The George Washington Regional Commission has an online public opinion survey to collect citizen input for a newly launched study on regional housing needs. This effort will include original research on housing needs, gaps, and opportunities; as well as a menu of actionable strategies recommended for localities and the region to increase housing access, quality, and affordability for all families.
The online survey includes questions about respondents’ current satisfaction with the price, condition, and size of their homes, along with questions about any challenges encountered while searching for housing. The survey also collects information about household location, income, and demographics to help understand disparities in housing needs; however, all results will be kept anonymous. Time to complete the survey is fewer than five minutes.
The Commission will actively promote this survey with community partners to encourage widespread participation throughout the region. A strong response will help GWRC and its partners better understand the type, locations, and prices of future housing needed in the region. This, in turn, will drive better public policy decisions at the local and regional level.
Linda Millsaps, Executive Director of GWRC, said, “I am excited the GWRC Board has decided to make housing affordability a priority. While COVID-19 has made getting meaningful public input more challenging, we are hopeful folks in the region will take the time to participate in the survey and help us create a bright-line towards success.”
GWRC is assisted in this effort by Housing Virginia, a statewide nonprofit organization with more than a decade of affordable housing research and policy expertise. The survey can be accessed on the GWRC website at https://gwregion.org/ and directly at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GWRC-Housing-Survey. Responses will be collected through Friday, July 17, 2020. A summary of results will be released later in July, and the full report with recommendations will be released in August.
Here’s the survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GWRC-Housing-Survey
