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  • Housing nonprofit provides essential home repairs to Cuyahoga County residents

    A housing nonprofit connects contractors with homeowners in need of urgent repairs. Tax-funded grant dollars are used for crucial projects that affect a resident’s health and safety so that people are not displaced. The initiative prevents homeowners on a fixed income from losing their homes due to unexpected expenses.

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  • Crypto power: Can solar boost cheap, green homes in S.Africa?

    Watergate Estate is working on two issues in South Africa: affordable housing and renewable energy. The housing development is installing solar panels for its residents that are being bought by people all over the world using cash or bitcoin as a way to offset their own carbon costs. Not everyone agrees that gated communities like this are helping to fight social inequalities, crime, and unemployment, but about 470 people bought solar cells for the apartment complex and some residents say they feel safer in their community.

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  • Energiesprong wants every home to be net-zero

    Inspired by the Dutch concept of “Energiesprong,” or “energy jump,” a developer in France retrofitted a group of townhouses for social housing to be more environmentally friendly. They installed polyurethane facades to avoid heat loss and solar panels on the roof. Upgrading the units to be more green cost more than a conventional retrofit, but over time, energy bills were cut in half. These green retrofits are being implemented in towns around the world and could be a model for developers that want to reduce their carbon footprints.

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  • How Expanding Vouchers Could Improve Housing Stability

    Housing vouchers have proven to be the most effective intervention to address housing instability in America. The vouchers provide a subsidy that covers the difference between rent and what families can afford to pay. Labeling it as one of the most effective federal housing policies, advocates are pushing for policies that expand the voucher rental assistance.

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  • LEGO ramps could improve access for Philadelphians in wheelchairs

    An ingenious use of LEGOs has resulted in colorful wheelchair ramps around the German town of Hanau. The ramps are constructed using thousands of tiny LEGOs that are glued together and are able to withstand the weight of electric wheelchairs, strollers, and walkers. Although the ramps don’t comply with official building and safety codes, they’ve proven to be helpful and have remained in use in Hanau.

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  • The secret ingredient in Paris' green public housing

    Paris Habitat, the city’s main social housing agency, used hempcrete — a concrete-like mixture of hemp, lime, and water — as insulation in one of its apartment complexes. This material helps maintain temperature and reduces a building’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The cost of using hempcrete can be expensive but making the material is more environmentally friendly, and has shown that it can be implemented for affordable housing and not just for those who already have the means to pay for it.

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  • California job seekers found new careers with help from a rent relief program. Here's how

    Rent relief payments in California are helping public housing residents pursue full-time employment. The Jobs-Plus initiative provides payments that are conditional on enrolling in job training and placement programs. An increased income often disqualifies public housing residents from benefits and subsidies such as food stamps, childcare, and discounted rent rates which can negate the increased income from higher wages or more hours. Rent relief empowers residents to build a security net for themselves in addition to pursing full-time employment without the strain of losing much-needed benefits.

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  • The Hottest Amenity From Developers? A Power Plant Made of Batteries.

    An apartment complex in Utah includes a solar battery in every apartment allowing the resident, power utility, and building developer to save costs for generating electricity. Through a unique partnership, the power systems can provide 12.6 megawatts of power for the building, which translates into residents saving up to 40 percent on the energy bills. This setup might not be easy to scale, but the developer plans to expand the model in other states.

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  • The Streets Are My Home: Evictions, Homelessness and COVID

    Restore Hope Ministries worked to prevent homelessness and evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic by using private donations, foundation grants, and CARES Act funds to provide rental assistance to 1,422 households. Each household received up to several months of rent, totaling $3.5 million in assistance, and targeting populations and neighborhoods most vulnerable to eviction and homelessness. The Tulsa Day Center also pivoted due to the pandemic and sheltered people identified as most vulnerable in place day and night, while working with the city and county to open up and run an overflow shelter.

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  • The Big Idea Behind A New Model Of Small Nursing Homes

    Throughout the U.S. a group of nursing homes known as Green House Cottages are providing a model of care through their patient-centered architecture, philosophy, and organization. Unlike the typical nursing home, each resident at a Green House gets their own room and bathroom and staff do not fluctuate. During the pandemic, this type of design has also helped keep at-risk residents safe.

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