H&S Implementation Guide: Promoting Housing Options

Resource Description

Varying affordable housing options are vital to maintaining a positive quality of life for all community members. All communities have families and individuals with varying desires, interests, and incomes, each who require different forms of housing to meet their needs.  Providing choice and affordability in the housing sector can improve relationships and diversity, and stimulate growth.  

This guide explains how local government and community organizations can expand housing options through support programs, development regulations, incentive tax policies, and subsidies.  These tools help a community expand their understanding of needs and increase their knowledge of options and resources. Case studies and examples throughout the guide show how existing communities have used research, programs, task forces, and government collaboration to improve their community’s access to housing.

This is one in a series of Heart & Soul Community Planning Implementation Guides, which outline the steps to implementing numerous community goals and provide a resource for towns to actively plan their futures. The Orton Family Foundation created these Guides to accompany the Heart & Soul Community Planning Handbook, helping communities to achieve an inclusive, enduring, long-term plan following the Foundation’s Heart & Soul principles of values-based, citizen-driven community planning.