On January 10, 2024, the HUD Los Angeles Field Office welcomed a distinguished delegation from Tokyo's Metropolitan Housing Management Division, a significant step towards fostering international collaborations in housing policy development. The focus of the visit centered on two critical areas – the revitalization of apartment complexes, including public housing for low-income individuals, and housing support for those requiring special consideration. The delegation, led by Yuka Anami (Deputy Director, Development Section, Tobu Housing Construction Office), engaged in a comprehensive exploration of advanced overseas cases.

Morning discussions with Meena Bavan (Public and Indian Housing [PIH] Director), Bill Rhodes (PIH Division Director), Ester Dela (Program Manager, Office of Community Planning and Development), Danette Martin (Field Policy and Management Program Analyst), PIH staff members (Natacha Mattox, Liseth Aguilera, Albert Alford, Timothy Still, Alexnadra Loor, and Nida Watkins), and Andrew Ten (Regional Public Affairs Officer), provided valuable insights into low-income housing policies in Los Angeles and the nuanced process of redeveloping apartment complexes.

In the afternoon, the delegation embarked on a field visit to the Jordan Downs Redevelopment and Pueblo del Sol projects, where they immersed themselves in case studies of successful apartment revitalization projects for low-income individuals. The exchange facilitated an open dialogue, allowing for the sharing of best practices and lessons learned.

This collaborative effort reflects a commitment to addressing global housing challenges, emphasizing the importance of socio-economic diversity within apartment complexes and the development of welfare service facilities. As we continue to learn from one another, we envision a future where international partnerships lead to innovative solutions and improved housing conditions for communities worldwide. (By Andrew Ten, Regional Public Affairs Officer, HUD Pacific Region)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the United Nations entity, consisting of 198 member nations, that focuses on the world’s response to the threat of climate change. The most significant recent UNFCCC achievement is the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which member nations pledged to keep the world’s annual average temperature rise at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius, which would stabilize major effects of climate change. UNFCCC hosts a large annual gathering called the Conference of Parties (COP). HUD started attending the annual COP conferences in 2021 with the historic announcement of HUD’s first-ever Climate Action Plan. Unfortunately, HUD was unable to attend the 2022 COP. Read more on PD&R Edge.

Every domestic agency in the federal government has an international affairs office, including HUD. The International and Philanthropic Affairs Division (IPAD) traces its origins to 1969, when Dale Barnes joined HUD as its deputy director for international affairs. Barnes, like IPAD’s current director Cynthia Campbell, served in the U.S. Navy; after leaving the Navy in 1960, he joined the Atomic Energy Commission before coming to work for HUD. We were able to find one reference to the founding of IPAD in a May 1971 article in HUD Challenge magazine. The article suggests that many aspects of the office’s mission have remained the same since 1971. Read more on PD&R Edge.

The eighth Asia-Pacific Urban Forum was held in Suwon, Korea, from October 22 to 25, 2023. The forum is held every 4 to 5 years and is organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Suwon City in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea. The forum brings together diverse stakeholders to reflect on the colliding crises facing cities in Asia and the Pacific region and to synthesize innovative approaches and actions to support sustainable urban development in the context of the New Urban Agenda and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HUD representatives were part of the U.S. State Department team that negotiated the New Urban Agenda in 2016. Our agency focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 11: to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Read more on PD&R Edge.

Over the past couple decades, the development of new housing units in both the United States and Canada has failed to keep pace with demand, leading to rising housing costs. Like the United States, Canada is grappling with how best to manage its housing shortage and affordability crisis. According to a September 2023 report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the country needs 3.5 million new housing units by 2030 to restore affordability. In March 2023, the Canadian government launched a Housing Accelerator Fund to help address these issues. The $4 billion fund serves as an incentive for local governments, offering them funds to cover the upfront costs needed to boost the nation’s housing supply by 100,000 units. Read more on PD&R Edge.

From September 26-28, 2023, a delegation from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism and Urban Renaissance Agency visited HUD sites in Seattle. Region X Administrator Margaret Salazar, IPAD Director Cindy Campbell, and DAS for Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring Dr. Calvin Johnson accompanied the group as they visited sites including public housing authority projects and the Yesler Terrace Choice Neighborhood. The group concluded their Seattle visit with a discussion with the University of Washington’s Smart Cities team.

From September 10-16, 2023, participants in the German Marshall Fund’s (GMF’s) Breaking Barriers to Affordable Housing city-to-city exchange initiative convened in Germany. Delegates from HUD, six U.S. and German cities, the German federal government, and partner research institutions convened in Frankfurt (10-12 September) for workshops and site visits, Jena (12-14 September) for the official meeting of the German Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy, and Berlin (14-16 September) for additional site visits and workshops. Cindy Campbell and Caitlin Quinn participated on behalf of HUD. The delegates will continue to meet virtually in the coming months, and they plan to meet in person in the United States in spring 2024.

On July 26, 2023, HUD hosted a roundtable with philanthropic leaders in San Francisco, California. HUD’s Region IX Administrator Jason Pu, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene, IPAD Director Cindy Campbell, and California Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez were among the participants. The roundtable was an opportunity for leaders from HUD, state and local government, and the philanthropic sector to discuss strategies to increase affordable housing and create equitable communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country.

A delegation from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), led by PD&R’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Solomon Greene and IPAD Director Cindy Campbell, participated in this year’s United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The Forum was held in New York City from July 10-19, 2023. The U.S. delegation included leadership and staff from across the federal government, including the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The Forum featured a series of plenary discussions and side events about effective and inclusive recovery measures to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to explore actionable policy guidance for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. PDAS Greene delivered remarks during the Official Meeting on SDG 11 (which aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable) and spoke as a panelist on two side events, including the official U.S.-sponsored side event on localizing SDG 11, an event that HUD organized in partnership with the University of Chicago.

On July 13, 2023, IPAD facilitated a meeting at HUD Headquarters between staff from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research and officials from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT). The MLIT delegation was led by Takahiro Konami, who leads MLIT’s Water and Disaster Management Bureau. The meeting focused on urban resilience, specifically on water-related risk reduction in urban areas.

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge led a delegation from HUD to Takamatsu, Japan for the second annual G7 Sustainable Urban Development Ministers’ Meeting, held from July 7-9, 2023. The meeting featured sessions on the topics of carbon-neutral and resilient cities, inclusive cities, and digitalization, as well as off-site excursions, bilateral meetings, and a special session on Ukraine. Both Secretary Fudge and Dr. Calvin Johnson, HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, addressed the group of ministers and delegates. The HUD delegation also included IPAD Director Cindy Campbell and Garrett McDaniel from the Office of the Secretary. Read more about HUD’s participation in the Ministers’ Meeting, and the full text of the Secretary’s remarks, here. Read IPAD Director Cindy Campbell’s article about the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on HUD User here.

On the sidelines of the G7 Sustainable Urban Development Ministers’ Meeting in Takamatsu, Japan, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and senior Japanese officials signed an updated Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) setting forth the intent of HUD and its two Japanese counterpart agencies to work collaboratively to support research on affordable housing and urban development policies and programs. The MOC was signed for Japan by Minister Tetsuo Saito, who leads Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT), and President Masahiro Nakajima, who leads Japan’s Urban Renaissance Agency (UR). The previous MOC between HUD, MLIT, and UR dates back to 2017 and encompassed topics such as inclusive housing and urban development strategies for older adults in Japan and the United States and effective partnership between the public sector, private sector, and nonprofit organizations in achieving successful aging in place. The updated MOC continues the exchange on aging in place, while expanding to include new topics such as carbon neutrality and climate resilience (including flood risk reduction and green infrastructure), the use of digital technology in housing and urban development, and inclusive approaches to integrating public space in urban development.

On June 28, 2023, IPAD staff facilitated a visit to HUD Headquarters by a high-level delegation from Japan led by State Minister for Disaster Management Tsuyoshi Hoshino. The delegation met with HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman and other HUD leaders and staff to discuss aspects of HUD’s work related to disaster management, recovery, and resilience. HUD attendees included Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (CPD); Todd Richardson, General Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R); Brian McCabe, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Policy Development in PD&R; Tennille Parker, Director of the Office of Disaster Recovery in CPD; Trey Reffett, Senior Advisor for Disaster Recovery; and IPAD’s Caitlin Quinn.

Approximately 40 senior leaders from 26 philanthropic organizations attended the 2023 Secretary’s Philanthropic Roundtable, held at HUD Headquarters on June 22, 2023. The event was planned by IPAD’s Mia Bailey and focused on the theme Working Together to Secure Housing for All. The roundtable kicked off with welcoming remarks from Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Solomon Greene, after which HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge addressed participants, providing an update about the Biden-Harris Administration’s agenda for HUD in addressing issues such as homelessness, the national housing supply shortage, challenges surrounding equity, barriers to homeownership, and climate resilience. The roundtable with the Secretary was followed by a series of breakout discussions focused on specific housing topics, each led by a senior HUD official.

On June 14, 2023, HUD and the Council on Foundations (COF) announced the winners of the annual Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships at COF’s Leading Locally conference in Denver, Colorado. Nine foundations were chosen for this year’s award, which recognizes excellence in partnerships that have both transformed the relationship between the public and philanthropic sectors and led to measurable benefits in housing and community development, including increased economic opportunity, health, safety, education, workforce development, disaster resilience, inclusivity and cultural opportunities, and/or housing access for low- and moderate-income families. The winners were honored at an award ceremony by Solomon Greene, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, and Kathleen Enright, COF’s President and CEO. Read more about this year’s winners and their projects here.

From June 7-9, 2023, HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman led a delegation from HUD to the 2023 International Social Housing Festival in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to the Deputy Secretary, the delegation also included HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Victoria Brown; Chief Operations Officer Eugenia Metrakas; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development Dr. Brian McCabe; and IPAD’s Meron Habte. At the festival, Deputy Secretary Todman delivered the opening speech for a panel focused on the Americas, and Dr. McCabe led a side session focused on rental assistance. In addition, the Deputy Secretary held bilateral meetings with officials from Spain’s Ministry of Transportation, Mobility, and Urban Planning and Ireland’s Ministry of Housing. Read more about HUD’s participation in the housing festival here.

HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene led the U.S. delegation to the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya from June 5-9, 2023. The U.S. delegation included officials from HUD (including PDAS Greene and IPAD Director Cindy Campbell), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as local government representatives, businesspeople, community leaders, and urban planners. The UN Habitat Assembly, which convenes every four years, is the highest decision-making body of the UN focused on sustainable urbanization and human settlements. At the 2023 Assembly, the U.S. delegation negotiated draft resolutions on housing, urbanization, and climate, and for the first time, co-sponsored an international resolution on housing, re-committing all UN member states to strive to provide adequate housing for all. As part of HUD’s leadership at the Assembly, PDAS Greene delivered the official U.S. national statement (which can be accessed in full at this link), and HUD hosted a panel discussion in partnership with the University of Chicago on the topic of localizing sustainable development and urban regeneration models via HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program. Read more about HUD’s participation at the UN Habitat Assembly here. Watch a short video featuring PDAS Greene on U.S. Embassy Nairobi’s Twitter account here.

On May 31, 2023, a delegation from Japan’s Housing Finance Agency visited HUD to learn about the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA’s) reverse mortgage program for seniors, HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgages). IPAD’s Katie Marinari and Caitlin Quinn facilitated the meeting, which was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the Office of Housing Counseling David Berenbaum, DAS for Economic Affairs Dr. Kurt Usowski, and FHA Chief of Staff Nate Shultz. Topics of discussion included specifics of the HECM program and how HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling ensures seniors can take advantage of reverse mortgages while maintaining financial stability.

