Center for Urban and Regional Planning research
NEZ Impacts Estimator
Project Team
Principal Investigator:
Ian Caine, Associate Professor, Director, Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research
Researchers:
Rebecca Walter, PhD, Robert F. Philip Endowed Professor, Real Estate, University of Washington
Laura McKieran, PhD, Associate Professor, Management, Policy, and Community Health, University of Texas Health School of Public Health
Albert Han, PhD, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning
Mark Robinson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Practice in Computer Science
Kristin Flores, City of San Antonio, Neighborhood & Housing Services Department
Rhia Pape, City of San Antonio R&D League
Community Partner:
City Of San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services Department
Project Description
The Neighborhood Empowerment Zones (NEZ) Impacts Estimator is a transdisciplinary, applied research project led by the Center in collaboration with the City of San Antonio’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD) and Office of Innovation. The applied research project creates an online tool that aggregates, maps, and indexes critical data to improve the effectiveness of Neighborhood Empowerment Zones, which subsidize the production and maintenance of affordable housing in San Antonio. The online tool will help NHSD select, track, evaluate, and adjust the location of NEZ’s to improve the effectiveness of the subsidy program. NEZ’s, permitted by Chapter 378 of the Texas Local Government Code, offer policymakers a tool to improve housing affordability and stability, decrease residential segregation, and increase equitable access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Empowerment Zone’s Impacts Estimator creates positive impact throughout the San Antonio metropolitan area by increasing equitable access to affordable housing and helping at-risk residents.
Collaborating Research Lab:
