Dear John,
NVAHA’s mission is to inform, collaborate and act to promote access
to housing that is affordable, accessible, energy-efficient and located
near transit. We advocate for housing opportunities that meet the
continuum of needs – for households at-risk of homelessness to persons
with disabilities, young families just starting out, and seniors who
want to age in place. We recognize that affordable housing is about so
much more than housing. We approach our work through the lens of its
broader societal impact at the local, state and national level. From
advancing social equity to promoting shared prosperity, public policies
and financial investments that develop and preserve housing that’s
affordable yield returns that benefit us all.
Effective advocacy to advance these priorities requires a basic
understanding of housing vocabulary, land use policies, and planning and
zoning as well as the politics that impact decision-making. One of the
tools we use to build advocacy capacity within the Northern Virginia
community is our website. We invite you to visit us online and explore
some of the following features:
How do you build affordable housing and why is it so complicated? We created a series of tutorials for those of us who are not developers to help you navigate housing finance 101.
So many acronyms and confusing terminology! What is FAR (floor area ratio)? What are LIHTC (low income housing tax credits) projects? I hear people talking about NOAH (naturally occurring affordable housing); what’s that? Our Housing Glossary helps you decipher housing lingo to become more conversant in policy discussions. Don’t see a word listed in our Glossary? Let us know and we’ll be sure to add it.
How do land use and zoning policies differ across NoVA Jurisdictions? The Housing Policy Matrix allows you to view specific land use and zoning tools at a glance in four NoVA jurisdictions. For more up-to-date information, scroll over to the Local, State and National Resources page. There you can review our monthly summaries on current housing activities in individual jurisdictions.
What about COVID-19 and the impact on housing stability? We hope that 2020 will be remembered as the year when we pivoted to reject ‘business as usual’ in our efforts to create more affordable, equitable, prosperous communities for all, starting with our efforts to prevent evictions and stabilize vulnerable households during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our COVID-19 Resources and Updates page and Eviction Prevention and Housing Stability Toolkit provide guidance for residents and landlords on new tenant protections, rental assistance programs and other need-to-know information. Resources are available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
The legacy of racism continues in our land use policies today. Too many Black and Brown communities suffer from under-resourced schools, reduced economic opportunities and disinvestment as a result of current land use patterns and zoning policies that are rooted in the legacy of redlining and segregation. We cannot address the systemic racism inherent in our public policies and practices today unless we acknowledge the history of segregation and legal discrimination in our past. We have a curated list of articles and videos on our Housing and Equity page that helps tell this story. You may find the list of Racial Equity Tools helpful as well. This page is not a one and done visit. We hope you will come back often as we continue to add new resources to advance your understanding of this important issue.
These selections provide a sample of the information and resources available on our website. Let us know if there are other topics you would like us to address or resources you would like us to include. As always, don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions or comments on how to make this a better resource for you.
Michelle Krocker
Executive Director
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