On May 22, 2023, Secretary Marcia L. Fudge hosted her Canadian counterpart, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Ahmed Hussen, for a bilateral meeting at HUD Headquarters. Topics of discussion included HUD’s efforts to address housing affordability, the housing supply shortage, and homelessness, as well as Canadian programs to address challenges such as chronic veteran homelessness. IPAD’s Mia Bailey coordinated the meeting and was among the HUD staff in attendance.

HUD representatives including IPAD’s Cindy Campbell and Mia Bailey and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene worked with colleagues from the State Department to coordinate HUD’s participation in this year’s Cities Summit of the Americas. The Summit, which was held in Denver, Colorado from April 26-28, 2023, convened subnational and national leaders from across the Western Hemisphere together with diverse representatives from civil society, business, academia, youth organizations, cultural and arts groups, and indigenous and underrepresented communities. HUD hosted a roundtable at the Summit that focused on addressing homelessness at the local level, as well as a panel about HUD programs. In addition to PDAS Greene and IPAD representatives, the HUD delegation to the Summit included Marion McFadden, PDAS for Community Planning and Development (CPD); Beth Lynk, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs; Claudia Monterrosa, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grants in CPD; and Dr. Kimberly McClain, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations. Read more about the Cities Summit of the Americas here.

On April 27, 2023, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)—including IPAD’s Caitlin Quinn—hosted a virtual roundtable that brought together HUD researchers and members of the Colombian Ministry of Housing, City, and Territory, HUD’s counterpart ministry in Colombia. Dr. Calvin Johnson, PD&R’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, and Dr. Regina Gray, Director of PD&R’s Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division, briefed attendees about HUD programs and policies that address energy efficiency for low-income households. The roundtable followed from the February 2023 visit by the Colombian housing minister to HUD Headquarters for a bilateral meeting with HUD’s Deputy Secretary.

From April 23-25, 2023, representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development, and Building (BMWSB) and the German international development agency (GIZ) visited Washington, D.C. to formally launch a joint HUD-German research project on homelessness. The research project is an outgrowth of the agreement—formally known as a Declaration of Intent (DOI)—signed by HUD and BMWSB in 2011 and renewed in 2019 that formalizes our agencies’ commitment to fostering transatlantic learning on a variety of urban planning and development topics in support of a shared agenda for an integrated sustainable urban development framework. During their visit to Washington, the German delegation discussed the current state of homelessness research with leadership and staff from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, met with senior leadership from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and visited a HUD-funded permanent supportive housing project for veterans in Northwest D.C.

From April 22-25, 2023, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs Dr. Kurt Usowski and IPAD’s Aaron Weaver attended the semiannual meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC) in Paris, France. Over the course of the weeklong meeting, the HUD representatives attended sessions of the Expert Group on Multilevel Governance, the Working Party on Urban Policy, the Working Party on Rural Policy, and the full RDPC. In addition, Dr. Usowski, who serves as an official U.S. Delegate to the RDPC in his role as Vice Chair of the OECD’s Working Party on Urban Policy, held meetings with delegates from Japan, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, and Czechia; with the OECD secretariat to discuss ongoing work on homelessness; and with the U.S. Ambassador to the OECD to discuss the impact of the OECD’s work on HUD policy.

From April 18-21, 2023, participants in the German Marshall Fund’s (GMF)’s Breaking Barriers to Affordable Housing initiative met in person in Atlanta for a series of site visits, city-led learning labs, and dialogues about sustainable urban development. The three-day meeting convened representatives from the GMF, HUD (including Cindy Campbell and Caitlin Quinn from IPAD), and the German federal government, as well as housing practitioners from six American and German cities: Atlanta, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, St. Louis, and Seattle. The project, which is funded by HUD and the German government, creates structured opportunities for city representatives to exchange ideas and best practices about topics including federal-local coordination, the politics of housing development, and the regulatory landscape in both the United States and Germany. The participants will continue to convene virtually in the coming months and will next meet in person in Germany in September 2023.

On April 3, 2023, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge met with Minister Carlos Bonilla, the Minister of Housing and Buildings of the Dominican Republic, at HUD Headquarters in Washington. Topics of conversation included the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and the Housing Choice Voucher program, as well as other HUD policies and programs to assist renters, build affordable housing, and help communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters. Following the meeting with the Secretary, staff from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) presented an in-depth briefing on LIHTC, Housing Choice Vouchers, and related programs for Minister Bonilla and his delegation.

From March 27-31, 2023, a delegation from the United Kingdom visited the United States to learn about community revitalization and place-based economic development. The delegation included ministry officials from the U.K.’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (HUD’s counterpart in the U.K.) as well as academics and civil society representatives. The trip included stops in Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., where the delegation met with city officials and civil society representatives and visited HUD-funded sites.

On March 24, 2023, IPAD’s Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated a bilateral meeting between HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman and Minister Satoru Mizushima, Japan’s Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The Deputy Secretary and Vice Minister discussed the upcoming G7 Sustainable Urban Development Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled for July 7-9 in Takamatsu, Japan. They also discussed the renewal of the Memorandum of Cooperation between HUD and its Japanese counterpart agencies.

On January 6, 2022, IPAD’s Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated a bilateral meeting between HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and Minister Won Hee-ryong, who leads Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT). The meeting was an opportunity for HUD to show continued support for our long-standing partnership with our Korean counterpart agency and our commitment to renewing the Memorandum of Understanding between HUD and MOLIT.

On February 27, 2023, HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman conducted a bilateral meeting with a delegation from Colombia led by Catalina Velasco, Colombia’s Minister of Housing, City, and Territory. Topics of discussion at the meeting included rental assistance programs and homelessness policies in the United States, as well as disaster recovery and resilience strategies in the United States and Colombia. In addition to the Deputy Secretary and the Minister, the meeting participants included representatives from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) and the State Department, as well as HUD’s Senior Advisor for Climate and the Colombian Ambassador to the United States.

Read more about one of the signature programs of Colombia's Ministry of Housing, City, and Territory, "Mi Casa Ya" (My House Now), in PD&R Edge at this link.

From February 6-10, 2023, IPAD facilitated the hosting of a delegation of 11 senior officials from HUD’s Japanese counterpart: the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation, and Tourism. The delegation was part of our continuing U.S.-Japan Aging in Place Research Project. During the weeklong visit, the delegation visited numerous Aging in Place facilities and housing projects, as well as climate resilience/mitigation projects in New York City (NY), Hoboken (NJ), and Miami (FL).

Read more about the delegation's visit in PD&R Edge at this link.

On February 10, 2023, HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman participated in a bilateral meeting with a visiting delegation from the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union. The delegation was led by European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica, whose portfolio covers democracy and demography across all member states of the European Union. Topics of conversation at the meeting included programs to expand broadband access in rural areas, strategies to address demographic change in rural areas and shrinking cities, and HUD’s emphasis on evidence-based policy.

HUD seeks international submissions for publication in Cityscape, the scholarly journal of HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research. The journal, which publishes three issues annually, is aimed at policymakers, academics, and practitioners and features articles that contribute to the body of knowledge on housing and community development. If you are interested in submitting an article, please contact Aaron Weaver at Bradley.A.Weaver@hud.gov. Read more about submitting to Cityscape here.

On January 6, 2023, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge participated in bilateral talks with a visiting delegation from Korea that included the Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong; Korean Ambassador to the United States Taeyong Cho; and National Assembly Member SeungHee Hwangbo, among other officials. Read more here.

On January 18, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research co-hosted a Philanthropic Roundtable on Homelessness in Los Angeles, alongside philanthropic partners and other HUD offices. The roundtable, which was attended by HUD Region IX Regional Administrator Jason Pu, Los Angeles Field Office Director Laurie Udit, and a variety of community stakeholders, spotlighted work to end homelessness and expand stakeholder collaboration in the Los Angeles region. “Participation from our stakeholders in this forum provided additional energy and a guiding force that drives in the right direction to address homelessness and the need for quality, affordable housing for all,” said Regional Administrator Pu in his remarks to attendees. For their collaboration on the roundtable, HUD thanks its philanthropic partners the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Funders Together to End Homelessness Los Angeles, and Southern California Grantmakers.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) hosted its semiannual Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC) Week in Paris from November 28 to December 2, 2022. Kurt Usowski, deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs in the Office of Policy Development and Research, and staff from HUD’s International and Philanthropic Affairs Division (IPAD) were in attendance. Read more here.

On October 12, 2022, the White House released the Biden-Harris administration’s National Security Strategy. The fact sheet states the following: President Biden’s National Security Strategy outlines how the United States will advance our vital interests and pursue a free, open, prosperous, and secure world. Read more here.

Hide

On September 13, 2022, Secretary Fudge attended the first-ever G7 Ministerial for Urban Development in Potsdam, Germany. Klara Geywitz, the German Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building and host of the meeting, led the creation of the new G7 Urban Development Track. Read more here.

Hide

Secretary’s Award for Innovation – Group Award – Congratulations to Mia Bailey from the International and Philanthropic Affairs Division!

The United States participated in the recent World Urban Forum held in Katowice, Poland, from June 26 to 30, 2022. More than 17,000 participants representing 155 countries attended the event in person or virtually. HUD sent a small delegation that included Calvin Johnson, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Research, Evaluation and Monitoring; Cindy Campbell, director of the Office of International and Philanthropic Affairs; and Katie Marinari from the Office of International and Philanthropic Affairs. We attended the conference alongside our colleagues from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Read more here.

HUD hosted a senior delegation from our agency counterparts in Israel from 16-19 May 2022. The Israeli delegation included participants from the Israel Planning Administration, including the Director General, Chief Planners and Architects from Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion, Jerusalem, Herzliya and Nahariya. The delegation included several staff from the Ministry of Construction and Housing including the Chief Architect, Deputy Director-General of Urban Planning Division, Chief Architect of the Jerusalem District and the Head of Foreign Affairs. Also, the Israel Urban Renewal Authority was represented by the Director of Urban Planning. The group visited public housing projects in Jersey City and New York City, post-Sandy recovery projects in Hoboken and public housing projects in Washington, DC. Read more here.

HUD hosted Secretary of State Rt Hon Michael Gove for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities in New York and New Jersey from 31 May to 2 June 2022. His visit included various HUD affiliated sites run by the New York Housing Authority (NYCHA), City of Newark, and City of Hoboken. Secretary of State Gove was accompanied by Assistant Deputy Secretary Michele Perez, Region Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel and IPAD's Cindy Campbell.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's 2nd Forum of Mayors was held on 4-5 April 2022. Our US efforts are coordinated through the State Department's US Mission to the UNECE, based in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 56 nations that are member states to the UNECE, including the United States. The Forum focused on several topics including: sustainable urban transport, shared mobility and safer roads, (2) vibrant public spaces, green cities and nature-based solutions, (3) resilient, healthy and climate-neutral buildings and affordable and adequate housing, and (4) sustainable urban planning, the 15-minute city and smart urban development solutions. The International and Philanthropic Affairs Division worked closely with State Department's US Mission in Geneva to find a US Mayor to present a best practice from the United States for the session on sustainable urban transport, shared mobility and safer roads. Boston's Mayor Wu presented an overview of a mass transit plan to offer free bus fare for a bus route within the city of Boston. She shared the session with mayor's from Yerevan, Armenia, Tbilisi, Georgia, Utrecht, Netherlands, Trondheim, Norway, Gaziantep, Turkey, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and San Marino. Her presentation can be found here.

