Resources

Links

1000 Friends of Wisconsin
Link: www.1kfriends.org
A nonprofit corporation that provides information on the benefits of sound land use planning and advocates for land use policy that protects diverse communities. Includes extensive information on Smart Growth.

Center on Wisconsin Strategy
Link: www.cows.org
COWS is a research, policy and outreach center that promotes "high-road" public policies. Reports available on living wages, environmental sustainability, strong communities, public accountability.

Community Investment Network
Link: www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org
Site offered as a public service by National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Offers opportunities to share useful news, research data, commentary and perspectives related to advancing community development and building healthy communities.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
Link: www.fhlbc.com
Assists member financial institutions through its community investment and affordable housing programs. Offers opportunities for nonprofits to team with member banks to secure financing for affordable housing projects. Lists member lenders.

Funders' Network for Smarth Growth and Livable Communities
Link: www.fundersnetwork.org
Non-partisan, nonprofit organization that works to inspire, strengthen and expand funders' ability to support organizations that seek to improve communities through better development decisions and growth policies. Resources include research results and a calendar of Smart Growth conferences and events.

Housing Partnership Network
Link: www.housingpartnership.net
Composed of housing partnerships from around the United States, this nonprofit offers information on its members and their achievements and on Network programs and initiatives. Also offers financial assistance to member organizations.

HUD Home Page
Link: www.hud.gov
HUD's national-level web site offers information about HOME, CDBG, tax credits and other federal programs. Also includes links to other housing-related sites.

HUD Milwaukee Office
Link: www.hud.gov/local/mil
Community Planning and Development Wisconsin page provides dropdown menu of audience groups leading to resources for nonprofits, home buyers, people with disabilities, elected officials and more.

HUD's Online Library
Link: www.hud.gov/library
Directs visitor to "bookshelf 1" (the most-frequently used HUD pages); also gives links to housing publications.

Innovative Housing Institute
Link: www.inhousing.org
Organization dedicated to development of subsidized housing in a mixed-income environment. Offers technical assistance to housing authorities. Also provides information on inclusionary zoning and the price-behavior effects of income integration.

Knowledge Plex
Link: www.knowledgeplex.org
Gathers information from a wide variety of sources on topics related to housing and community development. Timely information on "hot topics" in the field. Also includes a toolkit for overcoming community resistance to affordable housing.

League of Wisconsin Municipalities
Link: www.lwm-info.org
Legislative and other resources for municipal officials.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Link: www.lisc.org
A good general-purpose site for housing and community development information.

National Housing Trust
Link: www.nhtinc.org
Dedicated to preservation of federally assisted housing. Offers training, technical assistance and predevelopment loans to governments and nonprofits seeking to save properties at risk of conversion to market-rate housing.

Smart Growth Online
Link: www.smartgrowth.org
Web-based catalogue of Smart Growth-related news, events, information and resources. Funded under an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Sustainable Communities Network.

State and Local Government on the Net
Link: www.statelocalgov.net
Provides an index of state, county and local government websites.

U.S. Census Bureau
Link: www.census.gov
Offers statistical data from the 2000 census, plus ongoing data updates.

University of Wisconsin Applied Population Laboratory
Link: www.wisstat.wisc.edu
This site offers a new way to access Bureau of Census data on housing. Users can create housing profiles by county, city or township; profiles include comparison to 1990 data. Family demographics also available. To begin, click on "analysis tools."

WIFrontDoor Housing
Link: www.wifrontdoorhousing.org
Front Door is a database designed by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for use by housing consumers, landlords and human service agencies. It provides a free listing service for affordable housing providers and allows tenants to search for available housing options.

Wisconsin Alliance of Cities
Link: www.wiscities.org
Information on issues of interest to city governments.

Wisconsin Community Action Program Association
Link: www.wiscap.org
Site provides information on the programs offered by Wisconsin's CAP agencies. Resources include contact information for regional CAPs.

Wisconsin Counties Association
Link: www.wicounties.org
Site contains information on legislation and other current issues of interest to county governments.

Wisconsin Division of Housing & Community Development Housing Programs
Link: www.commerce.state.wi.us/housing
Located in the Department of Commerce. Provides information on using the HOME program in Wisconsin, plus information on home ownership assistance programs including CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), HCRI (Housing Cost Reduction Initiative), HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) and LHOG (Local Housing Organization Grants).

Wisconsin Division of Intergovernmental Relations
Link: www.doa.state.wi.us/dir
Division includes the Comprehensive Planning Office, which offers information on the Smart Growth planning process, planning elements and planning grants.

Wisconsin Environmental Initiative
Link: www.wi-ei.org
A comprehensive site for information about business and the environment, land use, and greeen building. Manages the Green Built Home initiative.

Wisconsin Towns Association
Link: www.wisctowns.com
Issues and links of interest to town government officials.