Housing & Land Use Policy Report Gains Attention

The Cedar Rapids Gazette covered a Public Policy Center study conducted by the Housing and Land Use Policy program on housing affordability in Iowa.  The article cites lead PPC researcher, Jerry Anthony, and other community leaders on Johnson County, Iowa leading in the percentage of households that are cost-burdened (spending over 30% of income on housing).  Some of the factors that contribute to Johnson County’s high housing costs include the proximity to the University of Iowa, and the high demand for housing from students and low supply of new housing projects.

The report also examines the quality of life effects of cost-burdened households.  The lack of decent, safe, and affordable housing has been shown to have substantial negative impacts on a variety of aspects in peoples’ lives (e.g., health, welfare of individuals, etc.) with trickle down effects to labor productivity, health-care costs, and education outcomes of K-12 children.

In addition to the report, the Housing and Land Use Policy program released an interactive web-based map that provides information about housing affordability in each Iowa county during the years of 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Read or view the full article here.

Access the Public Policy Center report and map here.