Recently, during my first international vacation since the pandemic began, I visited Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. I was struck not only by the city's architectural beauty but also its walkability. I found wide avenues with dedicated bike lanes and broad sidewalks for pedestrians. The historic city center along the waterfront was closed to automobiles, allowing for safe and enjoyable strolling. Read more here.

The German Marshall Fund which was founded by Guido Goldman in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a tribute to the Marshall Plan has been working with HUD since the early 2010's through various initiatives including Dialogues for Change (D4C). D4C is supported by HUD and the German Federal Ministry of Interior as it promotes transatlantic collaboration on issues that range from urban planning, sustainable urban development, and ageing.

As part of the D4C collaboration initiative, on 2 March 2022, Professor Dr. Matthias von Schwanenflügel, Director General, Division of Demographic Change, Aging Populations and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth gave a presentation on various programs in Germany that address aging. The event which was organized by the German Marshall Fund also included a presentation on aging from Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Evaluation, And Monitoring (ODAS/REM) Dr. Calvin C. Johnson.

A first step to implement effective migrant integration policies is to know who does what in policy sectors key to integration. Responding to this need, this paper offers policy makers a tool to understand the organisation of public action in key sectors for integration - Employment, Education, Housing, and Health/Welfare – in a sample of 10 OECD countries: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Read more here.

Comprehensive and coordinated action across levels of government responsible for different policy domains (labour, education, housing and welfare/health) as well as across local actors is crucial to migrant integration. To respond to this need for co-ordination, different policy instruments are mobilised by countries. Read more here.

IPAD staff attended the OECD's Local Skills Week from 15-17 February 2022. In addition to releasing the JPMorgan Chase-funded report listed above, sessions included panels on Rethinking human capital; Local skills and jobs for local decisions; and open jobs data. Read more here.

On 17 February 2022, the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity gave Knesset Member Yorai Lahav Hertzanu a virtual presentation on the Fair Housing Act. The exchange provided MK Yorai Lahav Hertzanu with an overview of the Act and how the Department of Justice and HUD enforce the Act. Mr. Hertzanu was particularly interested in learning about the Fair Housing Act as him and his team are currently promoting a similar bill in the Israeli Knesset and wanted to learn more about our approach.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based in Paris, was originally created following World War II to administer U.S. and Canadian reconstruction aid for Europe provided under the Marshall Plan. OECD was founded in its current form in 1960 with a new mission: to improve the economic and social well-being of people worldwide through research that informs policy. Read more here.

In late 2021, to focus on rebuilding after the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing the British levelling up policy, the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was rebranded as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

One aspect of the UK government's levelling up initiative is addressing homelessness and rough sleeping, defined as sleeping outdoors or in a place not designed for sleeping, such as a car or a vacant building. DLUHC, England was able to brief HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research in December 2021 on some of its recent efforts to mitigate homelessness and rough sleeping in England. Read more here.

This paper measures the effective taxation of housing investments in 40 OECD member and partner countries. The paper derives both Marginal Effective Tax Rates (METRs) and Average Effective Tax Rates (AETRs), which incorporate the stream of income and taxes over the life of the housing investment. Read more here.

IPAD facilitated the participation of HUD on the National Security Council's Interagency Policy Committee for Partnerships' Navigating Legal and Policy Challenges Panel on 12 January 2022. The panel discussion was a follow up to the National Security Advisor's report to the President on Modernizing and Expanding Partnership Engagement. The panelists discussed issues such as authorities, ethics, endorsements, gifts, due diligence, intellectual property and more. The expert panelists included: Valerie Wenderoth, U.S. Department of State; Gayle Girod, U.S. Agency for International Development; Todd Rubin, Administrative Conference of the United States; and Tiffanie Smith Johnson, U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development.

On 6 January 2022, Katie Marinari met with the Wilson Center, HUG, and the US researchers from American University and Pennsylvania University for the Phase-I check-in on the joint research project. During Phase-I, each researcher prepared a country profile outlining mechanisms for affordable housing production. HUG provided an overview of Korea, Katie focused on the US, American University researched the UK, and Pennsylvania University focused on Germany. At the Phase-I check in, each participant presented their country profile and HUG provided feedback on which financial models they would like to further explore during Phase-II. The proposals for Phase-II are still in the process of being defined.

The US-EU Webinar Series officially ended in February 2022 with the publication of US and EU guidebooks on regulatory provisions for building efficiency. A microsite summarizing key findings from the series, the aforementioned reports, and the results of a stakeholder survey can be found here.

The International and Philanthropic Affairs Division of the Office of Policy Development and Research hosted a delegation from Germany in November 2021 to discuss the next steps in our long partnership. Under a Memorandum of Cooperation signed in December 2019, representatives from HUD and their counterparts in Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community discuss strategies for integrated policies and principles for urban development and revitalization in the two countries. Read more here.

The landscapes of housing loan markets vary considerably across OECD countries, reflecting differences in preferences and policy settings. This paper first draws a topography of disparities in mortgage structure, documenting considerable variation across OECD countries in key features such as in use of fixed vs variable interest rates and typical maturities. Read more here.

Richard S. Cho, Senior Advisor for Housing and Services, attended a hearing on 16 December 2021 at the request of the State Department US Mission the to the Organization of American States to represent the U.S. government at a public hearing requested by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The primary topic of the hearing, per the request from the civil society petitioners, was addressed in the request letter: The general objective of the hearing is to establish and make visible the legal nature of housing as a human right, which follows that it must be guaranteed to each person without discrimination. The hearing would also demonstrate how, in failing to provide adequate shelter and housing to individuals, unhoused persons are experiencing violations to numerous fundamental human rights, e.g., the rights to personal security, health, property, and the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment. These violations are the result of USG policies that create criminal penalties for life sustaining activities and are designed to displace and remove unhoused persons from public visibility.

US-Israel Research Exchange meeting was held on 2 December 2021. This meeting is part of a continuing partnership with our ministerial counterparts at the Ministry of Construction and Housing. HUD will engage on a research partnership on innovative construction techniques with Israel. Dr. Regina Gray, Director, Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring along with Cindy Campbell, Director of International & Philanthropic Affairs, Office of Policy Development & Research led the conversation.

The US-Japan Aging in Place Forum was held on 2 December 2021. This forum is part of a continuing partnership researching best practices in Aging in Place. The virtual forum was held in lieu of the ability to host a delegation from HUD's ministerial counterpart, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism. The US provided the following briefs:

• FHEO Overview of US Fair Housing Laws, Erik L. Steinecker, Acting Director, Fair Housing Assistance Program, HUD
• HUD's Housing Discrimination Studies, Elizabeth Rudd, Social Science Analyst, Program Evaluation Division, Office of Policy Development & Research, HUD
• HOME Brief on renovation funding opportunities to rehab older homes, Arthur Jemison, PDAS, Secretary for Community Planning and Development
• Calvin Johnson, DAS for Research, Evaluation, And Monitoring, Office of Policy Development & Research, HUD and Cindy Campbell, Director of International & Philanthropic Affairs, Office of Policy Development & Research, provided next steps in the ongoing collaboration.

Inter-regional migration – the movements of the population from one region to another within the same country – can be an important mechanism of spatial economic adjustment, affecting regional demographic and growth patterns. This paper examines the economic and housing-related factors that affect the decision of people to migrate to another region within the same country, drawing empirical evidence from country-specific gravity models of inter-regional migration for 14 OECD countries. Read more here.

This report is a first-of-its-kind work to provide evidence on how cities' investments in innovation and data use can pay off in powerful ways for residents. It offers analysis on the different ways local governments build capacity at the strategic and technical level, from organisational structure and strategy, to resource allocation and outcome evaluation. Read more here.

While indices tracing the evolutions of regional house prices are increasingly available, this is less the case for similar data on house price levels. And where data on house price levels exist, they are not necessarily consistent with the patterns observed from house price indices. Read more here.

This report looks at crucial elements of reforms to growth-friendly recurrent taxes on immovable property. Tax design practices in place in OECD and partner countries are compared and analysed through the lenses of economic theory and empirical analysis. Read more here.

This brief presents a factual and retrospective analysis of the relationships between urbanisation and demography in North Africa and West Africa. It shows that the process of demographic transition is now fully underway in this region. North of the Sahara the new demographic equilibrium features a birth rate higher than expected, according to theoretical model predictions, resulting in continuous population growth. Read more here.

Following the COVID-19 shock to economies and societies, many countries are renewing infrastructure investment as a stimulus measure. Such investments present an opportunity for governments to address short-term infrastructure challenges through maintenance spending while building resilient and sustainable infrastructure for the future. Read more here.

On 24 November 2021, Ben Winter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development participated in Korea's 8th International Forum on Housing & Urban Finance (IFHUF). IFHUF is hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to bring together renowned experts and scholars from around the world to discuss the direction and role of housing and urban finance. DAS Winter presented during a session on Support Measure of Inclusive Housing in Response to a Changing Housing Market focusing on the policies to increase the supply of affordable housing.

DAS Kurt Usowski and Richard Duckworth presented lessons learned from the U.S. on adaptation of the governance system for national urban policy and integrating policies for urban development, in an international policy dialogue as part of OECD's Urban Policy Review of Colombia 29 and 30 November. The event follows comments submitted by DAS Usowski and PD&R staff on the OECD report in October 2021.

DAS Kurt Usowski attended the virtual OECD Working Party on Urban Policy (WPURB) held on 23 November 2021. This working party falls under the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC), which is a unique practitioner-based forum that provides direction for the work of the OECD Urban Development program, oversees country assessments (peer reviews), and facilitates collaboration among senior officials seeking to address challenges facing cities and metropolitan areas across OECD countries. This committee overseas a number of reviews including reviews of how OECD countries engage in national urban policy, affordable housing issues and other urban development related topics. Additional staff from IPAD also attended the meeting. HUD's participation is in coordination with the State Department's US Mission at the OECD. In addition to attending the WPURB meeting, DAS Kurt Usowski, Director Cindy Campbell, and IPAD staff also participated in the 3rd OECD Pilot Meeting on Multi-level Governance (16 November), Working Party on Rural Policy (17 November), Working Party on Territorial Indicators (18 November), and the 45th Session of the Regional Development Policy Committee (24-25 November). In addition to submitting comments on draft reports, DAS Usowski highlighted the US' current work and future commitments surrounding climate change and COP 26, the Sustainable Development Goals, the American Rescue Plan, and the Build Back Better agenda.

German Delegation Visit: HUD hosted a delegation from the German Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and the German Development Agency (GIZ) – both HUD counterparts from 18-23 November 2021. The delegation was here to discuss the next steps in the German Marshall Fund/BMI/GIZ/US partnership, Dialogues for Change. The initiative is a transatlantic network of city official participants who are exploring cross-cutting themes critical to the successful implementation of urban development projects. The Dialogues for Change program ended in 2018, the delegation visit was here to plan for the next iteration of the program which should start in early 2022. The delegation met with senior leadership from PD&R and the German Marshall Fund. IPAD hosted the delegation and provided numerous informational site visits throughout the DC metro area.

At November's highly anticipated United Nations Council of the Parties conference (COP26), a delegation from HUD joined world leaders, ambassadors, experts, scientists, activists, and the media in Glasgow, Scotland, for the annual meeting focused on preventing dangerous changes to the environment. Read more here.

On 25 October 2021 Secretary Fudge, Chief of Staff Jenn Jones, Ben Winter, Cindy Campbell, and Katie Marinari met with the Korean Ambassador to the US, Soo-Hyuck Lee. The Secretary and Ambassador both provided their continued support of the US-Korea Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In January 2022, MOLIT's Vice-Minister will visit HUD for the signing of the renewed MOU, followed by the 1st US – Korea Cooperation Conference where both MOLIT and HUD will provide an overview of their affordable housing and urban regeneration policies.

