between households of different income levels and requires cities to adopt <br />policies that encourage housing for all households. <br />1.1.3 What objectives do housing policies typically <br />try to achieve? <br />The Practice of State and Local Planning2 classifies goals that most <br />government housing programs address into four categories: <br />Community life. From a community perspective, housing policy is <br />intended to provide and maintain safe, sanitary, and satisfactory <br />housing with efficiently and economically organized community <br />facilities to service it. In other words, housing should be <br />coordinated with other community and public services. Although <br />local policies do not always articulate this, they are implicit in most <br />local government operations. Comprehensive plans, zoning, <br />subdivision ordinances, building codes, and capital improvement <br />programs are techniques most cities use to manage housing and its <br />development. Local public facilities such as schools, fire and police <br />stations, parks, and roads are usually designed and coordinated to <br />meet demands created by housing development. <br />Social and equity concerns. The key objective of social goals is to <br />reduce or eliminate housing inadequacies affecting the poor, those <br />unable to find suitable housing, and those discriminated against. In <br />other words, communities have an obligation to provide safe, <br />satisfactory housing opportunities to all households, at costs they <br />can afford, without regard to income, race, religion, national origin, <br />family structure, or disability. <br />Design and environmental quality. The location and design of housing <br />affect the natural environment, residents' quality of life, and the <br />nature of community life. The objectives of policies that address <br />design and environmental quality include neighborhood and <br />housing designs that meet: household needs, maintain quality of <br />life, provide efficient use of land and resources, reduce <br />environmental impacts, and allow for the establishment of social <br />and civic life and institutions. Most communities address these <br />issues through local building codes, comprehensive land use plans, <br />and development codes. <br />Stability of production. Housing is a factor in every community's <br />economy. The cyclical nature of housing markets, however, creates <br />2 The Practice of Local Goverrtmeirt Plaimbig, 2nd Editim, International City Managers Association, <br />1988. <br />Page 14 ECONorthwest Part 11 - Eugene Housing Needs Analysis <br />