Today at 11:00 AM, HUD will release a major affordable housing report entitled "Why Not in Our Community?" The release will be made by Deputy Secretary Bernardi and Bryant Applegate, Director of the America's Affordable Communities Initiative, and will be webcast live at 11:00 AM. Employees are encouraged to watch, as it is the Department’s first substantive examination of the impact of regulatory barriers on affordable housing since HUD’s groundbreaking 1991 Report "Not in My Backyard."

Like the "Not in My Backyard" study, this report finds that outdated, exclusionary and unnecessary regulations continue to block the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing in some parts of America. “Why Not in Our Community?” also finds that many communities are actively removing these barriers and promoting the production of housing that was formerly beyond the reach of many working families.

In an effort to spark a national dialogue on the issue of barrier reduction, HUD launched America's Affordable Communities Initiative in 2003. Among the Department's highest priorities, this initiative is designed to help communities across America identify and overcome regulatory barriers that impede the availability of affordable housing. Barrier reduction is also a central part of President Bush's strategy for increasing the supply of affordable housing by seven million over the next 10 years. For more information about America's Affordable Communities Initiative.