Department of Housing and Urban Development | Office of Policy Development and Research

Topical Module History 

Report: 2009–2019 

Delivering specialized housing data to meet changing user 

needs

LAST UPDATED: JUNE 2020 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 ii

Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................1

Filling gaps, minimizing burden ................................................................................................................................ 1

Ensuring data quality and relevance......................................................................................................................... 2

About the American Housing Survey (AHS).............................................................................................................. 3

What is an AHS module? .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Chapter 1. 2009 AHS Topical Module ..................................................................................................3

Hurricane Katrina Module ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Examining the storm’s effect on NOLA households ........................................................................4

Informing policy, preparedness, and response ..............................................................................4

Chapter 2. 2011 AHS Topical Modules.................................................................................................5

Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes) Module ............................................................................. 5

Bridging the gap between housing conditions and health...............................................................5

Evaluating the problem to inform policy........................................................................................6

Extended Disabilities and Home Accessibility Module ............................................................................................. 6

Answering questions about accessible aging .................................................................................7

Assessing housing stability for vulnerable populations ...................................................................7

Chapter 3. 2013 AHS Topical Modules.................................................................................................8

Public Transportation and Pedestrian Accessibility Module .................................................................................... 8

Underscoring the connection between housing and transportation .................................................8

Advancing strategic goals, informing important lines of research....................................................9

Community Involvement (aka Neighborhood Social Capital) Module ..................................................................... 9

Hearing directly from residents about where they live ................................................................. 10

Taking neighborhood-level data to scale.....................................................................................10

Movers Leaving and Entering Unit (aka Doubled-Up Households) Module ...........................................................11

Filling an important gap in our understanding of homelessness ....................................................11

Seeking answers to inform action across the field .......................................................................12

Neighborhood Quality and Features Module.........................................................................................................12

Creating a central database of neighborhood characteristics ........................................................12

Understanding the value of neighborhood amenities ...................................................................13

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Module.....................................................................................................13

Understanding whether households are ready...or not................................................................. 13

Building the knowledge base nationally and in communities.........................................................14

Delinquent Payments and Notices Module ............................................................................................................14

Understanding the barriers to housing security ...........................................................................15

Chapter 4. 2015 AHS Topical Modules...............................................................................................15

Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes) Module (Revised) ...........................................................15

Arts and Culture Module ........................................................................................................................................16

Understanding how arts and culture impact and serve communities .............................................16
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 iii

Delivering valuable insights across many disciplines ....................................................................17

Housing Counseling Module...................................................................................................................................17

Food Security Module.............................................................................................................................................18

Understanding how housing affects access to food .....................................................................18

Telling the whole story behind food insecurity ............................................................................18

Translating research into community interventions......................................................................19

Chapter 5. 2017 AHS Topical Modules...............................................................................................19

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Module (REVISED) ....................................................................................19

Examining readiness nationwide and in high-risk areas................................................................20

Delinquent Payments and Notices Module (REVISED) ...........................................................................................20

Commuting Modes and Commuting Costs Modules..............................................................................................21

Telling the larger story of commuting.........................................................................................21

Applying commuting data to address a range of challenges .........................................................22

Evictions Module ....................................................................................................................................................22

Estimating evictions to inform interventions................................................................................22

Urbanization Module..............................................................................................................................................22

Comparing urbanization definitions ............................................................................................23

Accessing the AHS urbanization data..........................................................................................23

Chapter 6. 2019 AHS Topical Modules...............................................................................................23

Food Security Module (Reinstated)........................................................................................................................23

Disabilities and Home Accessibility Module (Revised) ...........................................................................................24

Post-Secondary Education Module.........................................................................................................................24

Uncovering housing issues that affect student success ................................................................24

Documenting the impact of student housing insecurity................................................................25

Hurricane Harvey Module.......................................................................................................................................25

References.......................................................................................................................................26
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 1 

Introduction

Users asked. We delivered. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau 

(Census Bureau) launched the American Housing Survey (AHS) in 1973. Since then, we have been 

working continuously to improve the AHS and make it more helpful to data users. 

In 2008, a landmark report from the National Research Council (NRC) marked a turning point for 

the AHS. The report made several recommendations for strengthening the AHS, including 

increasing the use of topical modules to respond to the growing need for new and more 

specialized housing-related data (National Research Council 2008).

