Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/NeilSMayer

The Housing Partnership Network (HPN) is a peer network composed of 87 nonprofit organizations involved in affordable housing as developers, lenders, managers, and providers of services to their residents. The members most commonly produce rental housing for low-income people, operating at large scale and on a regional rather than neighborhood level, and aiming for a high degree of financial self-sufficiency. In aggregate, they form a significant portion of the nonprofit industry in their fields of work. This study reports for the first time on their substantial productivity, the ways they do business to achieve their results, and the policy issues facing them as they grow.

City governments play a pivotal role in helping community developers to revitalize low-income neighborhoods. This research shows that city governments, often criticized for their inefficiencies and thought to be resistant to reform efforts, can improve the way they carry out their community development responsibilities, and there are concrete ways in which national, state, and local funders and supporters of community development can encourage city governments to take steps toward streamlined and effective delivery of neighborhood revitalization programs.

Assesses the Reagan administration's housing record, plans, and goals.

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