On 28 October 2021, IPAD and CPD hosted HUD's annual Disaster Funders Call. This year's call featured welcome remarks from Ben Winter and PDAS Arthur Jemsion. Tennille Parker provided updates on CDBG-DR/MIT and Savin Ven Johnson and Joey Baietti discussed steady state resilience using HUD's annual programs. The call also featured updates from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's President & CEO, Patricia McIlreavy.

Mia Bailey worked with colleagues Maria-Lana Queen (PIH) and Nili Soli (SNAPS) to organize and host HUD's first Young Adult Listening Session on 26 October 2021. The event served as part of HUD's larger equity efforts to include the voices of lived experiences into the fabric of HUD's programs and policies. The group of young adults ranged in ages from 18-26 years old, representing various parts of the U.S. Other PD&R colleagues including Meron Habte and Pam Blumenthal, along with Mikaela Gerwin and Imani Edwards (Office of the Secretary) attended. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs, Jemine Bryon, provided welcoming and closing remarks. Findings from the session were shared with various HUD program offices raised by young adults during the discussion.

On 6 October 2021, the UNECE launched the Ministerial Meeting on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management and the 82nd session of the Committee on Housing, Urban Development and Land Management. Remarks were given by Deputy Assistant Secretary Ben Winter on behalf of the United States. During the three-day meeting country representatives from across the UNECE region were able to share their country's progress on SDG- 11 and plans for post COVID-19 recovery.

The UNECE also used this opportunity to present and launch the study "#Housing2030: Effective policies for affordable housing in the UNECE region" and present a Regional Action Plan with various initiatives that UNECE members could enact by 2030.

On 15 September 2021, Katie Marinari, alongside US Embassy staff in Jamaica joined the UN Cities Alliance – Jamaica Community of Practice. The Community of Practice is a working group led by UN Cities Alliance and Jamaica's Ministry of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment, and Climate Change (MHURECC) and includes representatives from both the US and Brazil in assisting MHURECC in its development of policy frameworks for urban regeneration. A follow up meeting was also held on 29 September.

The Scroll of Honour awards recognize outstanding initiatives in sustainable urbanization. Announced on 17 September 2021, this year's recipients include organizations in Egypt, Kenya, China, Estonia, and Chile developing affordable housing, piloting shared streets, organizing cleanup days, and working to eliminate urban slums. The Egyptian NGO New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) is of particular note, having “provided 660,000 units in 21 cities” over the past 40 years. It's projects include hospitals, schools, playgrounds, and green spaces.

Mia Bailey collaborated with staff from HUD's Deputy Secretary Office and the Office of Public Affairs to prepare Deputy Secretary Todman to provide opening remarks for a session at ABFE's Retreat. The session titled, Building Black Wealth from the Ground Up, was held on 22 September 2021 and focused on how philanthropy and donors are investing in Black business accelerators and property acquisition to drive financial stability amongst Blacks. A panel that included staff from the Colorado Trust, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kendeda Fund and the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative followed the Deputy Secretary's remarks.

IPAD's Mia Bailey and staff from HUD's Deputy Secretary Office and the Office of Public Affairs worked with leaders from Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) to prepare Deputy Secretary Todman to join a Fireside Chat at HIP's annual conference. The session, titled Working Towards a Just Recovery, was held on 13 September 2021, and focused on ways in which philanthropy and government can work collectively in promoting an equitable recovery after pandemics and natural disasters. Deputy Secretary Todman shared the platform with Lourdes M. Castro Ramírez, Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing.

On 29 September 2021, our UK Ministerial counterparts presented their Troubled Families program. The Troubled Families Program (TFP) is a program in England administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The program conducts targeted interventions for families experiencing multiple problems, including crime, anti-social behavior, truancy, unemployment, mental health problems and domestic abuse. This briefing examines the TFP since 2012, details MHCLG evaluations of the program, and describes recent commentary and potential future directions for the program. This presentation was preceded by our presentation on 22 September 2021 on Choice Neighborhoods.

In partnership with the Department of Energy, European Union, and Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, HUD participated in a webinar entitled “Advancing transatlantic economic recovery with building renovation and clean energy solutions, Conversations with the European Commission Directorate General for Energy the US Department of Energy the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

On 17 June 2021. The first in a series of four webinars to discuss advancing climate change mitigation, Regina Gray, Director of HUD's Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division provided an overview of HUD's energy efficiency programs, and Director Cindy Campbell gave closing remarks.

The second webinar in the series was held on 23 September 2021 and titled, "How to achieve energy-efficient and affordable housing." Theodore Toone, Director for Housing Efficiency at the White House Council on Environmental Quality was the keynote speaker for the United States. IPAD staff coordinated Mr. Toone's participation as well as his contribution to an article on the series.

The third webinar occurred on 20 October 2021 and covered the process of financing energy efficiency in buildings. A glossary of energy efficiency and building policies in the EU and US has been created for the series and can be found here.

The fourth webinar in the series was held on 2 December 2021 and discussed job creation and workforce development for building energy efficiency renovations. A recording of the webinar can be found here. The fifth and final webinar is scheduled for 11 January 2022.

On 18 August 2021, IPAD's Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated a follow-up meeting to the US/Israel research exchange on building technologies to discuss cooperation in research activities and to examine possible routes in which we can operate. The meeting included Israel's Ministry of Housing and Construction and the National Building Research Institute at Technion, as well as IPAD and PDR's Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division.

On 16 August 2021, IPAD's Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated an exchange between the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and PD&R's Research Utilization Division. As an exemplary model in the research world, AHURI provided a brief on their methods of disseminating research.

On 25 August 2021, IPAD's Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated HUD's Puerto Rico and USVI Philanthropic Roundtable hosted by PD&R. Leadership from PD&R, FPM, and CPD led the conversation with closing remarks from Deputy Secretary Todman. The roundtable brought together the state CDBG-DR grantees from Puerto Rico and the U.S, Virgin Islands (USVI) and senior representatives from philanthropic organizations. The roundtable provided an opportunity to gain insight and advice on foundations' engagements and assessments of the recovery thus far, as well as to identify current challenges and future prospects.

On 13 July 2021, Cindy Campbell and Katie Marinari facilitated the sixth research exchange meeting between PD&R and our Israeli Counterparts. The sixth meeting was on the topic of incentives for neighborhood revitalization. Erich Yost, Senior Management Analyst - Opportunity Zones and Acting Branch Chief for Place-Based Initiatives, led the brief on Opportunity Zones on behalf of HUD.

On 28 July 2021, Cindy Campbell and Mia Bailey hosted a virtual briefing for leaders from Ecuador's Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The brief was held in response to Ecuador's request to learn more about HUD's data collection and dissemination efforts. Members of IPAD were joined by Kurt G. Usowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, George Carter III, Director- Housing and Demographic Analysis Division, Diana Villavicencio, Regional Economist- Economic and Market Analysis Division, and Emily Molfino, Survey Statistician- Housing and Demographic Analysis Division. Diana, George and Kurt presented on HUD data sources, surveys, and housing finance data. The session was primarily held in Spanish with Diana serving as a translator.

On 7 July 2021, Katie Marinari attended the State Department's US-Caribbean Resilience Partnership Annual interagency meeting on behalf of HUD. During the meeting, the interagency organized into Technical Working Groups. HUD alongside the FCC, DOE, Trade, and Army Corps of Engineers are on the Developing Resilient Infrastructure technical working group (TWG). Katie is the co-chair of the TWG, alongside a Caribbean partner nation yet to be determined. Before the end of the year, the TWG will host their first official meeting to explore opportunities for the USCRP to coordinate informational exchanges and best practices between nations.

On 27-28 July 2021, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency hosted their 10th Annual Building Resilience Through Private-Public Partnerships Conference. Katie Marinari facilitated HUD's participation in the conference including a keynote address from Deputy Secretary, Adrianne Todman, and a panel session, Creating an Investment Approach for Thriving instead of Surviving, that featured Kevin Bush, Deputy Assistance Secretary for Grant Programs.

Secretary Fudge and her Mexican counterpart, Secretary Roman Meyer Falcón (Secretary of Agrarian, Land and Urban Development - SEDATU) met on 8 July 2021. Both secretaries used the meeting as an opportunity to identify similarities between the U.S. and Mexico housing issues/policies, explore potential areas of cooperation, and joint actions on housing and urban development targeted for border states.

On 30 June 2021, IPAD facilitated a brief on HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Program for Jamaica's Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment, and Climate Change (MHURECC), Pearnel Charles, Jr. Luci Ann Blackburn, Director of Choice Neighborhoods provided the brief for Minister Charles, along with his colleagues at MHURECC and the Housing Agency of Jamaica, Ltd.

General Deputy Assistant Secretary Todd Richardson met with German MP Klaus Mindrup, Minister Counselor Detlev Brauns, and Dr. Judith Neumann, First Secretary for Climate, Environmental and Urban Affairs on 28 June 2021. MP Mindrup sought information on post-COVID recovery and climate adaptation programs in the U.S. Also in attendance were Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Shroder, and IPAD staff.

On 17 June 2021, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Jeanine Worden, represented HUD at the Department of State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs' virtual roundtable with representatives of the U.S. Government and other civil society organizations working in the UN on issues of racial equity and justice. This roundtable discussed the U.S. submissions of its tenth, eleventh, and twelfth periodic reports on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Participating USG officials gave brief remarks on the recent submission of the CERD reports, shared some of the progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made on issues highlighted in the report, and answered questions. The roundtable was the beginning of ongoing collaboration and consultation with civil society in advance of the U.S. delegation's oral presentation of the submitted reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, anticipated in 2022.

Through the Embassy Science Fellows program, Katie Marinari participated in a Housing Laboratory (LAV) meeting hosted by Jamaica's Housing Ministry (MHURECC) and the UN Cities Alliance. The LAV hosted on 16 June 2021 was an opportunity for representatives from the US, Jamaica, Brazil, Columbia, and South Africa to share their experience regarding housing and integrated development and to explore how through collaboration, nations can engage to find alternative approaches to building more sustainable and inclusive cities.

Secretary Fudge met Japan's Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Tomita, on 3 June to discuss the current Aging in Place Research project. DAS Winter, DAS Johnson, Cindy Campbell and Chief of Staff Jenn Jones also attended the meeting.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Kurt Usowski participated in a roundtable discussion on legacy cities hosted by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy on 24 June 2021. Participants included representatives from the UK, EU, Germany, France, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Brookings Institution, and Cleveland State University. Discussion included the varying definition of “legacy cities” or “left behind places”, the nature of demographic changes, and emerging policy responses.

On 10 June 2021 the Domestic Policy Council, HUD, and the Melville Charitable Trust (MCT) co-hosted a roundtable with philanthropic leaders to discuss the rollout of rental assistance and eviction programs and identify urgent needs. Philanthropies noted issues around capacity, clarifying what funds can be used for and capital constraints for smaller providers implementing HUD's reimbursement-based programs. HUD and MCT are currently exploring a possible partnership to address some of these issues.

Secretary Fudge met with a cross section of philanthropic partners on 15 June 2021 to discuss HUD engagement. The Secretary met with over 50 senior representatives from 26 philanthropic organizations. The purpose of the meeting was to lay the groundwork for a good working relationship with philanthropy, by sharing the Biden administration's agenda for HUD, focusing on homelessness, equity, and climate resilience, while highlighting major new initiatives on the horizon like the FY2022 Budget, the American Rescue Package (ARP), and the American Jobs Package (AJP).

