RESEARCH

New methodologies, datasets: advancing knowledge

 

Applied Research

The Institute has supported the following applied research through secured funding:

Rockefeller Study on Urban Planning, Finance, and Health (2009-2011)

Penn IUR has been awarded a two year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to identify whether an integrated approach to urban planning, urban finance, and urban health in developing countries can foster equitable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable urban development. As part of this grant, the School of Nursing’s International Council on Women's Health Issues (ICOWHI) will convene the 18th ICOWHI conference, “Cities and Women’s Health: Global Perspectives,” on April 7-10, 2010 at Penn. The conference will identify and explore areas of urban planning and financing that are likely to promote women’s health. For more information or to respond to the call for abstracts, please visit www.icowhi.org. Deadline for submissions is June 1, 2009.

Retooling HUD for a Catalytic Federal Government: A Report to Secretary Shaun Donovan (2009)

Responding to the nation’s immediate challenges will require establishing the policies, programs, and systems that permit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to become a successful partner with state and local governments and with the private sector to improve the economy of our metropolitan areas. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Penn Institute for Urban Research assembled professionals in the fields of housing and urban and metropolitan development to produce this report to Secretary Donovan.

Paul Brophy, Penn Visiting Professor of City Planning and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute and Rachel Godsil, Eleanor Bontecou Professor of Law, Seton Hall University, headed a group of over 100 experts who focused on re-positioning the agency to meet today’s needs. Organized into several Task Forces, the effort involved several Penn faculty, including Eugénie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research; Ira Harkavy, Founding Director, Netter Center for Community Partnerships; Wendell Pritchett, Professor of Law; and Susan Wachter, Richard Worley Professor of Finance (and former HUD Assistant Secretary).

The issues covered by the task forces are compiled in 10 chapters, each listing several short- and long-term recommendations. The chapters are: (1) Preventing Foreclosure; (2) Improving the Private Multi-Family Housing Programs; (3) The “Hard to House”: Creating Housing Opportunities for those in Greatest Need; (4) Improving Communities Impacted by Foreclosure; (5) Strengthening America’s Neighborhoods; (6) New Strategies for a Metropolitan America: Extending HUD’s Urban and Regional Mission; (7) City-Focused Economic Development Agenda for the Federal Government and HUD; (8) Anchor Institutions as Partners in Building Successful Communities and Local Economies; (9) Facilitating Green Housing; and (10) Catalyzing Change at HUD: Building a More Effective Department.

Below are links to download the entire report and its components:

Retooling HUD for a Catalytic Federal Government: A Report to Secretary Shaun Donovan

Contents, Preface & Executive Summary

Chapter 1- Preventing Foreclosures
Chapter 2 - Improving the Private Multi-Family Programs
Chapter 3 - The "Hard to House": Creating Housing Opportunities for Those in Greatest Need
Chapter 4
- Improving Communities Impacted by Foreclosures
Chapter 5
- Strengthening America's Neighborhoods
Chapter 6
- New Strategies for a Metropolitan America: Extending HUD's Urban and Regional Mission
Chapter 7
- A City-Focused Economic Development Agenda for the Federal Government and HUD
Chapter 8
- Anchor Institutions as Partners in Building Successful Communities and Local Economies
Chapter 9
- Facilitating Green Housing
Chapter 10
- Catalyzing Change at HUD: Building a More Effective Department
Appendices

To purchase a paperback book of the report, please visit Lulu.com.

Penn IUR’s Instructional Cases in Urban Development (2007-2009)

Penn IUR’s Cases in Urban Development come from three content areas: 1) the Livingston Case Studies which focus on specific issues of real estate development, 2) Penn IUR Roundtable on Anchor Institutions (PRAI) Cases which highlight best practices and challenges facing major urban anchors, and 3) Philadelphia 360˚ Cases which analyze critical development challenges facing Philadelphia’s economic development. The cases will suit both higher education and civic audiences.

Livingston Cases in Urban Development: These cases demonstrate the usefulness of applying several disciplines (e.g. real estate, city planning, economics, law, social work and others) in addressing key issues in urban development. The cases have a strong emphasis on real estate and development issues and examine the full range economic, political and business related issues.

