HUD Launches Quarterly Publication Focused on Research-based Policy

February 22, 2011

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released a new quarterly publication intended to inform housing and community development advocates, state and local policymakers, Congress and researchers on new approaches to issues related to housing and community development.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the publication, titled Evidence Matters, is intended to inform the broad housing and community development field on future policy directions based on research and data.

“As a self-professed policy wonk, I’m excited that HUD is focused on having an honest and informed discussion about what works and what doesn’t,” said Donovan. “Evidence does indeed matter when it comes to making policy that impacts people’s lives and this publication will help frame the discussion around what the data means.”

The inaugural issue of Evidence Matters (Choice Neighborhoods: History and HOPE) focuses on strategies to revitalize neighborhoods of concentrated poverty including HUD’s HOPE VI program.

As HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Dr. Raphael Bostic said, “We know that neighborhoods of concentrated poverty struggle with unemployment, crime, and poor schools and health care. Many federal interventions focus on assisting poor households in particular neighborhoods but have failed to take a broader community-based approach. The evidence points to the need for a more holistic strategy to redevelopment if we hope to improve the lives of residents as well as the places where they live.” The next issue is titled “Balancing our Nation’s Housing Policy.”


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