July 28, 2026
The NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab has selected five cities to join the 2026 Public Development Peer Network — a six-month program designed for local governments across the U.S. that are actively considering ways they can play a bigger role in directly building and owning housing.
With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Network will bring together housing leaders from Cambridge, MA; Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; New Orleans, LA; and Raleigh, NC to examine the variety of approaches and goals for publicly driven housing development and ownership. They will also advance effective strategies tailored to their local contexts.
As many cities face worsening housing shortages and high rent burdens, local and state leaders are looking for creative ways to produce new homes that offer lasting affordability. In public development or ownership models, public agencies act as real estate developers or engage closely with development partners and serve as long-term owners of the housing or the land it’s built on.
“Outside of the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which incentivizes private development of affordable housing, the U.S. has only a few tools for creating durably affordable homes,” said Claudia Aiken, Director of New Research Partnerships for the Housing Solutions Lab. “The cities participating in the Public Development Peer Network are helping to lead the way in imagining a new framework for housing as a public good.”
The Network will kick off on July 30 and culminate in an in-person convening in New York City at the end of the year. Over the course of the Network, participants will have in-depth discussions about governance structures and partnerships, funding and financing strategies, and regulatory frameworks for public development efforts. They will hear from guest practitioners already piloting such efforts and receive technical assistance on policy design and financial feasibility.
At the end of the program, each city team will emerge with a stronger understanding of how to pursue public development and ownership in their own community, and establish an actionable set of next steps.
The launch of the Network builds on previously awarded work in 2024 to analyze newly emerging and longer-standing models of public development and to study the feasibility of these approaches in Rhode Island. In consultation with the Rhode Island Department of Housing and the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (“RIHousing”), the NYU Furman Center and Lab conducted a scan of models in the U.S. and abroad, as well as the financing and regulatory tools they employ. Researchers also studied how Rhode Island could apply these approaches and what key considerations it should take into account. The study team produced an interim and final report and briefed Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee and a member of the state legislature on our findings.
In June, the City of Cambridge invited the Lab to serve as an advisor to its newly formed Social Housing Task Force. The Task Force, which includes city councilors, housing leaders, and residents, kicked off a rigorous process aimed at laying the groundwork for a social housing pilot in Cambridge. The Lab will provide research and facilitation support to the Task Force over the next nine months.
“We’re delighted to have this opportunity to advance the field of public development and ownership,” said Martha Galvez, Executive Director of the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab. “This network brings together an extraordinary group of local leaders who are committed to exploring new approaches. We’re excited to see how they challenge and inform one another’s thinking, and develop innovative models for creating homes that deliver lasting public value.”
Each of the five selected cities has assembled a team of housing leaders to participate in the Peer Network; teams include mayoral and housing department staff, local housing and finance authority leaders, and, in some cases, representatives of state agencies or philanthropic partners. Beginning with the July 30 kickoff, participants will join monthly virtual meetings to exchange ideas, share progress, and receive expert guidance. The program will not only foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing but also provide support and resources to empower communities as they explore public development strategies.
This program was made possible through support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.