In coordination with the Council on Foundations, HUD announced the 2021 winners of the Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships on June 17, 2021. The six awardees are:

• Advent Health Foundation for its rehabilitation of a supportive housing center at-risk of closing avoiding resident displacement, and adding 11 units to the center
• Buhl Foundation whose place-based initiative led to the creation of the Northview Heights Community Safety Partnership with the goal of, “transitioning from ‘re-active policing' to ‘pro-active public safety’,” through sustained dialogue and collaborative effort.
• CareSource Foundation for the Health Beginnings at Home pilot program which uses targeted housing stabilization services and rental assistance to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
• Citi Foundation for its City Accelerator program providing a combination of technical assistance and flexible financing, offering policymakers a platform to test new approaches and drive equitable, scalable, and sustainable change.
• New Church Residences Foundation whose expansive partnership efforts led to the creation of 80 units of permanent supportive housing with an on-site employment engagement initiative.
• San Diego Foundation for its rapid implementation of a COVID-19 Community Response Fund providing nonprofit organizations with, “rolling rapid response grants,” to address the needs of those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Secretary Fudge met virtually with the Honorable Ahmed Hussen, Canada's Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, on 30 June 2021. Minister Hussen is also responsible for the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC). This was an opportunity for the both to learn about each other's efforts in addressing affordable housing issues and homelessness, especially through the lens of equity.

On 13 May 2021, IPAD facilitated the fifth research exchange meeting between PD&R and our Israeli Counterparts. The fifth meeting was on the topic of building technologies including new construction techniques & climate-sensitive construction technologies. PD&R's Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division led the HUD brief.

From 3-6 May 2021, Deputy Assistant Secretary and OECD Delegate Kurt Usowski, Director Cindy Campbell, and IPAD staff attended the 29^th and 44^th meetings of the Working Party on Urban Policy and Regional Development Policy Committee respectively. Discussions included the role of national urban policies in advancing COVID-19 recovery and resilience, transitioning to a low-carbon economy in cities, promoting inclusive growth, and driving public sector innovation and data use in cities.

On 27 April 2021, IPAD facilitated a briefing by HUD's Japanese counterparts on their innovative approach to creating, building, and maintaining an affordable housing stock through their Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) – a private corporation, fully funded by the Japanese government. HUD participation included leadership & staff from the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Policy, Programs, and Legislative Initiatives, PIH, CPD, Housing, and PD&R.

On 22 April 2021, IPAD facilitated the fourth research exchange meeting between PD&R and our Israeli Counterparts. The fourth meeting was on the topic of principles for housing mix. PD&R's George Carter led the HUD brief with support from Kurt Usowski, Kevin Kane, Barry Steffen, and Adam Bibler.

On 14 April 2021, IPAD staff attended the final webinar in a four-part series hosted by Housing2030, an initiative of Housing Europe, UN Habitat, and the UNECE. The series presented thematic sections of the forthcoming Housing2030 report set to be released in October 2021. For this final session, Josh Ryan-Collins, co-author of Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing provided an in-depth history of the macro-economic factors affecting land and thereby housing prices, as well as possible policy alternatives.

In addition, Professors Michelle Norris and Julie Lawson from the Housing2030 drafting team presented an overview of the report's affordable housing finance toolkit with illustrations of policy implementation in various countries. Representatives from Ireland, France, Denmark, Spain, and Poland also provided information around various affordable housing financing tools utilized in their respective countries.

From 26-27 April 2021, IPAD staff attended the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences' Symposium on Systemic Recovery, held jointly with the OECD. Presentations included the efficacy of lockdowns, global economic-stimulus responses to COVID-19, how to prepare for the next crisis, and inequalities in the post-COVID era.

Deputy Assistant Secretary and OECD Delegate Kurt Usowski, Director Cindy Campbell, and IPAD staff attended the OECD's 2^nd Pilot Meeting on Multi-level Governance on 28 April 2021. The meeting included a presentation on the role of subnational governments in the implementation of vaccination programs, a proposal for a COVID-19 Territorial Recovery Platform, and a review of the OECD's multi-level governance self-assessment tools. Delegate Usowski provided information on the progress of vaccinations in the U.S. regarding the proposed platform, the OECD sought comment on possible metrics and outlined how the platform would initially leverage extant data to provide policymakers with information necessary to address pre-existing territorial inequalities, the unequal impact of COVID-19 on regions, and other local priorities related to fiscal and multi-level governance.

In a series of meetings on 13, 14, and 21 April 2021, URBACT launched its network on localizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) known as the Global Goals 4 Cities network. Established in partnership with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and chaired by Mihhail Kõlvart, Mayor of Tallinn, Estonia, the network will provide a space for the 19 EU cities implementing URBACT's participatory action method to share experiences and best practices and foster the localization of the SDGs.

While going through an old archive we found this article from May 1971 describing HUD's international role.

In the leadership message, director of PD&R's International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses the work that several philanthropic and community foundations have been doing to advance racial equity in the United States. Campbell provides information about major foundations' commitments towards grantmaking projects, fellowship programs, and trust funds, and highlights three community foundations. Read more here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-040521.html

Katie Marinari who serves on the Executive Board of RPCVs at HUD, chaired the Peace Corps Week Committee. The Committee coordinated two events to celebrate Peace Corps Week. The first was an agency wide virtual presentation and moderated discussion highlighting RPVCs commitment to public service held on 2 March 2021. The second event was a Coffee Chat with the National Peace Corps Association held for members of RPCVs at HUD held on 3 March 2021.

IPAD's staff includes two RPCVs – Katie Marinari, RPCV Jamaica 2017-2018 and Aaron Weaver, RPCV Macedonia 2011-2013.

On 9 March 2021, IPAD's Katie Marinari as a State Department Embassy Science Fellow (ESF) met with Jamaica's Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment And Climate Change, Pearnel Charles Jr., MP. The meeting organized by the State Department was to discuss the specifics of the U.S. Embassy support for the Housing Agency of Jamaica Limited (HAJ) through the ESF program and solicit the Minister's feedback on potential Ministry-level support.

IPAD is continuing to work with our Israeli Counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration and Ministry of Construction and Housing to develop a research partnership. The third exchange took place on 22 March 2021. The topic was on Urban Regeneration. Pamela Blumenthal gave a brief on Opportunity Zones and rezoning for higher density and William Lavy gave a brief on the RAD program.

On 5 February 2021, IPAD staff Deputy Assistant Secretary and Delegate Kurt Usowski attended the third meeting of the OECD's Horizontal Housing Project Steering Group. Final comments were gathered from the group on the forthcoming report and Housing Policy Toolkit. Delegate Usowski noted the need to examine housing policy in declining urban areas.

On 19 February 2021, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Delegate Kurt Usowski, Director Cindy Campbell, U.S. State Department Mission to the OECD Advisor Gregory Pearman, and IPAD staff met with the Aziza Akhmouch Director of OECD's Division on Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development to discuss RDPC's recent project proposal on intermediary cities and inclusive regional growth. Details of the project timeframe, scope, deliverables, and costs were all discussed.

IPAD's Katie Marinari has been selected as a State Department Embassy Science Fellow. She will provide technical support to the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) in three areas: 1) putting together a legislative package outlining a proposal to allocate budget resources to housing projects; 2) developing an urban regeneration policy that focuses on housing policies and climate resilience in accordance with the SDGs; and 3) housing program design and implementation planning rooted in community engagement and supportive services delivery that will produce sustainable outcomes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic she will provide the support virtually on a part-time basis. The assignment will take place over the next 90 days.

On 23-24 February 2021, Peter Kahn, Cindy Campbell, and Meron Habte attended the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Regional workshop organized to support the exchange of experiences and good practices to address the undersupply of affordable housing, homelessness, rising urban rents, low quality of housing and urban infrastructure, limited access to land for housing construction and renovation, and mounting urban poverty.

On 23 February 2021, IPAD facilitated a US-Japan Aging in Place Virtual Forum. Japan briefed on topics of community based elderly support and local community activities in response to COVID-19 to meet the needs of both elderly and non-elderly. HUD gave an update on IWISH and briefed on COVID-19 responses for both elderly and non-elderly including innovative using of CARES Act Funding to meet community needs and hotel conversions to housing. The next forum will be held in June.

Under our MOU with Israel, IPAD along with our counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration coordinated to host introductory city-to-city conversations throughout the month of February 2021. On 9 February 2021, Washington, DC and Jerusalem met to discuss topics including unique challenges and opportunities of being a national capital, urban regeneration in terms of density and height restrictions, and balancing historic value with new development.

Under our MOU with Israel, IPAD along with our counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration coordinated to host introductory city-to-city conversations throughout the month of February 2021. On 22 February 2021, Miami, Tel Aviv, Eilat, and Nahariya met to discuss topics such as waterfront urban development, tourism-based economy in the COVID era, and climate resilient planning.

Under our MOU with Israel, IPAD along with our counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration coordinated to host introductory city-to-city conversations throughout the month of February 2021. On 23 February 2021, Philadelphia, Camden, Rishon LeZion, and Herzliya met to discuss topics including integrating transportation planning and urban development and urban regenerations projects along the waterfront.

IPAD is continuing to work with our Israeli Counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration and Ministry of Construction and Housing to develop a research partnership. The second exchange took place on 18 February 2021. The topic was on GIS and other systems responsible for planning, building, and mapping.

In the leadership message, director of PD&R's International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses the role that community gardens can play in combating food insecurity, a problem that is on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her discussion, Campbell highlights several innovative food access programs involving community and home gardens, distribution of or collection from fruit trees, and other direct-production methods of generating fresh food. Read the rest of Cindy Campbell's article here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-020821.html?WT.mc_id=edge_Feb09&WT.tsrc=Email

IPAD is continuing to work with our Israeli Counterparts in the Israeli Planning Administration and Ministry of Construction and Housing to develop a research partnership. Over the next few months, IPAD will be facilitating a series of virtual structured exchanges around potential topics. The first exchange took place on 21 January 2021. The topic was on housing market data analysis. Kurt Usowski and his team from the Office of Economic Affairs presented on behalf of HUD.

On 14 January 2021, Deputy Assistant Secretary and OECD Delegate Kurt Usowski, IPAD Director Cindy Campbell, U.S. State Department Mission to the OECD Advisor Gregory Pearman, and IPAD staff met with the Coordinators of OECD's Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative. Now in its fifth year, the initiative is seeking to expand and develop a new assessment framework where mayors from across the OECD can share best practices. Areas for future collaboration were discussed.

The Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC) held a joint informal meeting of the Working Party on Urban Policy, the Working Party on Rural Policy and the Working Party on Territorial indicators on 20 January. Deputy Assistant Secretary and Delegate Kurt Usowski, IPAD Director Cindy Campbell, and IPAD staff were in attendance. The meeting focused on the cross-section of the OECD's Principles for the working parties, with the goal of increasing their use among the cities and regions of member countries and development of a toolkit to facilitate that end.

