National Housing Conference
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| Established | 1931 |
| President and CEO | Conrad Egan |
| Chair | Helen Kanovsky |
| Headquarters | Washington DC, USA |
| Research Affiliate | Center for Housing Policy |
| Homepage | www.nhc.org |
The nonprofit National Housing Conference (NHC) is anaffordable housing advocacy organization. It is a membership-based organization made up of every segment of the housing industry. NHC's mission is for every American, regardless of income, to live in a safe, decent house in a suitable neighborhood.
NHC's nonprofit research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy [1], works to broaden understanding of the nation’s housing challenges and to examine the impact of policies and programs developed to address these needs. Combining research and practical, real-world expertise, the Center helps to develop effective policy solutions at the national, state and local levels that increase the availability of affordable homes.
Conrad Egan serves as president and CEO of NHC, and Helen Kanovsky, chief operating officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, is chair of NHC.
Jeffrey Lubell is executive director of the Center for Housing Policy. John McIlwain, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute and ULI/J. Ronald Terwilliger chair for housing, is chairman of the Center.
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[edit] What they do
Promote policies, programs and legislation that help to provide affordable and suitable housing in a safe, decent environment;
Research the affordable housing challenges facing America's working families, and explaining the impact on the social and economic well-being of these families and the community at large;
Broaden the constituency base of those actively involved in the fight for quality affordable housing;
Elevate national awareness concerning the importance of and need for decent, affordable housing;
Honor and showcase the work of individuals and organizations that have made a positive contribution to the advancement of affordable housing; and
Serve as a clearinghouse for unbiased, nonpartisan information on housing and housing related concerns.
[edit] History
In 1931, Mary Kingsbury Simkhovbitch, a reformer and social worker, formed the National Public Housing Conference, which became the National Housing Conference (NHC), the first non-partisan, independent coalition of national housing leaders from both the public and private sector. Simkohovitch believed that imaginative programs could replace slums with decent housing and revive the creative spirit of a community. [1]
In 1934, NHC’s advocacy began to have an effect on legislation. After pushing hard to get the Federal Home Loan Bank Board set up, NHC helped engineer the passage of the National Housing Act of 1934, which created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). For the first time would be homeowners had a way to obtain affordable mortgages.
President Harry S. Truman signed the National Housing Act of 1949, an extension of the 1937 Act and the most sweeping, ambitious housing legislation the nation ever had. The Act called for “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.” [2]
NHC’s dedicated efforts in the 1950s and 1960s led to such successes as the expansion of the Housing Act of 1949 in 1954, which included authorization of slum clearance and permitted rent adjustments based on income. Part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” included the creation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1965, a cabinet level department with decent housing as its only goal. [3]
In 1973, Clara Fox, executive director of the Settlement Housing Fund, organized developers, lenders, builders, property managers, residents and others interested in affordable housing into a powerful coalition to fight the President Richard Nixon’s actions to limit federal housing programs. The following year, this coalition, the New York Housing Conference (NYHC), affiliated with NHC. Fox served as co-chair of NYHC until her death in December, 2007. [4]
After Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter authorized record high budgets for HUD in the 1970s, the election of Ronald Reagan in 1982 led to drastic housing budget cuts. Despite the reluctance of the Reagan Administration, NHC successfully lobbied for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit legislation, which gave private investors a 10-year tax incentive to invest in affordable housing by providing equity for multi-family housing with a designated number of units for low-income tenants. This remains the most important incentive for financing low-income housing. [5]
In 1992, President Bill Clinton’s new HUD administration approached NHC for help in determining how best to preserve the 940,000 Section 8 program units facing defaults. NHC convened a special task force numbering over 110 industry leaders from all different sectors of the housing industry. The coalition drafted a proposal that resulted in “Mark to Market” legislation, helping to preserve hundreds of thousands of rental units.
Also in 1992, NHC created the Center for Housing Policy, an affiliated housing research organization dedicated to conducting practical and relevant research for housing practitioners and policymakers. Jeffrey Lubell serves as executive director of the Center.
In the late 1990s, a group of California NHC members decided that the time was long overdue for California, to become a more significant player in the affordable housing policy arena. In 1997 they formed an affiliate organization of NHC, the California Housing Consortium (CHC). Since 1997, CHC has become a major affordable housing player in California. Its efforts have resulted in major state housing bonds focused on ensuring affordable housing.
