Inman

New portal surfaces research on benefits of housing

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has launched an online portal dedicated to highlighting housing’s role in individual and neighborhood well-being.

How Housing Matters” serves up research and news that connects housing with a broad range of topics, focusing on the links between housing and “better educational opportunities and outcomes for children; stronger foundations for family and community economic stability; and healthier, more productive individuals and neighborhoods,” according to ULI, which is a nonprofit education and research institute.

The website is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and managed by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing.

The MacArthur Foundation has invested over $25 million in research projects exploring how decent, stable, affordable housing may lead to strong families and vibrant communities, according to ULI.

Those projects, along with research funded by others, are showing that housing does more than just provide shelter: It also improves school performance, reduces health problems for children and adults, and alleviates psychological stress, among other benefits.

Beyond surfacing research, the website will also serve as a “platform for engaging practitioners, policymakers, and researchers across a range of fields committed to using evidence and interdisciplinary approaches to create higher-quality housing and improved outcomes,” ULI said.

Email Teke Wiggin.