Housing

ThinkTennessee, in partnership with ULI Nashville, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee, Hawkins Partners, Inc., Urban Housing Solutions, ClearBlue Company, and other community advocates, has collaborated on a series of three resource guides intended to help faith congregations understand the basics of housing development and determine their potential and priorities.

By strategically placing housing, businesses, public facilities, and amenities within walking distance of public transportation, transit-oriented development (TOD) creates walkable, “complete” mixed-use neighborhoods that optimize land use. Research shows that TOD offers families significant benefits, such as increased transportation and housing options, leading to an improved quality of life and economic mobility. However, because of these benefits, transit-oriented, walkable neighborhoods are in high demand. As a result, improving transit access often increases property values and taxes. Both factors can lead to gentrification and displacement, particularly in previously disinvested communities.

Our brief includes three policy recommendations to protect, preserve, and produce housing options in impacted communities. The report also details examples of anti-displacement strategies and provides several case studies from across the country.

After a decade of rapid growth, Tennessee is facing an increase in housing demand that communities are struggling to meet. This shortage contributes to rising housing costs that are becoming increasingly unaffordable for Tennessee families, leading communities to look for new tools to construct more homes and the infrastructure needed to support them. This policy brief gives an overview of the state’s current housing challenges and highlights four policy options to improve housing supply and fund new infrastructure, specifically by expanding and modifying existing programs.

Tennessee has a critical shortage of housing – only six homes have been built for every 10 new jobs created in the state over the past decade, contributing to a significant housing gap. With the recent approval of HB 2623/SB 2496, local jurisdictions will now have the ability to provide voluntary zoning incentives to promote housing development that is affordable, relieve the pressure of the current housing market by increasing housing supply, and encourage a higher rate of housing construction in line with job growth. Our policy brief describes what Tennessee cities need to know about the availability of this new tool, including the types of incentives that can be offered through voluntary incentive programs and the process for implementing those incentives.

The Housing Resource Guide for Faith-Based Institutions is a guide designed for faith-based institutions interested in developing their land for affordable housing opportunities in their communities and for their congregations. Affordable housing is a challenge for many cities across the state and it requires all partners to focus and prioritize increasing housing options for all. Identifying land for affordable housing development is typically one of the most difficult steps in these real estate development transactions. Institutions, whether public, academic, healthcare, or faith-based, can play a significant role in expanding housing affordability and mobility given the amount of land they own, their locations, and accessibility to transportation options and services. This guide is to serve as an initial resource for faith-based institutions to support decisions in developing their land, partnerships, and their role in housing affordability discussions across the state.

The guide is developed and written by Holland & Knight Law Firm, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee’s Real Estate Development (R.E.D.) Academy, and ThinkTennessee.

The election of Memphis’ 65th mayor presents an opportunity to leverage regional investments to create sustainable, equitable long-term growth. Smart investments and policies to create safe, walkable neighborhoods and vibrant, mixed-use corridors will connect Memphians to each other and to economic opportunity.

This policy roadmap provides four recommendations to ensure that all Memphis residents benefit from regional economic growth: 1) Create vibrant, walkable neighborhoods with a variety of housing types, safe streets, and more transportation options; 2) Reimagine corridors to connect people and neighborhoods, rather than separate them; 3) Review what is working well and what needs improvement across city departments; and 4) Dedicate more funding for multimodal transportation and affordable housing.