In December 2000, Congress established the bipartisan Millennial Housing Commission. The Commission was charged with examining, analyzing and exploring: 1) The importance of affordable housing; 2) Possible methods for increasing the role of the private sector in providing affordable housing; and 3) Whether exiting HUD programs work. NHC's then-policy director, Conrad Egan, was the executive director of the Commission. Egan now serves as president and CEO of NHC.
[edit] NHC Annual “Housing Person of the Year” Award Gala
Every year in Washington, DC, NHC honors a person (or organization) who has contributed significantly to the goal of increased affordable housing and strong, healthy communities throughout the nation. This event is considered a "must-attend" for leaders in the housing community and represents an annual celebration of achievement.
In 2008, NHC will honor Bart Harvey, former chairman of Enterprise Community Partners.
In 2007, NHC honored Former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, executive chairman of CityView, for his achievement as one of the nation’s most distinguished affordable housing leaders. CityView is a national housing investor that creates housing opportunities for America’s working families through the financing of homes.
Past NHC “Housing Person of the Year” Award Recipients
[edit] NYHC and NHC Annual New York Awards Luncheon
Each December, the New York Housing Conference (NYHC) and NHC honor individuals and organizations that have helped make New York a better place to live and work. The event attracts more than 1,000 influential figures in banking and real estate. Past speakers at the luncheon have included New York’s U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Past NYHC and NHC Annual New York Awards Luncheon Honorees
[edit] NHC “Vital Link” Discussion Series
NHC’s “Vital Link” Discussion Series looks at the connections between housing and other social and economic issues. The series is designed to educate the housing and community development communities on these issues. There were three programs held in 2007, focusing on veterans’ housing, asset building and international housing.
[edit] Regional Housing Forums
In 2007, NHC held the following regional housing forums in partnership with a network of other national, state and local housing and related organizations:
Workforce Housing Solutions Workshop Series: Employer Assisted Housing Options and Opportunities, West Palm Beach, Florida
Held in May 2007, this forum was presented by NHC and the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County. It examined a variety of innovative and practical options that can be used by businesses to help attract and retain workers in high-cost housing markets. National employers, including the Mayo Clinic and Harley Davidson, spoke about how they are addressing the scarcity of affordable workforce housing, leading discussions on the challenges, opportunities and rewards associated with establishing employee housing benefit programs that can range from downpayment homeownership and rental assistance to financial counseling.
Creating Linkages: Transportation, Housing and Employment, Phoenix, AZ
In June 2007, NHC joined with the Arizona Department of Housing, Greater Phoenix Leadership and the Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family at Arizona State University to sponsor this forum exploring the connections between sound housing and transportation policies. National and local leaders shared their ideas on integrating the planning of transportation, housing and employment centers so that communities can begin to rein in sprawl, make more efficient use of the transportation infrastructure and address the mismatch between the location of jobs and housing.
National Inclusionary Housing Conference: Building Strong Mixed Income Communities, San Francisco, CA
Presented by NHC, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, the Innovative Housing Institute and PolicyLink, in collaboration with the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, this conference brought together local and national leaders to discuss inclusionary housing, also known as inclusionary zoning. This policy helps ensure the construction of low- to moderate-income housing by requiring developers to set aside affordable units in an otherwise market-driven development. The themes of the conference included crafting a winning strategy, innovations in implementation, and overall creative approaches to preserving affordability.
[edit] Regional Affiliates
New York Housing Conference (NYHC) was established in 1973 to develop and advocate for affordable housing policy and programs at the federal, state and city level. NYHC has worked with local government agencies to create low- , moderate- and middle-income housing programs locally and has helped gained enactment of major housing legislation.
Founded in 1997, the California Housing Consortium/CHC Institute is a coalition of developers, lenders, state and local government officials, homebuilders, investors, property managers, residents and housing professionals who share the common goal of expanding and improving affordable housing opportunities for all Californians.
[edit] References
- ^ NYHC: It Began in New York, 2006. http://www.nyhousingconference.org/pdf/Housing_QVersion.pdf
- ^ Fannie Mae Foundation. The Housing Act of 1949: It's Place in the Realization of the American Dream of Homeownership. Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 11, Issue 2, 2000. http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/programs/hpd/pdf/hpd_1102_martinez.pdf
- ^ Johnson's "Great Society Speech
- ^ NYHC: It Began in New York, 2006. http://www.nyhousingconference.org/pdf/Housing_QVersion.pdf
- ^ Multi-Housing News
