Our History

The Joint Center for Housing Studies was originally formed in 1959 as the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard, and took up the challenge of addressing intellectual and policy issues confronting a nation experiencing widespread demographic, economic and social changes, with dramatic and far-reaching effects on cities in particular. With principal support from the Ford Foundation, the research agenda was based on the premise that the resolution of these issues called for imaginative interdisciplinary approaches to the study of urban problems and issues and required cooperation among universities, government and industry.

In the 1970s, the Center consolidated its research around a core of subjects related to housing. Its analysis of U.S. housing policy reflected the national debate over the government’s responsibility to ensure a decent home and suitable living environment for all its citizens. Early in this period, the Center recognized the need to supplement housing analysis with research in related fields, and with input from outside the academy, in the form of partnerships with public, private, and non-profit entities.

The Center’s Policy Advisory Board (PAB) was formed in 1971—under the guidance of John T. Dunlop, former United States Secretary of Labor and then Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences—to bring together a diverse group of leading firms and organizations with interests and influence in the housing sector. The PAB continues to play a critical role in identifying emerging issues and trends and joins our commitment to advancing housing as a national priority.

In 1985, the Joint Center for Urban Studies officially became the Joint Center for Housing Studies and in 1989, the Center evolved into a unit based solely at Harvard and jointly affiliated with the Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kennedy School.

In 1988, the Center launched its signature report, The State of the Nation’s Housing, which has been the definitive source of information about U.S. housing markets for over thirty-five years.

In 1995, the Center launched the Remodeling Futures Program, which studies trends in the remodeling industry, produces the biennial Improving America’s Housing report, and in recent years added a focus on the impact of climate change on the housing stock.

In 2006, the Center began production of its biennial America’s Rental Housing report and in 2022, the Center established its most recent initiative, the Housing an Aging Society Program, which advances policy, planning, design, and public health solutions to address the housing needs of older adults. Additionally, in 2023, the Center published The State of Housing Design, the first book in a series that reviews national trends, ideas, and critical issues as they relate to residential design.

The Center continues to foster strong ties with schools, faculty, and students across the university and engages with public, private, and non-profit entities to address both longstanding and emerging housing challenges. Most importantly, our work serves as a critical resource to inform scholars, business leaders, housing practitioners, and policymakers as these diverse stakeholders work toward our goal of a decent, affordable home in a thriving community, for everyone.