Articles Archives

The Builders’ Perspective

8 min read

By all metrics, affordable housing remains challenging to produce.

New Building Technologies and Housing Solutions

9 min read

The latest technological innovations, such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing can alleviate construction industry challenges and save time and costs from projects.

Modular Affordable Housing Projects

8 min read

Modular affordable housing projects—with their quick construction timelines and cost savings compared with traditional stick-build projects—are gaining in popularity, but the projects present unique challenges in terms of financing, development expertise and site selection.

Accessing Green Upgrades with EPA and HUD Funds 

3 min read

As we near the end of the year, federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are finalizing the design of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-created programs and releasing more and more of the funds.

Understanding Basis Eligibility

9 min read

For nearly four decades, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit has fueled much of America’s affordable housing construction.

Choice Neighborhoods Grants

7 min read

Launched in 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods program has been transforming communities across the nation through Planning and Implementation Grants that breathe new life into distressed affordable housing projects and surrounding neighborhoods.

HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program

7 min read

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently opened applications for its new Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), a multi-billion-dollar initiative meant for deep green improvements to certain HUD contract properties.

Decarbonizing the Nation’s Buildings

3 min read

Since early 2023, ICAST’s articles have covered the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and their potential impacts on multifamily affordable housing.

Electrification Upgrades

A New Generation of Heat Pump Systems Increases Efficiency

3 min read

More and more states have regulations and mandates requiring multifamily affordable housing properties to decarbonize (i.e., replace the use of natural gas, oil or propane with electricity).

Zoning Regulation in America

7 min read

In theory, building codes, zoning and urban planning make up the engine that drives municipal growth. Born from progressive-minded responses to early 20th-century public health crises, the first wave of these defined zoning codes was passed starting around 1908.

Standardized Design

8 min read

Decades ago, people often equated standardized design in affordable housing with cookie-cutter, identical buildings and individual units with the same layouts and color schemes.

Developers Empowering Resident Voices

10 min read

Many American adults, about 60 percent, have experienced trauma, but the practice of considering the effects of trauma on affordable housing residents and staff is relatively recent.

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