Urban & Regional Planning and Sustainable Development graduate students synthesized existing documents and developed new strategies to create the City of Dubuque's first plan focused specifically on Affordable Housing.   

The City of Dubuque partnered with IISC to create an affordable housing action plan with three primary areas of focus: 1) evaluate the state of affordable housing in Dubuque; 2) identify promising approaches for supporting affordable housing; and 3) outline recommended measures to implement viable and impactful strategies for Dubuque.

Research regarding the most pressing affordable housing issues guided the planning process. Data analysis, community stakeholder engagement, and resident input highlighted several key themes regarding the housing challenges experienced by LMI residents in Dubuque, including: a lack of units; rising costs of housing; challenges related to housing age and quality; a lack of comprehensive data; and disparities among Dubuque populations.

Importantly, this plan acknowledges the significant past efforts to understand affordable housing challenges and to devise solutions. This document consolidates the relevant priorities, objectives, and strategies from those efforts into one single resource. 

The planning team's additional strategies centered around three overarching goals: 1) alleviate housing cost burden of Low and Moderate Income (LMI) residents; 2) maximize land for diverse housing options; and 3) foster environmental sustainability in Dubuque’s affordable housing.