Evidence-Based Policy Making

An analysis of six strategies to stabilize neighborhoods, this report examines policy interventions used to stabilize or revitalize housing markets in low- and middle-income neighborhoods.

As local practitioners begin to assess strategies to address the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their communities, this report seeks to provide information that will be helpful in their efforts to effectively and equitably protect and improve housing market conditions in low-income and middle-income neighborhoods. The research team, made up of May 8 Consulting, Inc. and Reinvestment Fund (Fannie Mae team), performed a basic policy analysis of the effectiveness of six common tools that urban and suburban local governments and their partners use to stabilize low-income and middle neighborhoods. This effort paid particular attention to tools that are being used to stabilize or revitalize housing markets in neighborhoods of color that have been destabilized and weakened by historically racist policies like redlining, race-based zoning ordinances, and restrictive covenants.