Best Practices from Governing Magazine: Housing & Urban Issues

Stresses on urban communities continue to affect housing, food security, child services, homelessness, business development and crime. Coverage includes stories about new solutions to how cities are run, how they develop as urban centers and about the people who live there.

Article 1: A Risky Path to the Dream of Homeownership

OPINION | Sept. 23, 2024 • Tara Roche, Pew Charitable Trusts

Tara Roche directs the Pew Charitable Trusts’ housing policy initiative.

Article 2: Ambitious Housing Proposals Are Passing Across the Country

June 18, 2025 • Jared Brey

Jared Brey is a senior staff writer for Governing.

Article 3: Atlanta Debuts First Modular Rapid-Housing Complex for Homeless Residents

Dec. 5, 2025 • Matt Reynolds, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, TNS

Article 4: California’s First 3D-Printed Housing Community Rises in Yuba County

Nov. 11, 2025 • Jake Goodrick, The Sacramento Bee, TNS

Article 5: Can Colorado Build Greener Without Driving Up Housing Prices?

Sept. 2, 2025 • Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, TNS

Article 6: Cities Cut Red Tape to Promote Office-to-Housing Conversions

Dec. 3, 2024 • Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org, TNS

Article 7: Mayors Across U.S. Cities Name Housing Their No. 1 Challenge

Oct. 27, 2025 • Robbie Sequeira, Stateline

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital.

Article 8: Oregon City Explores New Ways to Develop Senior Housing

July 18, 2025 • Jared Brey

Jared Brey is a senior staff writer for Governing.

Article 9: Poll - Americans Expect All Elected Officials to Act to Reduce Homelessness

Sep. 25, 2024 • Jared Brey

Jared Brey is a senior staff writer for Governing.

Article 10: Sioux Falls Finds a Way to Connect More People to Housing

February 26, 2025 • Jared Brey

Jared Brey is a senior staff writer for Governing.

Article 11: Spokane Blocks Algorithmic Rent Pricing After Rents Soar

Dec. 8, 2025 • Emry Dinman, The Spokesman-Review, TNS

Article 12: Texas Cities Encourage and Cope With Massive Growth

Summer 2025 • Jared Brey

Jared Brey is a senior staff writer for Governing.

Article 13: The Cleared Path We Need for Sweeping Urban Experiments

OPINION | December 16, 2025 • Chris Elmendorf and Ed Glaeser, Los Angeles Times, TNS

Article 14: Three Paths to Affordability for Local Governments

OPINION | Jan. 23, 2026 • Jabari Simama

Jabari Simama is a Government and education columnist.

Article 15: What Montana Can Teach Us About Housing Reform

OPINION | September 3, 2025 • Emily Hamilton

Emily Hamilton is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Howard Balanoff

Director of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service

Dr. Howard R. Balanoff currently holds the Texas State University William P. Hobby Endowed Professorship for Public Service and currently serves as the Director of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service.

He is the Editor in Chief of Good Governance Worldwide which is the official journal of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Section for Public Management Practice, the Chair of ASPA’s Section for Public Management Practice and the Co-Director of the Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program located in Arlington, Texas.

Lloyd Harrington

Webmaster

Lloyd has been the webmaster for the Texas State University Certified Public Manager (CPM) program since 2011, the Good Governance Worldwide (GGW) website since it’s inception in 2012, and the CENTEX Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) beginning in 2023. Lloyd also designed and is webmaster for the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University website and the Texas CPM Program website.

Associate Editors

Reagan Haik

Graduate Instructional Assistant, Department of Political Science, Texas State University

Ms. E. Reagan Haik is a public administration professional pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, where she also serves as a Graduate Instructional Assistant. She earned a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Sociology with a criminology concentration from Louisiana State University. She wrote an undergraduate honors thesis exploring in-group experiences on social media, achieving the highest College Honors and summa cum laude distinctions.

