The housing group focused on a variety of factors or variables to assess housing issues in the Southwest Partnership neighborhoods. Our goal was to identify areas of lowest and highest housing opportunity in the Partnership area by analyzing variables related to the characteristics and quality of housing. These variables included housing conditions, year built, housing value, gross rent, cost burden, vacant housing, and vacant housing compared with median age. The resulting GIS maps are an

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... tunity index to determine the areas that are in need of attention. The group determined that the Mount Clare and Franklin Square areas are the hardest hit due to their high vacancy rates. In alignment with Southwest Partnership's goals, the group also determined that more affordable housing should be added to the Union Square area, as it has the highest median value. Lastly, the group determined the Partnership should assist its cost-burdened residents by connecting them to financial assistance programs, job training, or other opportunity programs to help them increase their income.