Volume 5 Number 9
October 2008

In this Issue
Healthier Homes, Healthier Children
Local Transitional Housing Effort Wins Award
A New Formula for Greening Neighborhoods
In the Garden... On the Roof!
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In the Next Issue of ^ResearchWorks...

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• Bike & Build annually raises awareness of affordable housing needs in the U.S. by organizing fundraising cycling trips that serve as catalysts to building affordable homes. In the past five years, Bike & Build has raised and donated $1.14 million to local affordable housing groups. ResearchWorks explores this group's efforts, including annual cross-country cycling events, stopping to help with building along the cycling route, increasing awareness of affordable housing issues in host communities, and awarding grants to community groups for affordable housing-related activities.

• Is the traditional "housing affordability" standard of a household paying no more than 30% of its income in housing costs still relevant? A new HUD study examines this question as it looks at trends in housing-related costs over the past two decades for homeowners with mortgages, homeowners without mortgages, and renters. Trends in Housing Costs: 1985-2005 and the 30-Percent-of-Income Standard, weighs two approaches to testing the adequacy of the 30%-of-income standard. ResearchWorks will review this research and its results.

• In the first seven months of 2008, the President designated federal disaster areas located in 25 states. Presidential declarations triggered access to assistance for recovery from severe floods, tornadoes, landslides, mudslides, ice and snowstorms, straight-line winds, and hurricanes. Recovery resources that HUD is able to extend to victims of disasters include the Section 203 (h) and Section 203 (k) loan programs, which make insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation. ResearchWorks will discuss these programs and their benefit to homeowners who have experienced loss of, or damage to, their homes.

• The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 includes measures to encourage the expanded use of energy-efficient mortgages (EEMs). EEMs allow people to purchase or refinance a principal residence and incorporate the cost of energy-efficient improvements into the mortgage. This article will look at how EEMs can help homeowners improve energy efficiency and reduce home energy expenses in a time of rapidly rising energy costs. We'll also look at provisions of the Act that increase the limits for cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements.