ULI, MacArthur Foundation Launch Housing Portal

The Urban Land Institute, with the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, has launched How Housing Matters, an interdisciplinary online portal focused on housing’s role in individual and neighborhood well-being.

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The Urban Land Institute (ULI), with the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, has launched How Housing Matters, an interdisciplinary online portal focused on housing’s role in individual and neighborhood well-being. The portal offers up-to-date, easily searchable research and news connecting housing with a broad range of topics. The new knowledge-sharing tool emphasizes the connection between housing and better educational opportunities and outcomes for children; stronger foundations for family and community economic stability; and healthier, more productive individuals and neighborhoods.

Related: Welcome to How Housing Matters

The portal (www.howhousingmatters.org), which is being managed by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing, is designed to serve as a user gateway, integrating policy papers, reports, and current news articles, as well as original stories that compellingly illustrate research and data, inform collaboration, and inspire action.

“How Housing Matters will greatly enhance ULI’s efforts to emphasize housing as a cornerstone of communities that are healthy, prosperous, and resilient,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips. “We’re excited about the potential of this website to strengthen our knowledge-sharing initiatives related to housing, help us increase the scale and scope of our housing activities, and reinforce the connection between housing and other sectors.”

The MacArthur Foundation has invested more than $25 million in research projects exploring how decent, stable, affordable housing may lead to strong families and vibrant communities; the research will produce findings through 2017. This body of work, as well as research funded by others, is showing that housing has value beyond the provision of shelter: it improves school performance, diminishes health problems for both children and adults, and decreases psychological stress, among other benefits.

“Housing is at the core of how we tackle some of the most important issues we face as a society—how we ensure [that] our children thrive and learn, and our elderly age with the dignity and care they deserve,” said Julia Stasch, president of the MacArthur Foundation. “The How Housing Matters web portal will be a resource for advocates, experts, policy makers, and the press as they share knowledge and engage around innovative practices that lead to improved housing, health, education, and economic opportunities for all Americans.”

In addition to ULI, other expert resources including the National Housing Conference, the Urban Institute, and Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies will provide content for the site. How Housing Matters is a resource for:


  • Housing industry participants looking for practical information on building and improving housing that serves as a platform for family and community success;
  • Professionals in education, economic development, and public health who are interested in collaborative approaches to address individual and community needs;
  • Policy makers seeking the most compelling data and analyses that “connect the dots” between housing and educational success, economic prosperity, and public health;
  • Advocates making the case for housing’s essential role in supporting individual and community well-being; and
  • Researchers working to deepen the understanding of the interrelationship of housing with other pivotal factors in people’s lives.

Through How Housing Matters, ULI and the MacArthur Foundation are aiming to encourage practice and policy innovations that facilitate collaboration among private and public sector leaders in housing, education, health, and economic development to better and more cost-effectively help families lead healthy, successful lives.

To receive updates and share stories from the new site please follow @Housing360.

Trish Riggs is a public relations consultant and freelancer with Keadle-Riggs Communications. Riggs was a senior vice president with the Urban Land Institute from 2005 to 2019.
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