Cases will focus on Penn IUR’s areas of expertise such as: rebuilding urban places after a disaster, examining housing development in environments recovering from natural disaster; engaging a city mayor in university expansion, illustrating an urban design case from Penn IUR’s Mayors Institute on City Design convening; leveraging anchor institutions for urban development, examining the development concerns and outcomes of the expansion of an urban institution such as a hospital, library, museum or performing arts center; and international cases focusing on China and development in places with emerging land markets as well as a country in the Global South that is coping with peri-urban development.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Livingston Case Study in Urban Development
 
Penn IUR Roundtable on Anchor Institutions (PRAI) Cases: PRAI is a leadership ‘think tank’ focusing on practical questions concerning urban revitalization and development and how it is impacted by anchor institutions. High-level anchor institution leaders and their respective civic partners (academic, government and foundation partners) share development experiences and best practices and strategize around new projects which promote – as a primary or secondary interest – an urban revitalization strategy. The cases featured in the 2008, 2009, and future PRAI events are compiled into an ever-growing best practice case-study manual.

Philadelphia 360˚ Cases: Philadelphia 360˚ enhances civic dialogue around critical planning and economic development topics in Philadelphia with a focus on the city’s major institutional assets. A Bright Future, Cases in Planning and Development consists of best practice case studies on issues such as waterfront planning and anchor institutions.

The New Jersey Council On Affordable Housing (Third Round Methodology) (2008-2009)

Susan Wachter, who directs the Wharton GIS Lab and co-directs Penn IUR, provides oversight to a team of researchers that are providing data and analysis to the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). The deliverables include 1) land capacity analysis, 2) filtering as a source of secondary supply for future and prior round housing need, 3) compensatory benefit to provide affordable housing through inclusionary zoning and review of best practices, and 4) employment projections using publicly available data sources.

Philadelphia House Price Indices

This research shows House Price Indices for Philadelphia and its neighborhoods as well as a the Philadelphia region. This research was prepared by Kevin Gillen, a Penn IUR Research Fellow and Ph.D. graduate from the Applied Economics Department at the Wharton School.

Philadelphia House Price Indices (2009, Q3)
Technical FAQ and Documentation
Slideshow
Commentary

Philadelphia Regional House Price Indices (2009, Q3)
Technical FAQ and Documentation
Slideshow
Commentary

Community Solutions (2005)

Rosenberg Housing Group, provided case study analysis on the innovative strategies of the Housing Authority of Portland, Oregon and the Louisville, Kentucky Metro Housing Authority in the report, “Repositioning Public Housing: Strategies and Practices” (2007). It provides lesions for other jurisdictions and for HUD. The study highlights the authorities’ Moving to Work (MTW) programs and their use of countywide jurisdiction to expand housing opportunities for low-income households and to deconcentrate poverty and public housing units throughout their metropolitan regions. The study also examines the role of strategic planning and the impact of federal regulatory changes.

Public Investment Strategies (2005)

This study focuses on place-based public investment strategies that can enhance the overall vitality of Philadelphia neighborhoods. Our purpose is to examine the economic impact on property values of a range of place-based public investments, including commercial-corridor improvements, vacant land management, neighborhood greening strategies such as green streetscapes, and “business improvements districts,” as well as quality-of-life interventions like public safety, school improvements, and access to transit in the City of Philadelphia. This study was done by Penn IUR co-director, Susan Wachter, and Kevin Gillen, a Penn IUR Research Fellow and Ph.D. graduate from the Applied Economics Department at the Wharton School. He has over nine years experience in developing econometric models. At Wharton, Mr. Gillen developed multiple applications of statistical forecasting models to real estate, using GIS technology, many of which have resulted in scholarly publications in the field of real estate economics. Prior to Wharton, Mr. Gillen worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) developing models of mortgage termination, and for the Federal Reserve analyzing the U.S. financial system. To access this study, click here.

Penn Institute for Urban Research - Meyerson Hall - Room G-12 - 210 South 34th Street - Philadelphia, PA 19104-6311 - penniur@pobox.upenn.edu
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