HOUSING PLANS & STUDIES
CLEVELAND TEN-YEAR HOUSING AND INVESTMENT PLAN
In Spring 2020, Vincent Reina and Claudia Aiken formed a team that included Dr. Akira Drake Rodriguez (University of Pennsylvania) and local Cleveland practitioners Kirby Date (KM Date Community Planning), Kaela Geschke (Neighborhood Connections), and Tracey Nichols (PMC) to facilitate the City of Cleveland's Ten-Year Housing and Investment Plan. The planning process concluded in Fall 2021.
CINCINNATI COMMUNITY-WIDE HOUSING STRATEGY
Housing Our Future is a community-wide housing strategy for Cincinnati and Hamilton County. The strategy, released in May 2020, is the outcome of efforts from scores of local housing and community development leaders, housing stakeholders, and residents who donated their time to participate in the steering committee or working groups convened by Greater Cincinnati LISC and Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Vincent ​Reina and Claudia Aiken, as primary consultants for the planning process:
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  1. Conducted existing conditions and best practice research to inform the strategy.
  2. Facilitated stakeholder conversations, including a public meeting with 200 stakeholder and resident attendees, to identify key challenges and recommendations.
  3. Helped draft the strategy text, a series of infographic to give context to the strategy, and a companion document to the strategy that includes an overview of relevant housing market conditions in Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
PHILADELPHIA HOUSING ACTION PLAN
Housing for Equity is Philadelphia’s first-ever housing plan. It sets production and preservation targets for the next 10 years and outlines a set of actions that the City will take in concert with partners in the non-profit, for-profit, and philanthropic sectors to achieve those targets. Several of the plan’s recommendations have already moved into implementation. As members of the consultant team (alongside Philadelphia LISC) tasked with preparing the plan, Vincent Reina and Claudia Aiken:
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  1. Analyzed current housing and market conditions, projected future housing demand, and worked with the core team to use this analysis to develop 10-year targets for housing production and preservation.
  2. Conducted a review of the relevant goals and strategies.
  3. Worked closely with a core municipal team that was headed by Anne Fadullon, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Philadelphia. 
  4. Supported stakeholder groups in developing plan recommendations and organized a best practice round table that brought national experts on housing and homelessness to Philadelphia to discuss their first-hand experience implementing the programs Philadelphia was considering. 
  5. Drafted the plan text, a timeline for when each recommendation should be implemented to meet the goals established, and an implementation scorecard so that Philadelphia and the public can track the Plan’s progress.
PENNSYLVANIA COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING STUDY
Vincent Reina and Claudia Aiken, with research assistance from Jane Christen and Jason Schunkewitz, prepared a comprehensive housing study for the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). The study provides a rigorous, data-driven overview of the demographic trends shaping housing supply, demand, cost, and affordability across the Commonwealth and projections for housing needs over the coming decade. It compares trends in urban and rural areas and takes a deep dive into special topics affecting housing markets across the state, including veterans, disability, transportation, flooding, and migration. Finally, the report provides a profile of key housing metrics for each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. The report will inform PHFA policy and programmatic decisions and serve as a resource to policymakers and practitioners across the state.
Whether you're a policymaker, researcher, journalist, student, funder, or just someone who cares about housing - we would love to hear from you. Email us at housinginitiative@design.upenn.edu.