Public Policy Commons^™

Smart Engagement: Planning And Decision-Making In Distressed Urban Neighborhoods, Justin Hollander, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Eliza D. Whiteman

Michael P. Johnson

Reconstructing Neighborhoods: Case Studies In Foreclosed Housing Acquisition And Redevelopment By Community Development Corporations, David A. Turcotte, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Emily Vidrine, Rachel B. Drew, Felicia M. Sullivan

Michael P. Johnson

Community development corporations (CDCs) play a central role in addressing the foreclosed housing crisis in America’s urban neighborhoods. The success of CDCs, however, is closely tied to market forces, neighborhood characteristics, and policies at multiple levels, as well as factors internal to CDCs. What factors support or impede the success of CDCs that operate in such complex environments? We examine the experiences of two CDCs serving two small, ethnically diverse cities in Massachusetts regarding resources, policy, practices and local markets related to neighborhood revitalization. We derive lessons about the factors internal and external to these CDCs that affect their ability …

Value Focused Thinking For Community-Based Organizations: Objectives And Acceptance In Local Development, Jeffrey Keisler, David A. Turcotte, Rachel B. Drew, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

A multi-site case study applies value-focused thinking methods in a community engaged research framework within three organizations. All three organizations are community development corporations (CDCs), a type of community based organization (CBO) who direct assets and efforts toward housing stock and neighborhood improvement. Objectives hierarchies were developed for the three sites. A set of common aspects of these structures suggest ways to operationalize the generic mission of CDCs. Other aspects which vary across sites can be related to specific characteristics of the organizations and the communities in which they operate. The process of applying value-focused thinking is also compared across …

Stochastic Models For Strategic Resource Allocation In Nonprofit Foreclosed Housing Acquisitions, Armagan Bayram, Senay Solak, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Increased rates of mortgage foreclosures in the U.S. have had devastating social and economic impacts during and after the 2008 financial crisis. As part of the response to this problem, non-profit organizations such as community development corporations (CDCs) have been trying to mitigate the negative impacts of mortgage foreclosures by acquiring and redeveloping foreclosed properties. We consider the strategic resource allocation decisions for these organizations which involve budget allocations to different neighborhoods under cost and return uncertainty. Based on interactions with a CDC, we develop stochastic integer programming based frame- works for this decision problem, and assess the practical value …

Property Value Impacts Of Foreclosed Housing Acquisitions Under Uncertainty, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Senay Solak, Rachel B. Drew, Jeffrey Keisler

Michael P. Johnson

Community development corporations seek to stabilize neighborhoods affected by the recent foreclosure crisis through acquisition and redevelopment of distressed properties. One rationale for this work is the alleviation or avoidance of negative foreclosure impacts. We estimate the lost value to proximate properties associated with a single foreclosure through a Markov chain representing probabilistic transitions between foreclosure stages. We apply our model to a case study of foreclosure properties in Chelsea, MA. A rank ordering by estimated property value impacts indicates significant potential gains in social value as compared to current community development practice. We extend our basic model to address …

Maintain, Demolish, Re-Purpose: Policy Design For Vacant Land Management Using Decision Models, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander, Alma Hallulli

Michael P. Johnson

Decline, measured in population growth rates, population levels, housing stock and economic activity, and associated increases in vacant land in urban areas, is a reality for cities and regions within the United States. However, planners increasingly see ‘decline’ as a development state to anticipate and a development strategy to consider. For example, a place may lose population while continuing to provide a high quality of life and social value. Vacant land is central to planning issues related to decline: some currently-occupied housing may likely become abandoned and demolished, yielding vacant lots, while some currently vacant lots may be inputs to …

Uplifting: Improvements In Boston Area Client Well-Being, Ryan Kling, Lisa Kalimon, Tanya Stepasiuk, Bukola Usidame, Ryan Mclane, Ryan Whalen, Ana Maria Sanchez, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

LIFT-Boston, a local non-profit organization, entered into a collaborative partnership in September 2012 with McCormack Graduate School Public Policy Ph.D. students and faculty to develop and execute a research project. The goals of this endeavor were to assist LIFT-Boston in understanding the outcomes associated with its services and enable the organization to further pursue service goals. The primary research questions respond to the organization’s most fundamental questions. These include how the organization’s unique service model impacts clients across several objective and subjective dimensions of well-being. Secondary questions focus on how these impacts may translate into increases or decreases in student …

Decision Modeling For Local Housing Development: ‘Strategic Value’ And Other Social Impact Measures, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Acquisition and redevelopment of foreclosed properties by community organizations helps to mitigate the social impacts of foreclosures on neighborhoods and residents. Social impacts can be measured in a variety of ways: (a) Strategic value of foreclosed property locations (b) Averted lost value to proximate properties Models can estimate magnitudes of such effects to identify potential acquisition candidates and social impacts of alternative development strategies. Application of models to a local case study demonstrates how these measures can be used in practice.

Maintain, Demolish, Re‐Purpose: Policy Design For Vacant Land Management Using Decision Models, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander, Alma Hallulli

Michael P. Johnson

Neighborhoods, cities, regions and countries face sustained economic and population decline, due to lower population growth rates, deindustrialization and sustained disinvestment, and the housing foreclosure crisis. Planners increasingly see ‘decline’ as something to plan for: a place may lose population while ensuring a high quality of life and enhanced social value (Delken 2008, Hollander 2010). Growth-oriented planning continues to maintain its hegemony over local government decision-making. Can decision models help planners devise strategies that will maximize the social value of managed decline?

