Process and Scope

The City of Muskogee and the Muskogee Housing Authority sought a study and plan for the supply and demand of Single-Family and Multi-Family Housing in the City of Muskogee. This study has been developed as a guide to housing policy and redevelopment in the city. The study has been carried out with local partners by the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, including the OU-Tulsa Urban Design Studio and OU Institute for Quality Communities.

• Collect data about the supply and condition of Muskogee’s current housing stock, including, but not limited to: type, tenure, vacancy, value, quality, age, and condition. • Examine existing demographics, including, but not limited to: population, employment status, age distribution, education, household characteristics, commuting patterns, housing turnover and migration patterns. • Document percentage of rent burdened households, families living below the 80% and 50% level of average median income. • Descriptive data from this effort is presented as maps, charts, graphics, and text discussions.

• Reach a variety of housing constituencies to look for trends for future housing demand. • Conduct a windshield survey of

Muskogee to become familiar with Muskogee’s neighborhoods and housing stock and photograph housing types. • Catalog major multi-family housing complexes, including

LIHTC and Section 8 properties. • Identify and interview realtors, homebuilders, apartment managers, landlords and other directly involved in the provision of housing. • Investigate partnerships with major employers, like the

Veterans Administration, Georgia-

Pacific, and St. Francis Health Care through interviews. • Examine the impact or need for

Historic Preservation Guidelines. • Conduct two or three focus groups to meet with homeowners, renters, and other housing consumers. • Compare with data from Phase I and triangulate with local, state, and national trends.

• Synthesize the analysis of the previous two phases to develop conclusions for the City of

Muskogee and the Housing

Authority about the types, size, price, and quantity of housing needed in the next five-, ten-, and fifteen-year horizons. • Identify which of these demands will need incentives, subsidies, code revisions, or other policy changes in order to be met. • Develop overview of potential assistance programs from local, state, national, and private sources. • Develop draft study for review in

September. • Deliver final report in electronic format and ten printed and bound copies to the City of

Muskogee.