As communities try to cope with federal statutes and funding regulations, they encounter housing and community development jargon. Housing needs assessment and strategy terminology used in this guidebook is defined as follows:  

Comprehensive Plan: A long-range guide for physical development--an official statement of the local governing body. The plan's housing element identifies and defines the nature of the intervention among housing components (demand, supply, finance).  

Goals: The aims to which the community aspires or is striving. Goals and objectives allow priorities to be established and direct the community strategies and action plans toward their attainment.  

Housing cost burden: The extent to which housing costs, including utilities, exceed 30% of income. A severe housing cost burden is the extent to which housing costs, including utilities, exceed 50% of income.  

Housing demand: The demand for housing created by various submarkets, including consumers of housing services (homeowners and tenants), rental housing investors, and economic development planners.  

Housing supply: All existing housing stock and new construction examined in terms of condition, vacancies, and changes due to demolition. Supply is affected by land costs, labor, industry, and services provided or required to maintain supply.  

Lower income levels: As defined by HUD, Very Low Income = Families whose incomes do not exceed 50%, Low Income = 80%, and Moderate Income = 95%, respectively, of the HUD-determined area median income, with adjustments for family size.  

Method of tenure: The two methods are 1) rent and 2) own (including conventional condominium or housing cooperative).  

Objectives: The intentions or purposes to which a needs assessment or comprehensive plan is directed; that which is to be accomplished by strategies or action plans.  

Policy: The guiding principles underlying the course(s) of action as pursued by governments or organizations.  

Primary data: Original data collected by the researcher.  

Racial tipping: Theoretically, an integrated neighborhood reaches the "tipping point" when the proportion of racial minority residents reaches 30%. After that, resegregation has often resulted.  

Secondary data: Data obtained from another (published) source.  

Strategic planning/strategies: Action-oriented, short-term plans directed at current issues; a way to carry out a local comprehensive plan.  

    
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