This article explains the work of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) in assisting policymakers and analysts nationwide in their efforts to measure the effects of the housing foreclosure crisis and develop policies for an effective distribution of resources for addressing the crisis.
Formed in 1995 by the Urban Institute, the NNIP’s goal at the outset was to assist in the development and implementation of neighborhood information systems in various urban centers across the Nation. The current focus of this mission is on providing policymakers with information about what is happening to local communities throughout the Nation as a result of the massive number of housing foreclosures that have resulted from defaults on subprime mortgages. In support of this effort, three NNIP representatives testified in congressional hearings on May 21-22, 2008, about the effects of subprime lending at the neighborhood level. The subject of the hearing was the new Federal legislation, H.R. 5818, which will create loans and grants for States to help them buy back foreclosed housing. The NNIP representatives focused on how foreclosure affects surrounding neighborhoods and the solutions that might be used in resolving the crisis. One NNIP witness focused on the debilitating effect the foreclosure crisis is having on local neighborhoods, as it causes blight to spread. Another NNIP witness addressed the effects that foreclosures have on the value of neighboring properties in New York, accompanied by an increase in crime and neighborhood blight. The third NNIP witness focused on how a funding formula designed to relieve the foreclosure crisis should be based on certain indicators, datasets, and principles. Given the devastating impact of unchecked housing foreclosures, the NNIP witnesses argued for the passage of H.R. 5818. 3 notes