Recognizing the relationship between affordable housing and successful human and community development, MacArthur supports the Window of Opportunity initiative, which seeks to preserve the stock of affordable rental housing, and a comprehensive research program on how housing matters to families and communities.
The National Community Stabilization Trust, a new collaborative venture of nonprofit housing organizations, financial institutions, and private philanthropies — including the MacArthur Foundation — announced the launch of its national effort to help revitalize communities with high concentrations of foreclosed and abandoned homes. Read more
Twelve states and cities are launching innovative projects to preserve more than 70,000 affordable rental homes, with $32.5 million in new support from the MacArthur Foundation. Read more
To help combat the growing lending crisis and the rise of foreclosures in Chicago, the MacArthur is investing $68 million in grants and low-interest loans in foreclosure prevention and mitigation efforts in local neighborhoods. Read more
Citing research and work supported by the Foundation, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new partnership to help American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs. The task force will enhance integrated regional housing, transportation, and land use planning and investment; redefine affordability and make it transparent; develop livability measures; and undertake joint research, data collection and outreach. HUD is also proposing to create a new Office of Sustainability that would work to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas. Testifying before Congress, Donovan cited the Foundation-supported study by the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology that finds that the average working American family spends nearly 60 percent of its budget on housing and transportation costs. Donovan also highlighted other institutions and projects supported by MacArthur, including: Brookings Institution's Blueprint for American Prosperity, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's integrated land use and transportation plan, and Denver's new Transit-Oriented Development Fund, in which the Foundation invested $2 million.