Mayor R.T. Rybak announced today that Minneapolis' comprehensive housing strategy is becoming a model for the nation. Mayor Rybak took a leading role on housing at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual meeting this weekend in Madison.
"People at the street-level have understood the housing crunch long before it is understood in the halls of government. Just as neighborhoods in Minneapolis led City Hall in recognizing the severity of the housing crisis, the nation's Mayors are leading the federal government," Mayor Rybak said. Fannie Mae recently released a study showing that housing is suffering nationwide as housing costs outpace wages, and that affordable housing is now top on the minds of the American public, ahead of crime and the cost of health care. The Mayors will work with Fannie Mae to advance a national housing agenda. Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, has said affordable housing is his number one priority. He has invited Rybak to Boston to continue working on housing and to lobby the federal government. Mayor Rybak chaired the Conference of Mayors' subcommittee on Rental Housing last month and carried those recommendations to the conference in Madison. The U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted the following recommendations: * The federal government must increase housing funding. * The federal government should increase incentives to stimulate more private investment in housing. * Government should reduce regulations that impede the construction of new housing. * We must integrate housing with transportation, education and planned land use. Laura Sether Office of Mayor Rybak 350 S. 5th St., Room 331 Minneapolis, MN 55415 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
