On May 6, 2008, CMAP, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosted a conference to discuss how foreclosures affect communities, and to learn aboutstrategies that have been implemented at the local and regional level to lessen the negative impacts of vacant buildings. "Taking Action: Local Government Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of Foreclosures on Communities" brought together more than 100 representatives from municipalities, county governments, and the housing and development field to share their experiences, successes, and challenges when facing the foreclosure crisis. Foreclosures affect more than just those who do lose their homes. The ramifications can be felt in the surrounding neighborhood, the community as a whole, and even the larger metropolitan region. This conference was a good start to the regional discussion about how we can work together to get through this difficult period. To view a recap of the event and a list of foreclosure resources click here.
On February 6, 2007, CMAP hosted its first "Innovation and Integration" Summit to address the economic impact of linking jobs, housing, and transportation planning. The day-long session at the University of Illinois at Chicago was attended by over 250 stakeholders from various sectors, including local officials, developers, transportation and land use planners, community and economic development practitioners, and financial and philanthropic representatives. The summit featured presentations from local elected officials, developers, leading transportation policy analysts and national leaders from metropolitan planning organizations.
The CMAP Board's Strategic Report on Visioning, Governance, and Funding calls for the agency to address housing issues as part of the overall comprehensive plan, particularly addressing housing conditions, type, affordability, and location. To meet regional priorities, the location, availability, and affordability of housing needs to balance with that of jobs, access to transportation, and protection of open space and natural resources. The escalating costs of housing force some families to move farther from employment centers to seek out reasonably priced housing options , even though such savings may be partially or even completely offset by the increased transportation expenses of longer commutes. CMAP seeks to explore sound policy decisions that assure residents of northeastern Illinois safe, decent and affordable places to live.
CMAP has made significant steps forward. In March 2007, CMAP formed a Housing Working Committee, which is comprised of members with expertise in housing-related issues, including policy professionals, affordable housing developers, government sector representatives (including HUD, IHDA, City of Chicago), financial sector representatives, elected officials and county appointees. The Housing committee has been working to identify housing priorities for the agency, building the 2040 Regional Comprehensive Plan vision, and contributing expertise to the jobs/housing balance report, among other activities.
Below are descriptions of other CMAP activities to integrate housing into planning at the regional and local levels.
Full Circle Community Mapping and Planning Project. CMAP's Full Circle community planning and mapping project began in Spring 2004. Community-based organizations and municipalities participate in creating detailed maps of their neighborhoods, and in planning future development. Full Circle allows housing development practitioners to collect a multitude of data for decision support purposes. For example, a municipality might want to measure density around a transit-oriented development or a community development corporation might want to track vacant lots for potential infill development. Web technologies enable both the data-gathering and planning phases.
Chicago Area Housing & Community Development Website. The Greater Chicago Housing and Community Development Website is designed to guide and assist policy makers, housing/community development professionals, planners, researchers, developers and people seeking to buy or rent a home. The website makes available a wealth of data and information about the housing environment in Chicago and other communities throughout the region.
Jobs & Housing Balance Snapshot. As part of the development of the 2040 Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP), CMAP is producing a series of Snapshot reports. The intent of these reports is to get a bird’s eye view on everything that is currently happening in the region. The report will explore policy questions such as, ‘What can be done to stimulate job creation near affordable housing centers?’ or ‘What can be done to stimulate affordable housing creation near job centers?’ The report is currently in progress and will continue to develop through the fall of 2007. Multiple meetings have taken place among various CMAP staff, partner organizations -- such as the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center and Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) -- and the housing committee to determine appropriate content and methodology for the report. Much of the data analysis will be complete by the end of August 2007.
Inclusionary Zoning Strategy. As part of the regional comprehensive plan’s scenario development process, and under the direction of the housing team, CMAP is currently exploring various inclusionary zoning housing policies. Multiple meetings have taken place among various CMAP staff, partner organizations, and the housing committee to determine appropriate content and methodology for the analysis. Much of the data analysis is complete and will feed into the RCP modeling process.
Developing a strategic plan for CMAP’s role in housing. CMAP staff and the housing committee are fleshing out a strategic plan and vision regarding CMAP’s role in housing-related issues. Recognizing that housing is a new issue area to our new organization, a thoughtful process and careful deliberation by CMAP’s senior staff and regional partners will be necessary to determine CMAP’s role.
The following background work is in progress:
- Determination of what other MPO/Regional Planning Agencies do in regards to housing (copy available upon request). (CMAP will not limit its scope by only participating in the involvements of other agencies, but will work to broaden and enhance their efforts)
- Investigation of potential funding streams, including how other MPOs procure housing funding
- A thorough review of what other housing agencies are doing within the region (copy available upon request to Lee Deuben, 312-386-8623)
CMAP Housing Scope of Work
The agency’s scope of work in housing should include the following considerations:
- Long vs. short-term priorities
- Subject area’s suitability to a regional planning agency
- Scale of projects
- Determination of potential redundancies among agencies
- Relevancy to the Regional Comprehensive Plan
- Availability of funding
Based on those factors, CMAP may consider developing the following mechanisms:
- Technical Assistance: Regional forums, tool kits, direct assistance to municipalities
- Data Repository/Resource Center: Web or publications based
- Policy: Regional task forces monitoring state and federal legislation
- Planning, Publications & Research: Regional housing needs assessments, condo conversions, foreclosures
- Long-term planning: Integration of housing into comprehensive planning and creation of stand alone five-year regional affordable housing plan
- Planning grants
- Incentive-based programs