Housing

Safe, accessible, and affordable housing is the foundation for livable communities. Housing is  also central to promoting equity, improving public health, and supporting the regional economy. DVRPC’s housing work includes data analysis and targeted studies designed to help our planning partners better understand trends, increase housing choice, lower housing costs, and address inequities in our communities.

Regional Housing Initiative

DVRPC’s Regional Housing Initiative is an ongoing research and analysis project designed to identify the housing affordability challenges facing our region and evaluate potential solutions. This work explores the economic and demographic factors influencing the region’s housing needs and focuses on the role that local governments can play in expanding the supply and variety of housing options in their communities.

Barriers to Building Generational Wealth

DVRPC’s most recent housing study, Barriers to Building Generational Wealth: Mortgage Lending Disparities Across Greater Philadelphia, analyzed Housing Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data to determine mortgage lending disparities across the region. Individual county level reports are also available, and can be accessed from the dropdown tab below.

Community Impacts of Multifamily Development

Another recent study, Community Impacts of Multifamily Development, helps our county and municipal planning partners better understand multifamily housing in our region as well as some of the potential economic, transportation, and community impacts.

Housing Activity and Affordability

DVRPC tracks housing activity and housing affordability in the region in our Tracking Progress Indicators Dashboard. Housing activity tracks the number of building permits issued, by year, by type of community, and by single-family vs. multi-family by county and by community type. Housing affordability tracks cost-burdened households by region, county, and community type, and by ownership status and percent of income spent on housing, both delineated by region, county and community type.

Other Studies

Prior DVRPC housing studies below have focused on age-friendly communities and the need for senior housing for aging baby boomers. Other studies have analyzed affordable homeownership opportunities and their proximity to employment and transit, as well as examined the region’s rental housing stock, its supply of public and assisted housing, and homelessness.

• Age-Friendly Communities Municipal Implementation Tool #030
• The Mismatch between Housing and Jobs - A 2011 Update and Discussion on Achieving Balance
• Homeownership - A Dream Still Vanishing?
• Homelessness in the Delaware Valley
• Public and Assisted Housing In The Delaware Valley Region
• Solutions for Affordable Rental Housing in the Delaware Valley - Direction 2020 Report #19
• Delaware Valley Rental Housing Assessment - Direction 2020 Report #13
• Building The Dream - Solutions For Affordable Home Ownership
• Homeownership - A Vanishing Dream?
• The Aging of the Baby Boomers: Elderly and Near-Elderly Population Characteristics - Analytical Data Report 013
• The Aging of the Baby Boomers - Housing Seniors in the Delaware Valley
• Aging in Place - Municipal Implementation Tool #012
• The American Community Survey - Analytical Data Report 015

Visit the archived Land Use and Housing Committee (LUHC) webpage, where you can find past agendas and scheduled meeting dates. The LUHC became the Regional Community and Economic Development Forum (RCEDF) in 2009.