Community Change, with support from the Ford Foundation, launched the Housing Playbook Project to reimagine the federal response to our nation's current and future housing challenges. New Deal for Housing Justice proposes more than 100 actionable, equitable ideas that can move forward within the first 200 days of the new administration. Read Housing Playbook here: https://communitychange.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Deal-for-Housing-Justice.Policy-Paper.Community-Change.1.2020.pdf

In the leadership message, director of PD&R's International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses the recent signing of the New Leipzig Charter by European Union member nations. The first Leipzig Charter was signed in 2007, and its successor, signed this November, focuses on three dimensions: the just, green, and productive city. Campbell further explains her impressions of a session, held during Germany's virtual Urban National Conference, that focused on applying the charter internationally. Read more here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-121420.html

Cindy Campbell, Director for International and Philanthropic Affairs, virtually attended the German Ministry's annual Urban Conference. She participated in a discussion on the new Leipzig Charter. The conference took place on 2 December 2020.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Kurt Usowski, U.S. Delegate to the Working Party on Urban Policy for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and IPAD staff attended a December 9th committee meeting. The meeting focused on identifying policy priorities, barriers, and best practices for addressing environmental challenges through a regional lens.

On December 3rd, U.S. Delegate Kurt Usowski and IPAD staff attended a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on methods to improve the measurement and evaluations of smart city initiative. The roundtable included panelists from the Korean Research Institute for Human Settlements, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Swedish National Strategic Innovation Program for Smart and Sustainable Cities.

U.S. Delegate Kurt Usowski and IPAD staff attended a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Social Policy to discuss the draft Affordable Housing Policies Brief. The meeting covered impacts of COVID-19 on housing, extant affordability and insecurity gaps and policies to address affordability.

Cindy Campbell and Mia Bailey worked in partnership with Region IX staff members Cynthia Abbott and Michael Huff to host a Brazilian delegation from the Ministry of Regional Development (MRD). The visit took place on 20 November 2020. The delegation was led by Minister Rogério Simonetti Marinho (Minister of Regional Development of Brazil). The primary focus of the delegation's visit was water infrastructure investments and economic development. The delegation visited several sites in Arizona, Nevada and California. Minister Rogério Simonetti Marinho and his team expressed interest in prefab and public housing. As a result of this interest, IPAD arranged a full day of events that included tours at Hunters Point Housing, Coliseum Connections and Factory OS. Coliseum Connections housing is a prefab multi-family affordable housing complex located in Oakland. Factory OS is a pre-fab housing factory located at Mare Island. Regional Administrator Chris Patterson escorted the group.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Kurt Usowski, US delegate to the Working Party on Urban Policy, and Cindy Campbell, Director IPAD, attended a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on 3 November 2020. The meeting was held virtually. The Working Party on Urban Policy is part of the Regional Development Policy Committee, meetings are held twice a year. The meeting is coordinated through the State Department's US Mission to the OECD.

On 9 November 2020, U.S. and Israeli officials convened for the 35th session of the U.S. – Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG), the annual economic policy dialogue between the two countries. Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton representing HUD, provided a brief overview of HUD's response to COVID-19 and the economic aftermath. As well as provided an update on progress made on HUD's Memorandum of Cooperation with Israel.

Paige Esterkin and Cindy Campbell attended the 81st session of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management which will took place from 7-8 October 2020. The meeting discussed the implementation of key international agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda and the Geneva UN Charter for Sustainable Housing. Paige Esterkin is the UNECE delegate for the Land and Housing Management Committee, replacing Marge Martin. Paige Esterkin was a panelist on a session on improving housing affordability in the UNECE Region.

On 29 October 2020, Director Cindy Campbell and Program Analyst Aaron Weaver arranged a virtual meeting between representatives of the City of Barcelona Housing Department, California's Department of Housing & Community Development, and the City of San Diego's Housing Commission to discuss Project HomeKey. The California delegation provided a description of the project including challenges surrounding streamlining regulatory processes, interagency and intergovernmental coordination, and site acquisition. The delegation from Barcelona expressed an interest in how land-use issues were addressed as well as acquisition and rehabilitation processes.

Since February 2017, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research and the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's (MLIT) Policy Research Institute, along with the Housing Bureau and Urban Renaissance Agency of Japan (UR), have held numerous joint research meetings focused on Aging in Place (AIP). In June 2017, Secretary Ben Carson of HUD; Minister Keiichi Ishii of MLIT; Maren Kasper, Executive Vice President of Ginnie Mae; and Masahiro Nakajima, President of UR, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC). The MOC focuses on AIP among elderly citizens in both countries. The aging of the population presents both countries with a significant demographic shift and AIP housing challenges. In the U.S., Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities and Villages are models of actively providing supportive services for the elderly with organized networks of volunteer, corporate, and governmental stakeholders. In Japan, mixed communities with a focus on promoting multi-generational resident communities are models of efficient service delivery to the elderly. As such, the MOC's initial focus on AIP and related housing and urban planning policies is an area of joint research that will benefit both countries.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/US-Japan-CaseStudies.html

In the leadership message, director of PD&R's International and Philanthropic Affairs Division Cynthia Campbell discusses highlights of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) biannual Working Party on Urban Policy meetings. The OECD's primary mission is to promote economic policy and conduct evidence-based research that addresses social, economic, and environmental issues. The OECD and its researchers have posted several studies examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued their research in several other disciplines. Read more here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-101920.html

On 30 September 2020, HUD & the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) co-hosted an international policy exchange as the opening of international housing policy dialogue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Roundtable was framed around the following issues: 1) The impact of COVID-19 in each country; measures to contain the spread, economic responses, and social welfare responses; and 2) Pathways to recovery – key learnings, policy levers. As well as Australian and U.S. delegations, representation included representatives from Austria, Canada, England, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, and Spain to capture diverse approaches to the pandemic and economic recovery.

IPAD facilitated the annual Disaster Funders Call on 30 September 2020 with Janet Golrick, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, Office of Community Development and Planning, and Tennille Smith Parker, Director of Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division. The call focused on the CDBG-Mitigation Program. As many of the grantees of CDBG-MIT reach the implementation stage, the call provided philanthropy an opportunity to hear more about and discuss HUD's mitigation and resilience work.

HUD has completed their fourth year participating in a research partnership with the Wilson Center and the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation on the comparative study of urban regeneration financing in the US and Korea. PD&R's Heidi Joseph and Katie Marinari have completed a case study on the LA Promise Zone. Final reporting on the research took place virtually on 9 September 2020. Also participating in the research partnership were the University of Pennsylvania, who studied the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park in NYC, and American University, who focused on the District Wharf in DC.

In the leadership message, Cynthia Campbell, Director of PD&R's International and Philanthropic Affairs Division discusses how the pandemic could affect the funding of the local organizations that provide additional support to US communities.

Read Cindy Campbell's article here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-081720.html

In coordination with the Council on Foundations, HUD announced the 2020 winners of the Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. The awards recognize innovative partnerships between foundations and government that have been critical in transforming communities and improving the quality of life for low-and moderate-income residents across the country.

“We want to commend our award winners for their efforts to show the importance of government and philanthropy partnership,” said Secretary Carson. “Today's announcements of these awards honor the collaborative and unites us all together so that more Americans have the opportunity to be successful.”

“The recipients of this year's Secretary's Award are stellar examples of the transformational power of strong public-philanthropic partnerships to improve the quality of life for generations of families,” said Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations. "The foundations and corporate philanthropies honored today provide insights and ideas for how to effectively respond to our nation's most pressing challenges.”

This year's awards were presented as part of a ceremony simulcast during a conference call. Awards are given to place-based funders for completed or ongoing initiatives that are executed in partnership with a local, regional, or federal government agency.

The winners are:


Sheller Family Foundation
The Homeless Assistance Fund, Inc.
Meyer Memorial Trust
Quicken Loans Community Fund
The Rockefeller Foundation
Bernard Project (SBP Long-Term Home Rebuilding)
MUFG Union Bank Foundation

Cindy Campbell attended the June 29, 2020 UN Habitat Executive Board meeting which was held virtually. She attended along with a State Department delegation that included permanent delegates posted in Nairobi. The meeting centered around reviewing the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan and a review of the UN Habitat budget.

The White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council: Best Practices Report was released on 17 June 2020. The report highlights case studies and best practices, capturing the various ways in which OZ stakeholders are working collectively to implement the OZ initiative throughout the country. IPAD's Mia Bailey wrote the section of the report that focuses on the Charitable and Philanthropic Sector.

Over a series of teleconferences, IPAD facilitated meetings between PD&R staff and our counterparts at the Japanese Embassy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism with the International Code Council and the Agricultural Commissioner of Sacramento County, California to discuss zoning and building code policy in the United States, specifically around agricultural use.

Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton and Director Cindy Campbell participated in a virtual meeting of the American Academy of Housing and Communities on May 18, 2020. The Assistant Secretary gave an overview of HUD's participation at the World Urban Forum followed by a discussion on the CARES Act and how HUD is assisting communities. Cindy Campbell gave an overview of the international work being done by HUD.

AARP and HUD have a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner in research. We have four areas of research that we are currently pursuing: Healthy Aging in Place, Disaster Risk Exposure of Elderly Persons, Shared Housing, and also Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and other innovative housing ideas. The collaboration helps both HUD and AARP advance their research in creative housing practices as it relates to the United States' elderly population.

Shared Housing: HUD continues to collect best practices in the area of shared housing. PD&R's Sean Martin is currently writing a research project on shared housing in the United States that will be published later this year in HUD's Insight publication. This publication will not only have best practices in shared housing matching services, mostly non-profits, but also in the commercial sector. HUD is also in the process of reviewing a notice for Public Housing Authorities that will reiterate the authorized use of HUD vouchers for those that share homes. Vouchers can be used for shared housing, if they are not related. We anticipate final clearance of this notice within the next few months. HUD's lead on the project, Cindy Campbell, and AARP's Stephanie Firestone, continue to work on this project in tandem.

Disaster Risk Exposure of Elderly Persons: HUD, in partnership with AARP, is working to understand the unique vulnerabilities of elderly populations to natural disasters and to promote strategies to reduce risk in this population. To do this, researchers first scanned literature on the risks of elderly populations in the context of natural hazards. One key and consistent finding that surfaced is that fatalities resulting from direct and indirect causes of disasters are much higher among elderly persons than the general population. To inform local emergency planning on this threat, HUD proposed creating and analyzing new data on elderly risk exposure to two major natural hazards for which risk data is widely available: floods and wildfires. Using a range of data sources, HUD has developed granular geospatial data showing the exposure of elderly households to flood and fire and mapped this data in select regions of the United States. AARP is focused on high-elderly population counties in California, Texas, and Florida. The process of generating the data involved new methods to create detailed maps that would likely be useful to a range of stakeholders. The data for all households has been published on HUD's website here. HUD is finalizing detailed maps, analysis, and a presentation for AARP before sharing with local level affiliates. The ultimate objective of the data analysis is to provide compelling evidence to local advocates, policy makers, and emergency planners, that the exposure of elderly populations to hazard risks warrant careful consideration of this population's needs in order to mitigate the risk they face during severe fires and floods. HUD will then collaborate with AARP to identify risk reduction measures that can be deployed by governments ahead of and during disasters.

Healthy Aging in Place Working Group: Under the auspices of the research MOU between HUD and AARP and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD) began collaborating in 2018 on research related to the understanding that housing is a platform not only for financial security and physical security, but also for social connections, wellness, and long-term services and supports. On November 6, 2019, AARP hosted, in partnership with HUD, the Innovation Roundtable entitled Exploring Supportive Housing Solutions that Advance Healthy Aging in Community: Examining the role of affordable rental housing models with supportive services for older adults, bringing stakeholders from the public and private sectors together. The goal of the roundtable was to foster cross-sector engagement to identify potential solutions and opportunities that can address the challenges that housing and other providers are facing as they integrate enhanced supportive services into housing properties to advance health and well-being for low-income adults. Participants at the table represented AARP, health and housing agencies within the federal government, insurers and health systems, various associations in the health and housing sectors, and property owners that provide supportive services on-site. The roundtable generated numerous partnerships and ideas for further research.