Reagan served as Youth Education Coordinator for the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation, which fostered her interest in nonprofit work, educational outreach, and justice. Her restorative justice work in the Teen Court program earned the 2024 LexisNexis Community and Educational Outreach Award from the National Association for Bar Professionals. Her research interests include educational, environmental, and juvenile justice policy. She hopes to pursue these interests on a deeper level at Texas State University.

Kazi Halimatus Sadia

Graduate Research Assistant, Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University

Kazi Halimatus Sadia is pursuing her Master of Public Administration (MPA) in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. She earned her Bachelor of Social Science (BSS) from Comilla University, Bangladesh. Currently, Sadia works as a Research Assistant at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, where she contributes to a research project that focuses on examining public perceptions and policy considerations related to water security and sustainable resource management in Central Texas.

Sadia has also worked with several international nonprofit organizations, including the United Nations (UN), Oxfam, ActionAid, and Democracy International. Through these engagements, she contributed to community outreach, development initiatives, and evidence-based policymaking activities. Her research interests include digital and environmental governance, sustainable development, and community-centered public policy.

Mostafa Jalal

Economic Development Division, City of San Marcos, Texas

Mostafa Jalal is a graduate research assistant and student in the Texas State University Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program. He served an internship with the Economic Development Division with the City of San Marcos, Texas.

A Public Service professional with 8 years of work experience in Public Sector, Economic Development, Finance, and Emergency Management. Skilled in research and analysis, with a strong ability to deliver data-driven insights that support strategic decision-making in dynamic environments. He is also the first-ever Graduate Management Fellow for the City of San Marcos selected through a competitive process; program jointly funded by the City and Texas State University, modeled after the Federal Management Fellowship to develop future public service leaders.

Marilyn Balanoff

Program Administrator of Public Funds Investment Act

Marilyn Balanoff currently holds the position of Program Faculty of Continuing Education in Texas State University’s Political Science Department. She is the Program Administrator of the University’s Public Funds Investment Act (PFIA)Online Program and is one of the Co-Directors of the Dallas/Fort Worth(Arlington) Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program.

For the past 20 years Marilyn Balanoff has been a member of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Central Texas (CENTEX) Chapter and during her period of membership has served on the CENTEX) ASPA Executive Board. She has also held the positions of Treasurer, Vice President and President of ASPA’s CENTEX Chapter.

Marilyn served a 3 year term as an Executive Board Member of the National Certified Public Manager (CPM) Consortium Governing Council and was elected to serve as the Secretary of the CPM Consortium’s Executive Board. She was subsequently elected to serve as the CPM Consortium’s Secretary, Vice Chair and Chair of the National Certified Public Manager (CPM) Consortium.

Ishrat Jahan Ritu

Graduate Instructional Assistant, Department of Political Science, Texas State University

Ishrat Jahan Ritu is a public administration professional pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. She earned her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Daffodil International University, Bangladesh.

Her current research at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment focuses on rainwater harvesting policy and sustainable water governance in Texas. With a background in law and a growing portfolio in environmental policy, Ishrat is passionate about public service, regulatory research, and advancing equitable, evidence-based policy solutions.

Hannah Faith Amaya

Graduate Instructional Assistant, Department of Political Science, Texas State University

Ms. Hannah Faith Amaya is a public administration professional pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, where she also serves as a Graduate Instructional Assistant. She earned a B.S. in Applied Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice, graduating Cum Laude from Texas State University in 2024.

Hannah currently serves as an Emergency Preparedness Specialist Intern with the Hays County Office of Emergency Services, where she supports countywide coordination of school emergency management protocols and interagency collaboration initiatives. Her Applied Research Project, “Gauging Interagency Collaboration in the ‘One County, One Protocol’ Model for School Emergency Management in Hays County, Texas,” examines how coordinated emergency management policies are implemented across agencies and school districts at the county level. Hannah is a recipient of the William P. Hobby Fellowship in Public Service and a proud first-generation college student committed to public service and community impact. She has been admitted to the University of Vermont’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) PhD program, where she will continue her scholarly work at the intersection of governance, education, and public institutions.