IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS IN GEORGIA’S SMALL TOWNS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1003512
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2014
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2017
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016

Performing Department
College of Family & Consumer Sciences

Non Technical Summary
This research seeks to provide a better understanding of the housing and community development challenges and potential solutionsin Georgia's small cities, towns andrural communities. For many rural and small towns in the Southeastern U.S.,community developmentissuesare often linked to growing or declining populations, whether a community is close to or distant from metropolitan areas and the available physical and economic resources.While a small portion of rural counties are faring better than the nation as a whole, many more face serious challenges of economic distress and severe housing problems, including neighborhoods with substandard or dilapidated housing, vacant housing and housing that is not affordable to lower-income residents. We know that social capital places rural communities in a stronger position to address problems, take advantage of new opportunities and confront poverty. This research will improve our understanding of the types of housing and community development problems experienced by small communities in varied locations and the resources and strategies that they have used to address these problems. We will accomplish this by conducting a comprehensive survey of 353 small town and rural municipalities. The findings from this research will be used by housing and community development practitioners, including Extension educators, non-profit organizations and participants in the Georgia Initiatives for Community Housing.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

40%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
608	5320	3080	100%

Knowledge Area
608 - Community Resource Planning and Development;

Subject Of Investigation
5320 - Houses (human residences), furniture, household equipment, non-textile furnishings;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

affordable housing

community development

non-metropolitan communities

Goals / Objectives
This proposal addresses a critical need to better understand the housing and community development challenges and potential solutions facing rural and small town communities in Georgia. For many rural and small towns in the Southeastern U.S., these challenges can be traced back to demographic changes, geographic isolation and uneven physical and economic resources (Housing Assistance Council, 2012a; Isserman, Feser & Warren, 2009). In thriving communities with locational amenities, housing challenges stem from the communities' success, leaving lower rental vacancy rates and fewer affordable housing options for lower-income residents (Hamilton, Hamilton, Duncan and Colocousis, 2008). This proposal focuses on the kind of localities that make up the majority of Southeastern U.S. counties. In Georgia, for instance, one-quarter of the state's population lives in a rural or small town. Another significant portion of the state's population lives in small cities and exurban places (Housing Assistance Council, 2014).The housing and community development challenges, as well as the capacity to address these challenges, vary widely by geographic location. While available data sources provide important measures of housing supply, vacancies, cost burden and overcrowding, they do not provide the specific information needed to develop policies and programs that are specific to the needs of smaller communities in the United States.Objectives:Objective 1: Develop and pilot test a survey tool that assesses housing need, community characteristics and community-level social capital data with communities participating in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing.Objective 2: Conduct a comprehensive survey to assess housing need, community characteristics and community-level social capital data for small cities and towns and rural communities (in counties with Rural-Urban Continuum Codes 3-9) in Georgia.

Project Methods
The proposed research includes the development of a survey of municipality and community housing program staff in Georgia's small metropolitan to rural municipalities to identify specific housing and neighborhood revitalization needs, capacity to address these needs and measures of social capital. The survey will be based on a modified version of the World Bank Community Questionnaire Instrument, which is part a larger Social Capital Assessment Tool.The modified survey will be pilot-tested with participants in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH). The survey instrument and process will be refined based on the results of the pilot test. After this, the researchers will conduct a comprehensive survey of municipalities in Georgia that are located within counties with a classification of 3-9 in the 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. The USDA Economic Research Services' Rural-Urban Continuum Code classification system differentiates nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area (Economic Research Service website, 2013). The sample will include all 353 municipalities located within Georgia counties with a Rural-Urban Continuum classification of 3-9. Each municipality will have an identification number to ensure that only one survey is received per municipality and to allow the researchers to connect survey data to Census data. The researchers will work with the Georgia Municipal Association, an organization with which we have an existing partnership, to identify the best point of contact for the survey.Survey methodology:The survey will be an online survey initiated through a personalized email message. Prospective respondents will also have the option of completing the survey by mail. The survey process will follow the Dillman method, which includes repeated personal contacts to enhance the response rate.The survey tool, which will be based on modified portions of the World Bank Social Capital Assessment Tool, will gather the following categories of information from each municipalityCommunity characteristicsEconomic and employment characteristicsAccess to education, groceries, health care, recreation and transportationHousing market characteristicsCommunity housing conditions, needs and challenges, including measures of housing adequacy, availability, appropriateness and affordabilityCommunity trust, support and civic participationTools, resources and programs available to address housing problems in the communityThe researchers will develop a draft survey instrument which will be refined through organized stakeholder advisory input. The advisory group will include representatives of city and county government, UGA Extension, Georgia Municipal Association, nonprofit housing and social service organizations. The researchers will draw upon relationships formed through the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing advisory group, partners and previous participants for this group. The researchers will use data from the survey, RU Code and linked Census data to identify a typology of communities similar to the four community types described by Hamilton et al. (2008). Mean scores from the survey data will then be compared by community type using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) run in SPSS.The questions of interest for this analysis include:Social capital: Do measures of community trust, support, participant and resources vary by community type?Housing conditions: Do measures of housing conditions and challenges vary by community type?Housing conditions x Social capital interaction: Do housing conditions vary by social capital?

