Jeffrey Lubell, J.D.

Jeffrey Lubell — a leading authority on housing and community development — is the director of Housing and Community Initiatives at Abt Global. In that capacity, he provides policy, program and research expertise to assist policymakers in solving the nation’s pressing challenges in the areas of affordable housing, economic inclusion and asset-building, and community development.  
 
A creative and outspoken thought leader, Lubell has expanded awareness of the important role of housing in advancing key societal outcomes such as health, education, economic development and environmental sustainability. He is frequently invited to share his innovative ideas for expanding the availability of affordable homes, developing alternatives to traditional homeownership, helping low-income households advance toward economic security, ensuring that families of all incomes can afford to live in growing neighborhoods near transit and job centers, and meeting the housing and services needs of older adults. He writes a column, In House, for At Home, a quarterly e-newsletter published by Abt’s Housing & Communities Practice.  
 
Prior to joining Abt, Lubell was the executive director of the nonprofit Center for Housing Policy and earlier served as director of the Policy Development Division in the Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Expertise

• Affordable housing and its connections to asset-building, community development, transportation, education, health, and the environment.
• Economic inclusion and asset-building
• Policy applications of research
• Structuring policy-relevant research 

Key Projects

• Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Technical Assistance, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• MacArthur Research Network on How Housing Matters for Children and Families
• Qualitative Research on How Individuals Make Financial Decisions, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Selected Publications/Presentations

• Brennan, Maya et. al. (including Jeffrey Lubell). 2013. “Comparing the Costs of New Construction and Acquisition-Rehab in Affordable Multifamily Rental Housing.”  Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy.
• Cramer, Reid and Jeffrey Lubell. 2011. “Taking Asset Building and Earnings Incentives to Scale in HUD-Assisted Rental Housing.” Washington, DC: New America Foundation and Center for Housing Policy.
• Hickey, Robert et. al. (incl. Jeffrey Lubell). 2013. Losing Ground: The Struggle of Moderate-Income Households to Afford the Rising Costs of Housing and Transportation.  Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy.
• Lubell, Jeffrey. 2013. “Filling the Void Between Homeownership and Rental Housing: A Case for Expanding the Use of Shared Equity Homeownership.” Cambridge, MA: Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University.
• Lubell, Jeffrey. 2013. “Reviewing State Housing Policy with a Child-Centered Lens: Opportunities for Engagement and Intervention.” Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy.
• Lubell, Jeffrey et al.  2012. Housing and Health: New Opportunities for Dialogue and Action. Washington, DC: National Center for Healthy Housing
• Lubell, Jeffrey et al.  HousingPolicy.org – an online guide to state and local housing policy.  2007 – 2013.  Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy.
• Lubell, Jeffrey and Peter Plastrik (Task Force Co-Chairs).  2009.  “Catalyzing Change at HUD: Building a More Effective Department” in Paul C. Brophy and Rachel D. Godsil, Eds. 2009.  Retooling HUD for a Catalytic Federal Government: A Report to Secretary Shaun Donovan.  Philadelphia, PA: Penn Institute for Urban Research.