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Audio Highlights from the "Preserving Public Housing: Issues and Options" Policy Forum

Presented by the Urban Insitute, Abt Associates, Inc. and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Urban Institute, and Abt Associates, Inc. sponsored "

," a series of policy forums on the Obama Administration’s PETRA proposal.

PETRA would institute new rules governing key rights of tenants in developments converted under the plan, including rights to organize and participate in development management, and the right to choose housing in a different location. Panelists will discuss the role of organizing and other resident rights in the management and preservation of public housing, and how PETRA would strengthen, weaken, or simply change the rights of residents.

This proposed legislation calls for converting public and some other subsidized housing to a new type of Section 8 rental assistance, leveraging public funding to access private capital to meet public housing preservation needs, and expanding housing choices for assisted housing residents. The proposal has far-reaching implications for the future of public housing – and ithas been met with both praise and criticism from stakeholders.

The forums will focus on three sets of critical policy issues raised by PETRA: residents' rights and participation, the financing of public housing preservation, and housing choice and mobility. In each session, a panel of expert practitioners and scholars will discuss these issues in light of their experience in the field and the evidence from relevant bodies of research, as well as the options for addressing concerns expressed by tenants, housing authorities, and others.

Session I: Residents' Rights and Participation

Tuesday, July 13, 2010
9:00- 11:00 a.m.

Panelists:

  • Margery Austin Turner, Vice President for Research, The Urban Institute (moderator)
  • Rhae Parkes, Partner, EJP Consulting Group, LLC
  • David Rammler, Staff Attorney and Director of Government Relations, National Housing Law Project
  • Jennifer Turnham, Senior Associate, Social and Economic Policy, Abt Associates, Inc.

This is the first in a series of forums on issues raised by Obama Administration's proposed Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA).

Listen to the audio of this panel: Marge Turner | Rhae Parkes | David Rammler | Jennifer Turnham | Discussion

Session II: Housing Choice and Tenant Mobility

July 26, 2010
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

Panelists:

  • Douglas Rice, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (moderator)
  • Margery Austin Turner, Vice President for Research, The Urban Institute
  • Mary-Anne Morrison, Director, Bureau of Rental Assistance Programs, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development
  • Mary Cunningham, Senior Research Associate, The Urban Institute

This is the second in a series of forums on issues raised by Obama Administration's proposed Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA).

Listen to the audio of this panel: Douglas Rice | Margery Austin Turner | Mary-Anne Morrison | Mary Cunningham | Discussion

Session III: Financing Public Housing Preservation

July 28, 2010
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

Panelists:

  • Rolf Pendall, Director, Center on Metropolitan Housing and Communities, The Urban Institute (moderator)
  • Will Fischer, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (moderator)
  • Jill Khadduri, Ph.D., Principal Associate, Housing and Community Revitalization, Abt Associates, Inc.
  • Stephen I. Holmquist, Attorney, Reno & Cavanaugh PLLC
  • Matt Schwartz, President and CEO, California Housing Partnership

This is the third in a series of forums on issues raised by Obama Administration's proposed Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA).

Listen to the audio of this panel: Rolf Pendall and Will Fischer | Jill Khadduri | Stephen I. Holmquist | Matt Schwartz | Discussion

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