Earlier this month, CSPDC staff engaged in a series of listening sessions with local government staff and elected officials across the region to introduce the recently funded Regional Housing Study and garner feedback about the study process. In April, the CSPDC was awarded a $200,000 Community Impact Grant through Virginia Housing to complete a regional housing study. The CSPDC is working with the Virginia Center for Housing Research (VCHR) and HousingForward Virginia to conduct the study.
The listening sessions were a critical first step in the study process, as continued input from local government throughout the study process will shape the direction of the study and its eventual strategies and recommendations. Several themes emerged from the sessions, including a lack of housing options at a variety of income levels from workforce to management level, rapidly increasing home prices, and a lack of large affordable housing developers in the region. Following the listening sessions, the CSPDC will be coordinating focus groups across the region to engage additional stakeholders in the private, non-profit, and public sectors.
This summer, CSPDC and VCHR will also be hosting a data training series for local government staff to cover a variety of data platforms, including American Community Survey and Census data, Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy data. The goal of these trainings is to provide local government staff with the tools they need to update housing-related data in the long-term without the assistance of a consultant. If you are a local government staff member and are interested in attending these trainings, please contact Olivia Raines at olivia@cspdc.org.