Action Needed to Speed Rebuilding of Affordable Housing in Hurricane-Damaged Mississippi
RAND - News Release
Tens of thousands of Mississippi families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by hurricanes last year will have a hard time finding replacement housing in the state unless leaders in government and the private sector take action to accelerate the rebuilding of affordable housing, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.
The report by the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute says experience with past natural disasters shows that affordable housing is usually the last housing to be rebuilt, long after more expensive housing.
This is because in most cases owners of affordable housing have less money to pay for the work, and rental properties do not have access to the same funding sources as owner-occupied housing.
The new study says that before spending housing recovery money in the pipeline to Mississippi, the state should obtain more accurate information about the number and types of housing needed to replace homes damaged and destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
It provides an overview of the region's housing needs and suggests a series of policy options for state and local officials to consider.
This could accelerate the rebuilding of housing so that all Mississippians will be able to afford to return to their home communities, according to the report.
Setting goals for affordable housing across the region to ensure that a significant portion of people can live in the communities where they work.
Coupled with this should be zoning codes that support dense, mixed-use development and incentives for developers to build affordable housing.
Creating incentives for builders to construct homes that use less water and energy and are easier to maintain.
RAND researchers say the damage estimates may be low because they include only housing units counted during the 2000 census.