What Is A Strategic Acquisition? Decision Modeling In Support Of Foreclosed Housing Redevelopment, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Rachel B. Drew, Jeffrey Keisler, David Turcotte

Michael P. Johnson

This paper describes and develops a model for calculating location-based strategic values of foreclosed properties considered for acquisition and redevelopment by community development corporations (CDCs). A property’s strategic value refers to its proximity to site-specific neighborhood amenities and disamenities (e.g. schools, public transit, distressed properties), given the relative importance of that proximity to CDC organizational and community objectives. We operationalize the concept of strategic value, and apply this concept to a salient public sector decision problem. Using data and value assessments from a CDC engaged in foreclosed housing redevelopment, we compute measures of strategic value for a set of acquisition …

Decison Models For Housing And Community Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Values, Objectives, And Decisions: Using Community-Based Operations Research For Neighborhood Redevelopment, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Rachel B. Drew, Jeffrey Keisler, David Turcotte

Michael P. Johnson

In this presentation we describe an application of value-focused thinking and decision analysis to the design and evaluation of strategies for housing development especially in urban communities affected by the ongoing foreclosure crisis. This is part of a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary effort to study decision processes of community development corporations (CDCs) acquiring and redeveloping foreclosed properties for neighborhood stabilization.

Michael Johnson Research Profile, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

This document summarizes my disciplinary training and my research products.

Community-Engaged Decision Support For Foreclosed Housing Acquisition And Redevelopment In Boston, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

This project develops decision tools and analytical methods to help non‐profit community development corporations (CDCs) acquire and redevelop foreclosed housing for neighborhood stabilization and revitalization. Interviews and direct observations at partner CDCs have helped us identify current practices, data and requirements for our decision models. Problem‐structuring methods through CDC focus groups have generated core operational and organizational objectives. Spreadsheet‐ and optimization based decision models generate policy and operational alternatives that address multiple resident and community outcomes. Our research will support efficient responses to the recent foreclosure crisis, especially in distressed neighborhoods, and suggest policy implications at local and national levels.

Decision Models For Foreclosed Housing Acquisition And Redevelopment: A University Of Massachusetts Multi-Campus Collaborative Project - Processes And Findings To Date, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David Turcotte, Rachel B. Drew, Armagan Bayram, Emily Vidrine

Michael P. Johnson

The recent housing foreclosure crisis has had devastating impacts on individuals, communities, organizations and government. In response, several community development corporations (CDCs) have sought new ways to assist neighborhoods suffering from the myriad effects of high foreclosures, including neighborhood instability, increased vandalism and crime, lower property values, and economic disinvestment. This research project focuses on activities of community-based organizations that acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties to support neighborhood stabilization and revitalization. However, the costs of pursuing this strategy far exceed the resources available to typical CDCs. Thus, our project seeks to solve the following decision problem: What subset of a …

What Foreclosed Homes Should A Municipality Purchase To Stabilize Vulnerable Neighborhoods?, Michael Johnson

Michael P. Johnson

Over the past 3 years, increased rates of mortgage foreclosures in the U.S. have resulted in widespread bankruptcies of financial institutions and massive losses of consumer wealth. The effects have been especially pronounced in economically vulnerable regions. In response, municipalities and community-based organizations provide a variety of services to mitigate the effects of foreclosures. Purchases of foreclosed properties represent a particularly attractive strategy because they have the potential to minimize blight, reduce unanticipated housing mobility, and to provide affordable homeownership opportunities. Since the cost of such purchases far exceeds the resources available in most urban centers, not-for-profit managers must solve …

Housing And Community Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

No abstract provided.

Planning Models For Affordable Housing Development, Michael Johnson

Michael P. Johnson

This paper presents new mathematical programming-based planning models for the provision of affordable housing to low-income and moderate-income families by government and nongovernmental entities. These models address two key policy concerns of housing providers: setting priorities for investments among a variety of affordable housing programs, and choosing locations and configurations for particular affordable housing initiatives. This paper also incorporates elements of location-design models to address various programmatic and physical attributes associated with affordable housing. Computational results based on a case study demonstrate the potential of these models to generate affordable housing strategies that are flexible, meet affordable housing `gaps', and …

Community-Based Operations Research, Michael Johnson, Karen Smilowitz

Michael P. Johnson

Community-based operations research is defined as the collection of analytical methods applied to problem domains in which interests of underrepresented, underserved, or vulnerable populations in localized jurisdictions, formal or informal, receive special emphasis, and for which solutions to problems of core concern for daily living must be identified and implemented so as to jointly optimize economic efficiency, social equity, and administrative burdens.As such, it represents a specific domain within public-sector OR.Comm unity-based operations research (OR) problems tend to be “messy” and highly dependent on political and social considerations. Nevertheless, solution of these problems is essential to the continued health and …

Single-Period Location Models For Subsidized Housing: Project-Based Subsidies, Michael Johnson

Michael P. Johnson

Large urban public housing authorities (PHAs) in the US have abandoned the traditional model of highrise public housing developments and increasingly use lower-density project-based subsidized housing as well as tenant-based housing subsidies to provide affordable shelter. PHAs generally apply practitioner expertise to locate subsidized housing and do not identify housing alternatives using prescriptive planning models that optimize policy criteria and incorporate well-defined stakeholder impacts. Using policy characteristics and estimated economic impacts of subsidized housing, a new single-period multi-objective integer programming model for location of project-based subsidized housing is developed. Data requirements, relationships with standard planning models, solution characteristics and sensitivity …