Professor Steve Bourassa of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) and Runstad Department of Real Estate was quoted in a story entitled “First-time Buyer Affordability at Lowest Point in Four Years” in The Bellingham Herald. Read the full article here.
Research Theme: Housing & Homelessness
Includes social and real-estate implications of homelessness, housing affordability and livability in the built environment
Mason Virant
Mason Virant works in the Washington Center for Real Estate Research
Professor Steve Bourassa featured in The News Tribune discussing housing listings and interest rates
Professor Steve Bourassa of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) and Runstad Department of Real Estate was quoted in a story entitled “Listings are up, interest rates may come down.” Read the full article here.
“All roads lead to Rome?” Performance evaluation across different types of community land trusts based on a large-scale survey
Wang, R., & Spicer, J. (2024). “All roads lead to Rome?” Performance evaluation across different types of community land trusts based on a large-scale survey. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2024.2371400
Abstract
Community land trusts (CLTs) seek to keep homes and other urban spaces permanently affordable and community controlled. As their number across the United States has increased, different iterations of the CLT model seem to have proliferated in practice, stoking scholarly debate as to their varying outcomes and benefits. There has, however, been little attempt to empirically measure the relationship between this institutional diversity and outcomes. Applying institutional theory to a national CLT dataset, we identify five main organizational sub-types of CLT: traditional CLTs, start-up CLTs, government-housed CLTs, nonprofits with a CLT/shared equity (SE) program, and adapted CLTs. Statistical tests confirm a high degree of similarity in operational scope, organizational capacity, and performance outcomes across the most prominent sub-types. The limited statistical differences which can be identified are consistent with known CLT and urban institutional development processes. Further studies might seek to determine how consequential such limited differences may be.
Keywords
Community land trust; permanently affordable housing; historical institutionalism; community control; shared equity housing
Products from 2023 Inspire Fund Cohort
A cohort of 4 projects were awarded Inspire Funds in April 2023. The report-outs from these projects are described below with a summary of project work and progress. The 2023 cohort of Inspire Fund awardees met with the 2024 cohort of awardees in May 2024 to share their accomplishments, successes, and challenges, and to foster a connection between these research teams as resources to one another. The 2024 cohort has begun their projects and will share their products in 2025….
Assessing the equity and evolution of urban visual perceptual quality with time series street view imagery
Wang, Z., Ito, K., & Biljecki, F. (2024). Assessing the equity and evolution of urban visual perceptual quality with time series street view imagery. Cities, 145, 104704-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104704
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Abstract
The well-being of residents is considerably influenced by the quality of their environment. However, due to the lack of large-scale quantitative and longitudinal evaluation methods, it has been challenging to assess residents' satisfaction and achieve social inclusion goals in neighborhoods. We develop a novel cost-effective method that utilizes time series street view imagery for evaluating and monitoring visual environmental quality in neighborhoods. Unlike most research that relies on site visits or surveys, this study trains a deep learning model with a large-scale dataset to analyze six perception indicators' scores in neighborhoods in different geographies and does so longitudinally thanks to imagery taken over a period of a decade, a novelty in the body of knowledge. Implementing the approach, we examine public housing neighborhoods in Singapore and New York City as case studies. The results demonstrated that temporal imagery can effectively assess spatial equity and monitor the visual environmental qualities of neighborhoods over time, providing a new, comprehensive, and scalable workflow. It can help governments improve policies and make informed decisions on enhancing the design and living standards of urban residential areas, including public housing communities, which may be affected by social stigmatization, and monitor the effectiveness of their policies and actions.
Keywords
Residential quality; Public housing; Environmental quality; Spatial equity; Street view imagery; Visual environment
Health and wellbeing impacts of housing converted from non-residential buildings: A mixed-methods exploratory study in London, UK
Pineo, H., Clifford, B., Eyre, M., & Aldridge, R. W. (2024). Health and wellbeing impacts of housing converted from non-residential buildings: A mixed-methods exploratory study in London, UK. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 6, 100192-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2024.100192
Abstract
Housing quality is a determinant of health, wellbeing and inequities. Since 2013, changes to Permitted Development Rights (PDR) allow conversions of non-residential buildings into housing without planning permission in England. We explored the potential health and wellbeing impacts of such ‘PDR housing’ through an online survey and semi-structured interviews in four London boroughs. We found an association between low wellbeing and lack of residential space and accommodation cooling options, fewer local amenities and lower perceived safety. Participants highlighted problems with windows and outdoor space. Poor quality PDR conversions may pose health and wellbeing risks that could be avoided through regulation and enforcement.
Keywords
Housing; Wellbeing; Health; Non-residential conversions; England; Socio-ecological; Adaptive reuse; Urban planning
WCRER releases report and white paper – March 2024
The Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) has released a white paper entitled “Increasing Washington State’s Residential Development Capacity”, co-authored by WCRER Director Steven Bourassa (also the H. Jon and Judith M. Runstad Endowed Professor and Chair of the Runstad Department of Real Estate) and WCRER Associate Director Mason Virant. WCRER also recently released a report which focuses on the impacts of HB 1923 and HB 2343, legislation enacted in 2019 and 2020 which provide grants to help develop…
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns
Colburn, Gregg, and Clayton Page Aldern. Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns. Oakland: University of California Press, 2022.
Gregg Colburn cited in the Council of Economic Advisors 2024 Economic Report of the President
Associate Professor Gregg Colburn in the Runstad Department of Real Estate was cited in the Council of Economic Advisors 2024 Economic Report of the President. Chapter 4 of the report, “Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing: Economic Insights and Federal Policy Solutions” cites a book from Aldren and Colburn, 2022, entitled “Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns.” (Available here: https:// homelessnesshousingproblem.com/.) Read the report, and see the book from Aldren and Colburn for more information.