CHURP Projects

Working with the DC Chapter of the National Association of Realtors, DC government agencies, and the DC Policy Institute, CHURP is creating the first comprehensive database of all properties in the District that are covered by rent control legislation. The goal of this project is to provide a publicly available accurate and detailed database that can be used as a credible evidentiary base to inform policy and analysis. 

The burden of climate change is not evenly shared. People experiencing homelessness (PEH) tend to be more exposed and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because they spend extended periods of time outdoors, have limited access to health care, protective equipment, or places to go with sufficient air filtration. PEH also have significantly higher rates of morbidity, mortality and reduced life expectancies even when compared to housed individuals living in poverty. Exposure to climate impacts can perpetuate these poor health, mortality, and life expectancy patterns. This analysis investigates exposure to climate impacts amongst PEH using 311 service request data to locate PEH in cities like New York, Texas, and California. We then use climate impact tracking datasets from NASA, NOAA, and the CDC to understand locational exposure to climate impacts including air pollution and extreme heat amongst PEH. We reach conclusions about regional practices that may contribute to their climate vulnerability and suggest reforms to improve health outcomes among this marginalized population.

Resident leadership is an essential component of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s programs.  Given the stated importance of resident involvement in governance, this project addresses how resident commissioners, resident advisory board members, and resident council members see their contributions to the stated goal of creating and maintaining a positive living environment. The research also focuses on resident leaders’ views on improving their effectiveness and the identification of training programs that help prepare them for leadership roles. The specific research questions are: How do resident leaders perceive their contribution to the goal of creating and maintaining a positive living environment? What resident leader characteristics best predict their perceived success in achieving the stated goal? What do resident board members feel will improve their contributions to governance? What is their level of satisfaction with current leadership training programs? The draft final report addressing these questions is available on the CHURP website. 

Aging in place can be described as one’s ability to live independently and comfortably in one’s own home and community as one ages with appropriate support and services in place to meet one’s changing needs. As the global population continues to age, there is growing interest in the economic, sociological, and psychological implications of aging in place, including its impact on generational wealth building. This research uses a cross-sectional study with Rebuilding Together, designed to investigate the relationships between aging in place, intergenerational wealth transfers, and quality of life among older Black and non-Black adults with the aim of understanding what influences an individual’s decision to age in place and to pass on wealth to younger generations.

The affordable housing crisis has led to renewed interest in modular factory-built housing. This study documents the experience of modular housing in the District of Columbia over the past 50 years. Based on a series of case studies, the possibilities and challenges of modular housing are summarized. The draft final report on modular housing is available on the CHURP website. 

Centuries of systemic racism has caused a racial wealth gap that has been present in the United States for tens of generations/centuries. As generations pass, wealth gets passed on to newer generations. Does the wealth gap narrow? Will the wealth transfer from Boomers and the Silent Generation to Gen X and Millennials in the next 20 years make an impact on racial disparities? CHURP will examine how the great wealth transfer will impact racial disparities, including the wealth gap. Will there be obstacles for certain groups to accumulate wealth following the transfer? CHURP is working with AARP to find the impact of the wealth transfer on society, and underserved populations. 

Beginning in summer 2022, CHURP worked with MassMutual Life Insurance Company to examine the investment behavior of high-income Black Americans in the United States. Phase 1 of the project completed a position paper focusing on the use of current financial products to enhance wealth. The team reviewed past studies that demonstrated the maltreatment of Black Americans by financial institutions and the resulting historical mistrust of financial institutions by them. Phase 2 of the project included surveys and focus groups to address and analyze additional qualitative factors that have not previously been examined in the literature. The team highlighted the barriers faced by Black Americans in accessing financial products and services. The prevalence of these barriers was found to continue to undermine the financial security and well-being of Black Americans. The report addressing these issues is available on the CHURP website. 

The impact of Short-Term Rental (STR) housing provided  through Airbnb and others on local housing market has been the subject of intense and publicized debate among market actors, including lawmakers, developers, housing providers, and renters in many urban areas.   While there is growing literature on how STR providers affect rents, neighborhood change and displacement of lower income renters, little research has been done on whether Airbnb and other STRs decrease affordable housing opportunities for Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) participants. Using proprietary Airbnb/VRBO listing data, property and income tax data from DC government and socio-economic data from U.S. Census, this study aims to explore the relationship between the expansion of Airbnb and housing supply affordable to lower income DC residents.  The DC Council enacted a regulation in 2008 that restricted the activities of Airbnb and other STRs in DC. Airbnb data for 2014-2022 allows us to assess the pre and post regulation effects of Airbnb on affordable housing market in DC.

U.S. renters are facing an affordable housing crisis that has been created, in part, by the conversion of affordable rental apartments to luxury apartments and condominiums. To stem the tide of displacement created by conversions, housing advocates have called for the adoption of laws to mitigate displacement and protect tenants’ rights to remain in their rental units. A few local governments in the nation’s capital area have adopted anti-displacement policies that grant renters the “right to purchase” (RTP). The purpose of this research is to examine the efficacy of RTP policies in preserving affordable housing opportunities for low-income households and persons of color.