Expanding Accessory Dwelling Units: Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinances are zoning rules allowing single-family dwellings to include an additional housing unit. ADUs can be created in a variety of ways, including converting a portion of an existing house, adding to an existing house, converting an existing garage or constructing an entirely new building. In addition to creating a new unit of affordable rental housing, they can make homeownership more affordable by providing the owner with a source of income. Incentives to provide accessory dwelling units that will be deed-restricted as affordable may be offered, such as property tax limits for the accessory dwelling unit. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of the different ordinances around the country. HUD researchers propose to create a comprehensive database of the different ordinances enacted by states and local jurisdictions, quantify barriers to ADU construction, and identify best practices and solutions. Initially the research will focus on ADU ordinance adoptions in naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs).

Hide

Public charities and private foundations are responding to the unprecedented challenges and circumstances that have emerged from the COVID-19 global pandemic. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, these philanthropic organizations were already deeply rooted in mission critical efforts that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations and address communal needs. Now faced with the heightened vulnerabilities and circumstances that the virus has caused, philanthropies are finding innovative and strategic ways to combine, mobilize and distribute resources in rapid speeds. These resources are designed to address and offer relief in areas such as housing, rental assistance, health, education, lost wages and food security.

Examples of charitable relief and response efforts include:

• Council on Foundations COVID-19 Resource Hub: https://www.cof.org/news/covid-19-resource-hub
• The Center for Disaster Philanthropy COVID-19 Response Fund: https://disasterphilanthropy.org/cdp-fund/cdp-covid-19-response-fund/
• Rockefeller Foundation COVID-19 Response: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/covid-19-response/
• Ford Foundation COVID-19 Response: https://www.fordfoundation.org/campaigns/our-response-to-coronavirus/
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation COVID-19 Response: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/TheOptimist/coronavirus
• Facebook COVID-19 Response: https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus/

As government leaders work to address and bring resolve to 21st Century challenges and needs, growing evidence suggests that government alone cannot accomplish these tasks in isolation. As the rippling effects of such challenges and needs impact our world and nation, government leaders have to become more sophisticated in establishing and nurturing public-private partnerships to meet and address these growing needs. The International and Philanthropic Affairs Division (IPAD) of HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research recognizes this and works to establish and nurture such partnerships to advance and accomplish HUD's mission and goals. IPAD developed a Philanthropic Engagement Toolkit designed to educate and help HUD employees grow in their knowledge and skillset in establishing and maintaining key partnerships in an ethical and responsible manner as public servants. The toolkit covers topics such as what is a partnership, partnership models, the basics of philanthropy, and covers the legal and ethical guidelines government employees must adhere to in forming such partnerships. Training opportunities are forthcoming.

Hide

IPAD hosted a group of researchers from Japan on Friday, February 28, 2020. The researchers all work on disaster recovery efforts and were from Meiji, Kyoto, and Senshu Universities. They were interested in learning more about HUD's CDBG-Disaster Recovery efforts, especially the Buy Out Program. Speakers included Todd Richardson, General Deputy Assistant Secretary (PD&R), Mark Shroder, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring (PD&R), and Tennille Smith Parker, Director of Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division (CPD).

Hide

Seth Appleton, Calvin Johnson, Cindy Campbell and James Redfield attended the 6th Aging in Place Forum held in Tokyo from February 25-27, 2020. The team visited social/public housing projects aimed at assisting Japan's aging population. Discussions took place on various aging in place initiatives including how to move forward on the next few years of research. The next Aging in Place Forum will be held in the United States sometime in the fall.

Hide

By Cindy Campbell, Director of International and Philanthropic Affairs

HUD sent a very small delegation to the World Urban Forum, held every two years in different locations around the world. Our delegation included Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton, Deputy Chief of Staff John Coalter Baker, Director of HUD's International Division Cindy Campbell and Program Analyst Katie Marinari. Over 13,000 people from 168 countries participated in the 10th World Urban Forum (WUF10) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 8 –13, 2020. Policy makers, academics, business and community leaders, artists, and urban planners engaged on a wide range of issues at this year's event. The theme this year was: Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation. A non-binding declaration of voluntary actions and commitments for the next two years was released on the last day of WUF10, reiterating the shared aspirational goals to promote urban resilience, to review progress made in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and to advance people centered policy outcomes.

The World Urban Forum gives participants a chance to meet each other and share valuable insight into pressing urban issues. While we were there, we had the chance to have bilateral meetings with several Ministry counterparts including Mr. Takuya Kurita, Vice Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Japan. We also met with the Director of Urban Policy Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Korea.

We had the opportunity to hear a brief from the Minister of Housing & Land Use Planning, Republic of Mauritius during the Minister's Roundtable. He noted that his small island nation has an 89% home ownership rate. We met with him after the roundtable to discuss this further and to perhaps share research in the future. It will be interesting to see how his country is able to use public private partnerships to achieve such a high level of home ownership.

Our team was able to visit the offices of the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority. They gave us an overview of housing in Abu Dhabi which was fascinating. Most Emirate citizens get very generous subsidies for single family homes, which average five bedrooms and include a generous amount of living space. We received a brief on a new housing project located within walking distance of a beach. The planners took into consideration community needs such as incorporating schools, a mosque, playground and other amenities.

The HUD delegation also had the opportunity to participate in a site visit to Masdar City, an intentionally planned sustainable urban community. Masdar City was built with the goal to be carbon neutral. The City relies on solar energy and strives towards water efficiency. There is also an emphasis on public transport, biking, and walkability. The community is a mixed-use development and includes the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, office space, incubator space for small start-ups, and a residential neighborhood with restaurants, shopping, and public parks.

We also participated in high-level roundtables, side events, and networking events, which provided opportunities to share the work of HUD and to learn from other countries' approaches, policies, and programs. Seth Appleton was a panelist on the American Institute of Architects sponsored event entitled “AIA/HUD Secretary Awards: Housing and Community Development Strategies.” He gave an overview of this year's awardees. IPAD's Katherine Marinari was a panelist on the Wilson Center and Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corp co-sponsored event on “Innovative Partnerships and Financing for Urban Regeneration.” She discussed the Choice Neighborhoods program and utilization of innovative public private partnerships.

The largest attended roundtable was the Minister's Roundtable. This was a gathering of senior leadership from around the world offering their insight into their country's current housing and urban policies. Seth Appleton highlighted our commitment to programs and policies that empower people to build self-reliance, that localize approaches by leveraging private-sector partnerships, that support sustainable homeownership, and that encourage affordable housing investments. He also detailed how President Trump's flagship initiative, Opportunity Zones, has helped to encourage long-term investment in economically distressed communities.

Overall, this was a great opportunity to represent the United States and share HUD's policies and initiatives.

During the World Urban Forum, Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton was a panelist on the American Institute of Architects sponsored event entitled “AIA/HUD Secretary Awards: Housing and Community Development Strategies.” The Assistant Secretary discussed the established goals of the AIA/HUD awards and gave an overview of the 2019 awardees.

Hide

During the World Urban Forum, IPAD's Katherine Marinari was a panelist on the Wilson Center and Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corp co-sponsored event on “Innovative Partnerships and Financing for Urban Regeneration.” She discussed the Choice Neighborhoods program and utilization of innovative public private partnerships.

Hide

While in Abu Dhabi for the World Urban Forum, Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton and the HUD delegation met with the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority including H.E. Khalifa Khadem Al Hemeiri, Executive Director, Policy Development & Strategic Planning Sector to discuss innovative housing projects and policies for Emirati citizens.

Hide

On February 12, 2020, a delegation from Albania visited HUD through the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The group spoke with Gayela Bynum from the Faith and Opportunity Initiative Office regarding the work HUD is doing around human trafficking. She spoke about the White House Summit on Human Trafficking that occurred on January 31, 2019 along with various programs in the area.

Hide

On February 6, 2020, Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton, Deputy Chief of Staff Coalter Baker, and Director Cindy Campbell traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to sign an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Saudi Ministry of Housing and HUD. The next steps in the MOU will be to invite the Saudi Ministry of Housing counterparts to the United States to learn more about HUD's housing programs and to give them a more in-depth overview of HUD's government-backed mortgage programs.

Read more here: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-030920.html

HUD is participating in a new research partnership with the Wilson Center and the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation on the comparative study of urban regeneration financing in the US and Korea. PD&R's Heidi Joseph and Katherine Marinari will do a research case study on the LA Promise Zone. The interim report will be held virtually at the end of May 2020, with final reporting at the end of August. The University of Pennsylvania studying the Atlantic Yards in NYC and American University focusing on the District Wharf in DC are also participating in the research partnership.

Hide

HUD hosted a Japanese delegation visit from January 27-31, 2020. The delegation consisted of the Director of the Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism and his colleague. HUD has a MOU with Japan focused on Aging in Place. Japan's Policy Research Institute is conducting a research project on programs for supporting aging in place. IPAD, along with the NY Regional Office and the DC Field Office, facilitated the delegation's visit to DC & NYC, which included site visits to supportive service providers, meetings with the local government officials, tours of Section 202 housing, and meetings with HUD leadership.

Hide

On January 9, 2020, the National Academy of Housing and Sustainable Communities hosted an international gathering luncheon to prepare for the World Urban Forum. As the head of the US delegation to the World Urban Forum, Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton was featured as the guest speaker. The purpose of this luncheon was to provide an overview of HUD's current priorities and initiatives and served as an opportunity to hold a dialogue with Academy Fellows to exchange ideas on urbanization, its significance for U.S. foreign and domestic policy priorities, and the strategic role of cities in solving global challenges.

Director Cindy Campbell gave an overview of HUD's international work and participation in the World Urban Forum. Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton then gave an informative overview of HUD's current priorities and initiatives. Judith Hermanson, President and CEO, IHC Global and Jane Katz, Director of International Affairs and Programs, Habitat for Humanity International followed with responses of US Civil Society's priorities and initiatives. The luncheon ended with an official presentation of Owls and recognition of the presenters as Academy Fellows.

Scaling Solutions II was written by PD&R to highlight the various partnerships that have received the Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships over the last eight years. The report highlights the strategies used by each partnership to increase the quality of life for low- and moderate-income residents. The report further describes the importance of successful partnerships and local solutions as they were implemented by the Gulf Foundation, HOPE SF Foundation, City Alive Foundation, the Legacy Foundation, the Community Foundation of the New River Valley, the Skillman Foundation, the Seattle Foundation, and the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Scaling-Solutions-II.pdf

In June 2019, IPAD's Meron Habte was fortunate enough to begin her rotation with USAID Ethiopia. She spent six months in the capital, Addis Ababa working on various lines of efforts. She was able to support the team with election programing, conflict, rule of law, and designing a youth project. Meron attended various bilateral meetings with the UN, EU, DFID, and various other governmental and non-governmental entities.

However, her favorite part of the rotation was supporting the education team design the youth project. The youth make up the majority of Ethiopia; therefore, designing a project to support them was a huge undertaking. The project was supposed to encompass civics, health, employment, and empowerment. As such, they spent hours trying to tackle the many challenges the youth of Ethiopia face today.

Meron was able to utilize what she had learned in the U.S. about education, civic engagement, community engagement, advocacy, and resource mobilization to support the team.

Overall, Meron's experience in Ethiopia was invaluable. She was able to learn hands on about international development from foreign service officers that have been supporting developing countries carry on their journey to self-reliance.

Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton and the German Embassy's Envoy signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (Germany's version of an MOU) between the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research and the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community (BMI) on December 13, 2019. Following the document signing, several staff from IPAD met with Dr. Oliver Weigel from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and Dr. Tina Silbernagl from the German Development Agency for a meeting with the German Marshall Fund to discuss a joint project for 2020.

Hide

HUD hosted a senior Korean delegation on December 3, 2019. The senior person was Hyungwoo Chung the Vice President of the Presidential Committee for Job Creation. The Korean Presidential Committee on Jobs is preparing to introduce a "socially appropriate wage system" which is intended to be applied to public construction projects. Korea is planning to legislate the wage system with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in 2020. The delegation met with HUD to learn more about how the U.S. manages labor issues in government supported construction projects. The Office of Davis Bacon and Labor Standards provided an overview of their work and PD&R gave an overview of LIHTC and Opportunity Zones.

Hide

IPAD assisted the State Department in preparing for the first UN Habitat Executive Board meeting which was held on November 19-20, 2019. The United States is the current chair of the Executive Board. The new UN Habitat Strategic Plan was reviewed along with progress on several resolutions passed during the General Assembly meeting held earlier this year. Cindy Campbell attended the Executive Board meeting along with representatives from State Department and the US Mission in Nairobi.

Hide

HUD hosted a five-person Korean delegation of researchers from Korea Land & Housing, a Public Enterprise by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in Korea on November 19, 2019. The Korean researchers are creating a government project to develop a housing market model. The discussion was on how PD&R's Economic and Market Analysis Division processes and analyzes data.

Hide

IPAD provided an overview brief for an Italian delegation visiting Washington DC on November 1, 2019. The group is part of the U.S. Italy Resilience to Natural Disasters and Cultural Heritage Working Group under the framework of the U.S. Italy Science and Technology Agreement through the State Department.

Hide

Assistant Secretary Seth Appleton and several staff from IPAD met with Dr. Oliver Weigel from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and Dr. Tina Silbernagl from the German Development Agency for a discussion on a revised Memorandum of Understanding with our German counterparts. The visit which took place on October 31-November 1, 2019 included meetings with the German Marshall Fund and a site visit to public housing.

Hide

The Institute of International Education (IIE) organized an U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) entitled “Sustainable Cities,” a Regional Project for Africa. IPAD delivered on a HUD overview presentation to the 15-member delegation, each from a different country. The delegation's interests were on the initiatives that HUD offers to provide affordable housing, suitable living and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.

Hide

The Lord Wei met with David Woll, Kurt Usowski and other PD&R staff on October 9, 2019. The United Kingdom Embassy requested this meeting. The Lord Wei requested information about US policy on how to address affordable housing as well as innovate approaches to shared spaces, land use, and the role of technology to unlock innovation.

I recently read this year's European Responsible Housing Awards 2019 Handbook, which highlights best practices in housing throughout the European Union. The competition is run through the European Federation of Public, Cooperative & Social Housing, or Housing Europe, which is a network of 45 national and regional federations that includes 43,000 housing providers in 24 countries. Housing Europe's members manage more than 26 million homes, including social/public housing units, which make up roughly 11 percent of Europe's housing stock.

Read the rest of the article here.

Over my two decades with HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), opportunities for international travel have been scarce. This year brought a welcome exception when organizers of the Penn/Oxford Symposium on Housing Affordability in the Advanced Economies accepted my proposal to present recent in-house research. The paper examined three alternative methods for measuring household-level housing affordability problems that we validated by estimating their association with food insecurity.

Read the rest of the article here.

IPAD hosted a Funders Call on Disaster Recover with David Woll, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development and Tennille Smith Parker, Director of Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division. HUD has issued the Mitigation Federal Register Notice. This call discussed the Notice and the CDBG-DR process including opportunities for engagement. The call was held on Monday, September 9. Over twenty funders were on the call.

HUD hosted a six-person Japanese delegation from the Office for Housing Policy, Tokyo Metropolitan Government on September 26. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about U.S. housing policy and potentially utilize it for future policy planning. The discussion was on affordable housing in general, senior housing, and disaster recovery efforts at HUD, and represented by PD&R and Office of Housing.

Hide

Silicon Valley Community Foundation meeting to discuss Opportunity Zone engagement meeting held on 12 August 2019. Region Administrator Chris Patterson, Cindy Campbell, Erich Yost and Michael Huff met with Nicole Taylor, President and Gina Dalma, Senior Vice President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Other Bay Area foundations attended including San Francisco Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, McConnell Foundation and the Heising Simmons Foundation.

A delegation from Pakistan consisting of 10 participants involved in a project titled “Responsible Municipal Management: Creating Resilient and Innovative Cities of the Future.” Various federal agencies including HUD, DOT, and EPA participated in a roundtable discussion with the delegation regarding federal support for sustainable and resilient cities.

IPAD assisted the State Department in preparation for the HLPF held 5-16 July 2019 in New York. IPAD participated in several side events that were focused on housing and urban development issues. Marge Martin, Cindy Campbell, and Katie Marinari participated in the Philanthropy & the SDGs Special Event. Cindy Campbell was asked to play a lead discussant role during the Q&A at the event and questioned the panel how philanthropy and governments can better engage with one another.

The team also met with leadership from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) to discuss HUD's research and programs on homelessness. The 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development will take place in February 2020, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Commission is the advisory body to UN DESA responsible for the social development pillar of global development. The priority theme will be, “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness.” This meeting was to help inform research on best practices in addressing homelessness. IPAD will continue to follow up with UN DESA, State Department's US Mission to the UN and with the State Department International Organization office on this ongoing project.

The 8th annual Chamber of Commerce Foundation's conference held 23-24 July, focused on the collaboration required among private, public, and nonprofit sectors to help mitigate the effects of natural and human-made disasters. This year's conference, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Northern Command, focused on a community's ability to be resilient and the role all sectors can play in carrying that out.

On 23 July, Christopher Bourne, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Innovation presented in a panel on “Rethinking Resilience Across Infrastructure.” The panel focused on rethinking and investing in the materials used in buildings and infrastructure that can protect against water damage and other natural hazards. The discussion covered how innovators are creating exciting new technologies and supplies to help rethink resiliency in homes and across the communities. Chris discussed HUD's new Office of Innovation and its focus on housing affordability and resiliency. He highlighted the Innovative Housing Showcase and sharing best practices through reports and case studies such as Building Even Better Homes report and the Durability by Design 2nd Edition.

On 24 July, Stan Gimont, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, presented in a panel on “Utilizing Federal Resources.” The panel focused on services and resources that exist in federal departments other than FEMA who provide support before, during, and after a disaster. The discussion covered how to best utilize the services of the federal departments. Stan discussed HUD's Immediate Housing ESF under the disaster recovery framework along with the CDBG-DR program.

A delegation from Pakistan consisting of 10 participants involved in a project titled “Responsible Municipal Management: Creating Resilient and Innovative Cities of the Future.” Various federal agencies including HUD, DOT, and EPA participated in a roundtable discussion with the delegation regarding federal support for sustainable and resilient cities.

A delegation from Germany visited HUD, specifically meeting with CPD and PD&R, on 16 July 2019. The delegation consisted of two mayors from City of Schomelln and Neubrandenburg. The mayors were interested in learning about innovated policy approaches and initiatives at the federal levels that address common issues that face communities, especially smaller towns and cities in the U.S. They were interested in initiatives that make more strategic and effective investments in urban development, building smarter infrastructure, building more diverse economies and inclusive communities.

HUD hosted a delegation of eight Japanese senior officials from our HUD counterpart, MLIT, and from the Urban Renaissance Agency in Los Angeles from the 23rd to 28th of June 2019. LA Field Staff supported and attended the Forum. The Forum focused on site visits and in conference sessions to further discuss the four US and four Japanese case studies and next steps in research. The Aging in Place Research team has completed four US case studies and four Japanese case studies. These will be posted on the Japanese Ministry web site and our web site once we have final clearance. The US case studies are currently being translated. Below are the case studies:

US Case Studies

• Volunteerism in the United States
• Accessible housing and technology research and demonstration grant program
• Naturally occurring retirement communities and senior villages
• Integrated wellness in supportive housing

Japanese Case Studies

• Voluntary and active development of community by neighborhood
• Daily living support services in collaboration with private companies
• Management of residential areas by private entities
• Creation of regional medical and welfare service hubs

A parliamentary advisor for the Policy Research Unit, which is a not-for-profit company based in the UK Parliament, met with PD&R researchers who focus on welfare-to-work on 11 June 2019. The advisor's research is mainly focused on the changes made to work requirements and employment services at the federal and state level since the 1990s through to the present day and where this debate might be heading in the future.

Secretary Carson met with Ben-Oni Ardelean, Vice-President of the National Liberal Party, a conservative party of Romania on 10 June 2019. Ardelean also serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Policy. He is a Member of the Chamber of Deputies.

The US Virgin Islands convening with HUD and FEMA for philanthropy was held 21-21 May 2019 at the Nissan Training Facility in St. Croix, USVI. The event was co-hosted by HUD and FEMA to update philanthropy on disaster recovery and resilience efforts in USVI. Highlights of the Territory's Recovery Plan, the Value of Public-Philanthropic Partnerships, the Role of Local Foundations in Long-term Recovery, and Non-profits and Recovery Implementation were discussed. The Council on Foundations and local USVI community foundations actively participated in the coordination of the event.

Alastair MacFarlane, Director of the Public Finance and Regulatory Analysis Division of the Office of Policy Development and Research in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, met with representatives from OECD's Economics and Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs Directorates to share his agency's priorities for OECD work under the Housing Horizon Project. HUD could benefit from OECD cross-country research, MacFarlane said, on ways to expand the supply of housing for low-income residents; on the factors that make for risky mortgages in certain situations (such as for low-income borrowers); and on the effects of segregation in housing. MacFarlane also offered suggestions to improve ECO research on housing and wealth, noting that it would be useful to explore the factors that allow homeowners to build wealth, as well as on the range of user costs associated with renting. OECD staff thanked MacFarlane for his engagement and expressed interest in working with him to plan and develop their deliverables under the Housing Horizon Project going forward.

IPAD hosed the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Program delegation on the topic of “Sustainable Cities.” The delegation included 24 high-level representatives from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India, Israel, Nepal, and Tunisia. IPAD facilitated a knowledge exchange between the delegation and HUD senior staff to discuss diverse initiatives to provide affordable housing, suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.

A group of delegates from Egypt focused on Community Revitalization and Urban Renewal visited HUD staff on 9 April 2019. This delegation visited under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The Institute of International Education arranged their program.

A parliamentary advisor on housing, communities, and local government issues at the Policy Research Unit in the House of Commons met with representatives from PD&R and CPD on 10 April 2019. The advisor's research currently focuses on house-building finance initiatives, homelessness reduction pilots, and legislation to improve consumer redress in the rented and leasehold sectors. The advisor's work involves preparing policy and debate briefings on housing policy for Conservative Members of Parliament.

The London Affordable Housing Challenge, an International Architecture Competition, has released the results of its challenge which aimed to get architects and designers to propose solutions for affordable housing in London. The challenge is part of Bee Breeders' Affordable Housing Crisis design series which has already introduced several proposals to address the global demand for urban housing. The first-place submission proposes adaptable housing through the use of 3D printing. The second-place submission details how co-living and cohabitation can increase density in housing spaces. Finally, the third-place submission proposes a mix of room types in order to accommodate large groups or small numbers of inhabitants.

https://beebreeders.com/architecturecompetitions/londonhousing