VIP: Housing Opportunities for All – Assessing Barriers to Housing in Boise

Audrey Wilson, Ines Lopo, Izzie Miller, Kristi Spalding, Maddi Flint, Sarah Green, Sunny Smart
Dr. Vanessa Fry & Dr. Krista Paulsen – VIP 200, 400, 500 Section 27
City of Boise

Introduction

The City of Boise Housing and Community Development (HCD) deploys a community survey every five years to help inform the city’s 5-Year Consolidated Plan regarding use of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants. Historically, the majority of survey respondents are residents who own homes and make 80% or more of Area Median Income (AMI), despite the grant funding being reserved for those making less than 80% of AMI and facing housing insecurity. 

The goal of this project includes finalizing the revised survey instruments that address previously identified shortcomings and testing those instruments for clarity and flow. The surveys will be distributed according to new strategies and the survey results will be analyzed as received to measure success of revised instruments and distribution strategies.

Reflection

Crafting a thoughtful survey and planning for targeted engagement are vital in gaining both an accurate demographic representation of respondents and an accurate understanding of the needs of the community. Developing appropriate survey language and keeping the survey brief posed challenges.  Students learned valuable skills in survey design and data analysis, as well as project management, community engagement, and communication. They also learned the potential value of a survey in helping to address an urgent issue in our community.

Community Partner: City of Boise 

Mission Statement:

The City of Boise Housing and Community Development Division is committed to doing everything we can to ensure that there is a place to live for every resident, at every budget.

Project Purpose/Community Identified Need:

Evaluate City of Boise’s Housing and Urban Development 5-Year Consolidated Plan surveys to identify shortcomings in both survey questions and deployment strategies that prevent accessing target populations. Revise surveys and strategies to elicit demographically representative responses from the community. 

Course Outcomes

Explain and employ core terms in housing and housing policy, including types of housing, U.S. housing programs, and processes impacting housing markets.
Identify best practices in housing provision and policy, and consider how these might be applied in new contexts.
Describe pressing housing challenges locally and nationally, and detail the impacts of these on residents and communities.
Recognize how housing access impacts other dimensions of life, particularly for vulnerable individuals and households.

Methodology

Finalize survey instruments from Fall 2023 semester, both community resident and community partner surveys, and distribute with City of Boise support according to new distribution strategies. Build survey instruments within Qualtrics to make accessible online and through mobile devices. Find opportunities to engage with local communities and groups to increase survey access. Analyze survey results as received to assess whether goals for reaching a more accurate representation of Boise residents has been achieved.

Observed Results and Recommendations

Results

• Targeted engagement can improve the distribution of respondents.
• 65% of respondents are experiencing challenges in changing their housing.
• Roughly 50% of respondents are cost-burdened (paying more than 30% of income towards housing) and forgoing other necessities (debt, healthcare, transportation, etc.).

Recommendations

• Engaging with City of Boise Engagement Team sooner for planning and clarification of roles.
• Workshop survey construction with community partners.
• Establish practice of reviewing survey results to improve future surveys.
• Test survey with respondent population prior
  to distribution.