Three hundred participants from the U.S. and beyond, convened this morning at Housing Opportunity 2013 to hear from thought-leaders on federal housing policy and practice.

Shelley Poticha, Director of HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, opened the session by sharing her experiences working with communities across the country on collaborative planning projects that engage a range of community leaders, including public, private, and non-profit organizations to strengthen neighborhoods and provide a range of sustainable housing choices for all.

The opening general session, moderated by Ali Gandarias-Solis, Senior Vice President and Public Policy and Corporate Affairs Executive of Enterprise Community Partners, discussed the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Housing Commission recommendations for the nation’s housing policy and the recently released report Housing America’s Future: New Directions for National Policy. Speakers included three members of the BPC Housing Commission – Renee Glover of the Atlanta Housing Authority, J. Ronald Terwilliger, and Barry Zigas of Consumer Federation of America. Panelists discussed the growing need to:

• Maximize the range of ownership and rental choices available to all Americans;
• Expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) by 50 percent over current funding levels;
• Ensure access to housing assistance to our most vulnerable, low-income families;
• And much more!

Read more about the BPC’s Housing Commission report in this recent Urban Land article or download the full report here.

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