Health

Health promotion interventions in public housing communities have the potential to reduce obesity among residents, a new study shows. Changes in their environment, such as fresh food trucks, walking groups, screenings, and cooking demos, helped Boston residents eat better and get more exercise.

SAHF members believe that connecting residents of affordable housing with needed supports – such as educational resources or health services – can help vulnerable families and seniors achieve a better quality of life.

The community development “industry”—a network of nonprofit service providers, real estate developers, financial institutions, foundations, and government—draws on public subsidies and other financing to transform impoverished neighborhoods into better-functioning communities.

Through the coordinated care model, those paying for health care get a better value and health plan consumers get higher quality care at a price we can all afford. And Oregonians are experiencing improved, more integrated care.

The first two brief sections set the policy context for the ongoing housing policy debate on the social benefits of housing. Next is a five-section critical review of the last roughly quarter century of housing policy research.