinvestment has conducted more than 20 CLIs. For more information, on the Community Leadership Institute, click here.

From Multi-Housing News: The proposed $28.5 billion FY 2006 HUD budget, unveiled on Feb. 7, seeks to accomplish three strategic goals, according to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson: promote homeownership; reform Section 8 funding; and aggressively address homelessness. One of the White House's key HUD proposals moves the Community Development Block Grant, several CDBG set-asides, the National Community Development Initiative, Section 108 loan guarantees, Brownfields, Enterprise Zone/Enterprise Communities and HUD's office of rural housing and economic development to the Department of Commerce. These, along with 11 other programs from Agriculture, Health and Human Services and Commerce will constitute a new Strengthening America's Communities (SAC) initiative within Commerce. Separately, these programs had a combined FY 2005 appropriation of $5.31 billion; the FY 2006 request for SAC is $3.71 billion — a reduction of nearly 35 percent. The Bush administration is once again proposing to fund a Zero Downpayment Mortgage option that would allow first-time buyers with strong credit ratings to finance 100 percent of a home purchase and closing costs. View article.

On March 11th the FDIC, Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a joint agency regulatory proposal on the Community Reinvestment Act. This latest proposal would alleviate regulatory burden imposed on smaller banking institutions by revising the eligibility requirements for CRA evaluation under the lending, investment and service tests. Specifically, the proposal would provide a simplified test for banks with asset size between $250 million and $1 billion. These proposed regulations would also revise the meaning of community development to include affordable housing in underserved rural areas and designated disaster areas. Comments are due by May 10, 2005.
View proposed regulations.

Charitable Leadership Foundation is committed to funding innovative and effective programs in the areas of low-income housing by partnering with organizations in the areas of data collection, process and program determination, strategic planning and evaluation. Current themes in the foundation's focus include low-income home ownership, low-income rental models and permanent supported housing. Minimum grants are $20,000. The Foundation prefers proposals from New York, but considers applications from other states. Learn more at www.charitableleadership.org.

Mattel is offering grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to programs that directly serve children in need, and “creatively address a locally defined need." Priorities are health, education, and girls empowerment. For more information, click here.

There is still time to register for the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Minneapolis! The institute will feature more than 70 courses in affordable housing and community development, including a Spanish-language course on Homebuyer Education Methods, and other events, such as a luncheon with Richard Lord, author of American Nightmare: Predatory Lending and the Foreclosure of the American Dream, and a daylong symposium on April 20.

The symposium — When Gentrification Comes Knocking – Navigating Social Dynamics in Changing Neighborhoods — will examine the range of challenges related to gentrification. Industry experts will identify the indicators of stress within changing neighborhoods and provide practical tools for you to take away to help manage these social stresses. Featured symposium luncheon speaker Linda Goode Bryant, an award-winning filmmaker, will offer film clips and commentary from her PBS documentary “Flag Wars,” which chronicles the social dynamics of a newly gentrified Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood.

For details and registration information about the training institute and the symposium, visit www.nw.org/training.

The Housing Assistance Council has released a public relations guide for groups engaged in promoting the availability of affordable housing in isolated rural communities where access to media outlets and marketing specialists is a challenge. The Public Relations Guide for Rural Housing Organizations is intended to serve as a "how to" guide for any public relations action, with step by step instructions, as well as strategic advice. Although intended for rural housing advocates, the report is a useful tool for all housing advocates who manage public relations activities, from writing press releases and letters to the editor, to public speaking or using paid advertisements. View report.

Using Information Resources to Enhance Urban Markets

Market-Based Community Economic Development

Weissbourd and Bodini examine the role of information resources in spurring markets and creating investment strategies to boost urban neighborhoods. Together both papers offer a framework for market-based community economic development, presenting business-planning tools for inner city communities. Practitioners will find specific examples and key lessons about effectively using information resources for community development.

Knowledge Plex Chat on Urban Markets Initiative

At 2 p.m. ET on March 30, KnowledgePlex will host an online chat with the authors to discuss their papers and the role of information in community economic development. For more details about the discussion and how to participate, click here. (Registration required at KnowledgePlex.)

Q: When do ordinary outdoor spaces become great outdoor places?

A: When they are designed like outdoor rooms.

Nearly every development has some outdoor space. In the worst cases, this space is nothing more than land left over after construction is finished. In the best cases, however, these spaces are consciously crafted into great outdoor “places,” treasured by residents and neighbors alike. The difference is design, and the way to make an outdoor place great is by designing it like an outdoor room. We all know what makes a great room – elements like adequate space, good lighting, a convenient location, pleasing proportions and furnishings that work. The same principles can and should be applied to the design of outside space. This update looks at several successful outdoor places, and the design strategies behind them. Learn more at www.designadvisor.org/updates.