Progress 09/01/14 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience included academic communities interested in housing and community development, rural sociology, and local governments. In addition to the publications and conference presentations noted elsewhere in this report, our findings from this survey were disseminated to the following groups: The findings regarding social capital were the basis for a training provided to Extension educators in Georgia, titled "Building local social capital to address key community issues". Given on February 16, 2017. Survey results were presented to the community development staff at the Georgia Municipal Association and the Board of Directors of the Housing and Demographic Research Center. Students enrolled in FHCE 4340S/6340S: Housing and Community Development at UGA. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The professional development opportunities related to this grant were limited to attendance at the Housing Education and Research Association and Community Development Society conferences and participation in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing retreats. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our target audience included academic communities interested in housing and community development, rural sociology, and local governments. In addition to the publications and conference presentations noted elsewhere in this report, our findings from this survey were disseminated to the following groups: The findings regarding social capital were the basis for a training provided to Extension educators in Georgia, titled "Building local social capital to address key community issues". Given on February 16, 2017. Survey results were presented to the community development staff at the Georgia Municipal Association and the Board of Directors of the Housing and Demographic Research Center. Students enrolled in FHCE 4340S/6340S: Housing and Community Development at UGA. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We implemented a survey between September and November 2015 to all municipalities in rural-urban continuum counties 3-9. Prior to implementation, we received feedback from our stakeholder group as well as staff at the Georgia Municipal Association and the state office of USDA located in Athens. The Georgia Municipal Association provided the database, publicized the survey and encouraged local staff and elected officials receiving the survey to complete it. We began with a web-based survey with individual codes for each recipient. We sent multiple reminder messages. During the final stage of the survey process, the mayor and city clerk for each of the non-responding communities were sent a paper copy. This process yielded 84 additional completed surveys. At the end of the survey period, we had received responses from 388 respondents. This includes communities for which more than one survey was completed. We created two databases using this survey data, one with all survey responses and another that included only one response per community. Our per community response rate was 58.5%. We have published one book chapter and have two papers under review from this project. We are preparing two additional papers that we will submit during 2018. We have given presentations at several conferences and to stakeholder groups.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Skobba, K., Odeyemi, E., & Tinsley, K. (2018) Meeting rural housing needs through local community development in Rural Housing and Economic Development. National Agriculture and Rural Development Policy Center. P 237-248.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Skobba, K., Tinsley, K. (2016). Leveraging local capacity to meet housing needs in rural and small towns. 79th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Osinubi, A., Skobba, K. & Tinsley, K. (2016) Neighborhood blight and housing conditions in rural and small communities. Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Conference of the Housing Education and Research Association, (pp.40-41).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Skobba, K., Tinsley, K., Odeyemi, E., & Shannon, J.(2016). Addressing local housing and neighborhood issues: Who is at the table?. Urban Affairs Association 46th Annual Conference.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: Skobba, K., Tinsley, K. * Ziebarth, A. Affordable housing needs by community location and population size. Community Development.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Skobba, K., Osinubi, A., & Tinsley, K. What about rural blight? Housing and neighborhood conditions in Southeastern small towns. Rural Sociology.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Skobba, K, & Tinsley, K. (2017) Housing Issues, Rurality, and Local Amenities among Nonmetropolitan Communities in Georgia. Proceedings of the 2017 Annual Conference of the Housing Education and Research Association

