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The Housing Solutions Lab was founded in 2021, but our origins go back several years to the creation of the Local Housing Solutions website

About the Lab

Launched in 2018, the Local Housing Solutions website was designed to be a one-stop resource to help cities and other local jurisdictions develop comprehensive, balanced, and equitable housing strategies. The platform tied together detailed policy guidance and case studies to support communities working to advance housing affordability, prevent displacement, strengthen housing stability, and improve racial equity. 

Local Housing Solutions emerged from the National Community of Practice on Local Housing Policy, a joint initiative of the NYU Furman Center and Abt Associates. Over nearly two years, the multidisciplinary Community of Practice—led by NYU Furman Center Faculty Director Ingrid Gould Ellen, NYU Furman Center Senior Policy Fellow Mark A. Willis, and Jeffrey Lubell, then Director of Housing and Community Initiatives at Abt Associates—helped shape Local Housing Solutions’ guiding principles, structure, and content. A national advisory council provided expert guidance and review to ensure the resources reflected a broad range of perspectives and local experience.

Read the key findings of the Community of Practice, which informed Local Housing Solutions content.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the NYU Furman Center formally launched the Housing Solutions Lab in 2021 to steward the Local Housing Solutions platform and work directly with policymakers and practitioners in small and midsize cities across the nation to develop and implement equitable, evidence-based housing strategies.  

Since its launch, the Lab has expanded and updated its online resources, publishing dozens of new and updated materials each year – including policy briefs, case studies, research reports, data briefs, and practical guidance to help cities design, launch, and evaluate evidence-based, equitable housing policies. 

In 2026, Local Housing Solutions was fully integrated into the Housing Solutions Lab, bringing these resources together under a single platform. While the name and platform have evolved over time, many of the foundational elements created for Local Housing Solutions — including the Housing Policy Library and Framework and guidance on building comprehensive local housing strategies — remain central to the Housing Solutions Lab’s mission and work today.

Acknowledgements

Many people contributed to the development of the Local Housing Solutions website. In addition to Community of Practice and Advisory Council members, NYU Furman Center and Abt Associates staff members played key roles in research, writing, design, and dissemination, including Charles McNally, Kimberly Burnett, Rebecca Cohen, Sarah Wolff, Jill Khadduri, Stephen Whitlow, Brittany Muscato, Allex Desronvil, Shannon Moriarty, Stephanie Rosoff, and Traci Sanders.