Newsletter: 2025 in Review

Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Housing and Community Development Programs

As debate around the One Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) Act continues, most attention has centered on its impact on the federal deficit and steep cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP. But hidden within the BBB are key housing and community development provisions with real potential. From expanded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to a renewed push for Opportunity Zones, PolicyMap unpacks how these proposals could unlock long-term investments in affordable housing—especially in the communities that need it most.

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How Healthcare Organizations Can Leverage Opportunity Zones for SDOH Funding

Proposed expansions to Opportunity Zones could bring new funding opportunities to healthcare organizations tackling Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) like access to care, food security, and housing stability. Traditionally geared toward housing and commercial development, Opportunity Zones now offer a powerful way to align community investment with health-focused initiatives. This expansion presents a pivotal moment for healthcare organizations to integrate SDOH solutions into broader economic strategies. Learn how to identify Opportunity Zones and tap into this funding potential.

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How to Conduct a Housing Needs Assessment Using PolicyMap: A Case Study in Indianapolis, IN

Home prices in Indianapolis have surged by more than 80% since 2013, leaving many households, especially in the city’s core, struggling to keep up. PolicyMap demonstrates how a housing needs assessment that integrates affordability, accessibility, and housing quality can help leaders understand not just where shortages exist, but why they persist. Explore how local governments and nonprofits can use data-driven insights to target reinvestment and align housing with real community needs.

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Digging Deeper: Mapping Maternal Health

Maternal health is a pressing issue in the United States, highlighted by decreases in obstetric services and increasing maternal morbidity. PolicyMap users can integrate datasets like area demographics, chronic health conditions, deprivation indexes, and poverty rates with Surgo Health’s Granular Maternal Vulnerability Index (gMVI) for a nuanced understanding of maternal health challenges. Explore how this powerful tool can improve help outcomes and advance equitable care.

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How Cutting CDFI Funding Hurts Homebuyers

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are lifelines for low-income communities, providing affordable loans to homebuyers, small businesses, and essential services often overlooked by traditional banks. Reducing or defunding CDFIs would dismantle this crucial support system, cutting off financial access for those who need it most. In this article, we explore, as an example, how CDFIs benefit homebuyers across the state of Mississippi.

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Where Baby Boomers Are Booming: The Silver Wave Reshaping America’s Economic Landscape

As Baby Boomers retire in record numbers, states like Maine, Florida, Vermont, and Montana are facing dramatic shifts in healthcare, housing, and workforce needs. Understanding these patterns is crucial for policymakers, businesses, and communities aiming to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by an aging population. PolicyMap’s latest analysis shows how this trend known as the “Silver Wave” is changing local economies and what communities might do to keep up.

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Mapping the Impact of SNAP Benefit Reductions During the Federal Shutdown

During the recent federal government shutdown, disruptions to SNAP funding left millions of Americans facing uncertainty about how they would afford groceries. While the shutdown has ended, the data remain critical. Explore how organizations can use PolicyMap to identify where benefit reductions hit hardest—and apply those insights to guide more targeted, data-driven responses moving forward

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How We Used the Moody’s Analytics Housing Gap Data to Craft a $2 Billion, 30,000 Unit Housing Plan in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s $2 billion HOME initiative takes a data-driven approach to solving the city’s housing crisis, targeting the creation and preservation of 30,000 units. With housing gap estimates from Moody’s Analytics, PolicyMap, and Reinvestment Fund guiding every step, the plan aligns funding, location, and affordability with precision. See the data that is driving real-world change in one of America’s most housing-challenged cities.

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Preserving LIHTC Units: A Key Strategy in Addressing Housing Shortages

New research from Moody’s Analytics, PolicyMap, and Reinvestment Fund shows that in low-income neighborhoods, rental units make up 80% of the housing stock. With many Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties nearing the end of their affordability periods, the risk of losing units in already strained markets is growing. See how PolicyMap’s integration of housing gap data with LIHTC timelines helps planners, policymakers, and advocates anticipate where rental shortages could deepen and where preservation efforts are most critical

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The “Forgotten Middle”: Using PolicyMap to Support Middle Neighborhoods

Middle neighborhoods are often overlooked by policymakers despite being vital to urban stability. These “forgotten middle” areas sit on the edge of decline, but targeted investment can preserve their strength and promote equity. Discover how PolicyMap’s tools can help identify and support these neighborhoods before it’s too late.

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Analyzing Housing Supply and Affordability in Chicago Neighborhoods

New data from PolicyMap and Moody’s Analytics reveals how widespread Chicago’s housing shortage has become. Nearly every neighborhood, from Logan Square to Bridgeport, shows some degree of undersupply. Driving home prices far beyond what middle-income households can afford. By pairing Housing Gap Estimates with Census home values, PolicyMap helps city leaders pinpoint where scarcity drives costs, where oversupply signals disinvestment, and where targeted policy interventions are most needed.

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Childcare Costs Take a Growing Share of Family Income

In counties across the United States, childcare costs can become incredibly burdensome. Full-day infant care can cost a typical family anywhere from around 5% to 30% of the median family income. New data from the National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP), now on PolicyMap, shows just how steep these costs have become and how unevenly they fall on families. Explore where childcare costs put the greatest pressure on family budgets and how affordability differs across states and counties.

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Introducing PolicyMap for Salesforce–Our New Salesforce App!

Bring PolicyMap’s reliable neighborhood data and state-of-the-art mapping into Salesforce! Gain real location context about the communities you serve, right where you already work. Power smarter decision-making, investing, reporting, and grant-making by connecting market data directly to your Salesforce.

PolicyMap for Salesforce enriches your Accounts, Opportunities, and Leads with demographic, housing, and health data, helping you quickly identify which records sit in areas that meet program criteria or qualify for community-based incentives. Ideal for nonprofits, lenders, community development organizations, government agencies, and healthcare teams, the app gives both new and existing PolicyMap users seamless, in-platform access to trusted data and neighborhood-level insights.

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New PolicyMap and Moody’s Analytics Report Reveals Neighborhood Level U.S. Housing Shortage Analysis

Where exactly is the housing shortage hitting hardest? A new neighborhood-level analysis from PolicyMap, Moody’s Analytics, Reinvestment Fund, and Urban Institute uncovers a two million–unit gap—showing not just how many homes are missing, but where, for whom, and what kind.

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The Power of Intersection: Multi-Layer Maps

The Multi-Layer mapping tool is one of the most powerful features in the PolicyMap platform. It allows users to combine up to five data layers, apply conditions to each, and quickly identify geographic areas where those layers intersect or overlap. Explore how new enhancements help you zoom further, clip smarter, and download results for deeper analysis.

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