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:There are two key audiences for this work. The target audience for the research is municipalities in Georgia that are located within counties with a classification of 3-9 in the 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. The USDA Economic Research Services' Rural-Urban Continuum Code classification system differentiates nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area (Economic Research Service website, 2013). The research will include all 353 municipalities located within Georgia counties with a Rural-Urban Continuum classification of 3-9. The findings of this research will be of interest to a second audience - housing and community development researchers and practitioners, particularly Extension educators and participants in the Georgia Initiatives for Community Housing. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We developed a training for Extension professionals for an early 2017 workshop. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary project findings and potential policy implications were presented at the 2016 Fall Affordable Housing Conferenceof the Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc. (Georgia ACT), a statewide membership organization of nonprofit housing and community development organizations.We also presented preliminary findings at two academic conferences in 2016. In addition to academic presentations, prelimary findings of this research project have been disseminated to members of the Housing and Demographic Research Center, which serves as an advisory board for the project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Develop and submit 3 conference papers to peer-reviewed research journals in the fields of housing policy, community development and rural sociology. Develop 3 research and policy briefs based on the survey and disseminate these briefs through a newsletter article through Georgia Municipal Association and at conventions, conferences, and meetings of our communities of interest, including Extension professionals. Develop a webinar or presentation about the research and policy brief findings for the Georgia Initiative for Community Housingcommunities

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We developed a database of the completed surveys, which includes ACS data for each community. We have conducted preliminary analysis and developed preliminary findings using the results of the survey data collected in late 2015-early 2016.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Skobba, K., Odeyemi, E., & Tinsley, K. (accepted, in-press) Meeting rural housing needs through local community development in Rural Housing and Economic Development. National Agriculture and Rural Development Policy Center.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Local government staff and elected officials of non-metropolitan communities in Georgia. 1 graduate student Housing and community development advisory group Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next year of the grant, we will complete the survey database and begin conducting analyses of this data. We plan to write and submit two papers from this survey data and will present the findings of this data at academic conferences (Rural Sociology, Housing Education and Research Association, Community Development Society) and to different stakeholder August 2016 Webinar to present the survey findings and implications to for UGA Extension for County Extension Directors. June 2016 or 2017 Present to Extension Professional Meetings - state and national (involve agents in the national presentations) NACDEP, PILD and NEAFCS - this will depend on where we are on the research. groups in Georgia.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective: Survey assessment of housing and neighborhood challenges and community-level social capital for 353 small and non-metropolitan communities. We implemented a survey between September and November 2015 to all municipalities in rural-urban continuum counties 3-9. Prior to implementation, we received feedback from our stakeholder group as well as staff at the Georgia Municipal Association and the state office of USDA located in Athens. The Georgia Municipal Association provided the database, publicized the survey and encouraged local staff and elected officials receiving the survey to complete it. We began with a web-based survey with individual codes for each recipient. We sent multiple reminder messages. At the end of six weeks, we had received approximately 200 completed survey responses (this includes communities for which more than one survey was completed. The mayor and city clerk for each of the non-responding communities were sent a paper copy. This process yielded 84 additional completed surveys. We are in the process of evaluating the responses to determine how many communities are represented in the survey. We estimate the per-community response rate at 70% of non-metropolitan communities in Georgia.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Skobba, K. & Tinsley,K. (2015). Housing challenges across the rural-urban continuum: A review of the literature and implications for policy and practice. Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Conference of the Housing Education and Research Association

Progress 09/01/14 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience:The researchers have worked with housing and community development stakeholders in the development of the survey instrument. Input has been received from the following target audiences: representatives of city and county government, UGA Extension, Georgia Municipal Association, nonprofit housing and social service organizations and the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing advisory group, partners and previous participants. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will be implementing the survey, presenting the literature review for this project at an academic conferenceand developing/presenting a webinar of preliminary findings and implications for UGA Extension.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the reporting period, the survey instrument was developed and feedback was received from target audiences and an initial pilot test was conducted in spring/summer 2015. The surveywill be implemented in October, 2015.

Publications