In Maryland, the State government and a consortium of private companies are investing billions to construct a light rail line due to open by 2026. A variety of government, private, and non-profit actors known as the Purple Line Corridor Coalition are trying to achieve a vision of equitable transit-oriented development without displacement of incumbent residents. Displacement occurs due to escalating housing costs- a social problem associated with gentrification. In this research, we ask if gentrification is already occurring at the neighborhood level along the Purple Line Corridor, and if it's attributable to the new investment in transit. Second, we ask if residents in the Purple Line corridor are more likely to experience affordability issues, whether residential or commercial, in gentrifying neighborhoods.

A report was published to Sage Journals.

People, specially young children and older individuals, spend a significant amount of time indoors. A deteriorating home can pose more safety and health hazards (e.g., lead and peeling paint-dust infiltration), and practices can increase exposure to contaminants (burning of candles, paint jobs, fireplace use, use of harsher cleaning agents). This project will determine the health of 50 minority homes in the Greensboro area through sampling and testing, access the knowledge base of residents on the health of their home, and importantly provide resources and tips to improve their homes. Data collected will be compared to national standards.

Funded by a grant from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF), supported by the U.S. HUD and in collaboration with the Government of the District of Columbia, the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) and Employer-Assisted Housing Program (EAHP) project examines the affordability mechanism within HPAP and EAHP and evaluates the extent to which these programs achieve their objectives. Direct conversations were held with program officials at the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), which oversees the HPAP program, as well as with representatives from Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) and Administrators who assist in the program implementation.

Funded by a grant from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF), supported by US HUD and in collaboration with the Government of the District of Columbia, the Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) project examines the program design of DC’s IZ program and evaluates the extent to which it achieves its objectives. A review of program regulations and documentation was conducted to understand the structure of the program and how it works. This project studies bot purchase and rental IZ programs administered by the DC Government’s Department of Housing and community Development (DHCD).

In Washington DC, homeowners benefit from a generous homestead property tax deduction, which significantly reduces their property tax burden. This deduction specifically exempts a substantial portion of home assessment values from taxation. To understand the causal effects of this policy on home values, this paper examines the impact of an increase in DC homestead tax deductions. The increase was implemented as a policy decision to index the homestead deduction to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) starting from 2013. In the absence of a comparable property tax policy change in Maryland around the relevant years, we utilize this policy based natural experiment and compare the home value increases in the census tracts along the DC-Maryland border. Our findings reveal that this policy led to an economically and statistically significant increase in estimated home value in DC tracts compared to neighboring tracts in Maryland. Moreover, our results indicate that this effect is even more pronounced in neighborhoods with a majority Black population, thereby highlighting the potential redistributive implications of such tax policies. This paper has been published at Sage Journals.

This project explores the connections between housing conditions, the presence of asthma-related environmental factors, and measures of asthma severity, including healthcare utilization and symptom severity. The findings will inform the identification of children aged 2 to 12 living in public housing complexes with environmental conditions that could benefit from targeted interventions, such as addressing pest infestations, mold, and environmental tobacco smoke. In partnership with Children’s National Health System, the project conducts comprehensive baseline health and home environmental assessments, including household inspections using a standardized tool developed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Caregivers also provide demographic and behavioral data to help identify factors influencing asthma in children. This work aims to create actionable insights to improve housing and health outcomes for children with asthma.

The purpose of this study is to assess barriers, opportunities, and public policy relative to the development of sustainable affordable housing in urban low-income communities of Greensboro, High-Point, and Winston Salem, North Carolina. In these triad cities, many affordable housing developments were not designed or constructed to conform with sustainability requirements, thereby failing to meet the definition of sustainable housing. If affordable housing is supplied and operated to reduce energy, water consumption, and carbon emission, it is more likely that the quality of life of residents would be enhanced. In this study, a qualitative approach involving interviews would be used to solicit opinions from three groups including senior officials of government housing agencies, community leaders, and housing developers. Themes, concepts, and emerging theories drawn from the data will be analyzed and reported. It is expected that the findings of this study would lead to housing policy changes that would encourage sustainable affordable housing development in the target cities

Payday loans disproportionately target vulnerable populations, exploiting their financial insecurities. The high Annual Percentage Rate (APR), often reaching exorbitant levels, puts borrowers at risk of falling into cycles of debt, turning the initial loan into a revolving door of borrowing to meet immediate needs. In response to the predatory lending practices of payday lenders, several states have implemented rules and regulations to protect consumers.  This project explores the impact of state regulations on the prevalence of payday loan usage. Specifically, it investigates whether the proximity to borders in states with differing regulatory environments influences the utilization of payday loans.