While HUD had previously included questions on special topics in the AHS, in the 2009 survey 

we added the first “modern” topical module addressing an issue of special interest to many 

users—the impact of Hurricane Katrina on households in New Orleans, LA.

Motivated by the NRC recommendations, after the 2009 AHS, HUD re-evaluated the survey 

questions and decided to implement a rotating topical module strategy. We identified three 

topics in the 2009 survey (and prior years) that were the best candidates for being transformed 

into rotating topical modules: journey to work (a.k.a., commuting), neighborhood quality and 

features, and household safety features. The remaining survey questions were designated as 

“core” modules. We then solicited input from HUD survey users and users of external surveys to 

identify additional topics that should be included in the survey as rotating topical modules.

Beginning with the 2011 AHS, HUD officially implemented the rotating topical module strategy, 

and this strategy has been in place in every survey year since. The AHS topical modules place an 

array of unique new data sets at users’ fingertips and enable HUD to examine a range of 

emerging issues that intersect with housing. We have collected data on everything from health 

and safety hazards and disaster preparedness to public transportation and access to nutritious 

food. Armed with these data, users can answer research questions they have not been able to 

fully examine before, such as: What role do the arts play in people’s choice of neighborhoods? 

Are housing costs affecting post-secondary education enrollment? What is the relationship 

between food insecurity and high housing costs?

Filling gaps, minimizing burden

Data collected in the AHS topical modules fill critical research gaps. For many of these topics, the 

AHS is the only national-level survey conducted with such a large random sample, which 

regularly captures this detailed household-level information. And because the topical modules 

are embedded in the AHS, the rich body of household data in the core modules provides the 

context users need to dig deeper into these critical topics.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 2 

Importantly, the topical modules allow HUD and the Census Bureau to collect this new 

information without increasing respondent burden. Instead of appearing in every survey, the 

topical modules are rotated into the survey every 4 or 6 years. To further expand the number of 

topics we cover without increasing overall respondent burden, in 2013, we began randomly 

splitting the AHS sample into two groups—administering some topical modules to half of the 

sample and the remaining modules to the other half.

Ensuring data quality and relevance 

The addition of the AHS topical modules is one critical way in which HUD and the Census Bureau 

ensure that the AHS continues to deliver accurate, up-to-date data you can apply to your work. 

We keep the modules relevant by regularly reaching out to the AHS user community to seek 

input on topics to include in the rotating modules. We ensure that the topical modules obtain the 

highest quality data by collaborating with agencies and organizations that bring deep knowledge 

and specialized subject matter expertise to the development of module questions and analysis of 

results.

This report presents the topical modules that have been included in the survey since the 2009 

AHS. You will see what we measured, discover how organizations are using data from these 

modules to examine a wide variety of issues, and find suggestions for how you can use these 

data to answer your organization’s most pressing housing-related questions.

AHS Topical Modules (2009–2019)

Year Topics

2009 Hurricane Katrina

2011 Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes), Extended Disabilities and Home Accessibility

2013

Public Transportation and Pedestrian Accessibility, Community Involvement (aka Neighborhood Social Capital), 

Movers Leaving and Entering Unit (aka Doubled-up Households), Neighborhood Quality and Features, Emergency 

and Disaster Preparedness, Delinquent Payments and Notices 

2015 Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes), Arts and Culture, Housing Counseling, Food Security

2017 Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Delinquent Payments and Notices, Commuting Modes and Commuting 

Costs, Evictions, Urbanization

2019 Food Security, Disabilities and Home Accessibility, Post-Secondary Education, Hurricane Harvey

To learn more, visit the American Housing Survey website or email us at helpdesk@huduser.gov 

or call us at 1-800-245-2691. 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 3 

About the American Housing Survey (AHS)

The American Housing Survey (AHS), funded by HUD and conducted by the Census Bureau, is 

the nation’s most comprehensive housing survey. The AHS is a longitudinal survey, providing 

detailed, up-to-date information on housing costs, housing quality, and neighborhood assets. 

After a major redesign in 2015, the AHS sample features two parts: an integrated national sample, 

and 20 independent metropolitan area samples chosen from America’s top 50 largest cities. The 

national longitudinal sample provides statistical data for the entire United States, plus 

representative samples for each of the country’s 15 largest metropolitan areas. For the 20 

additional metropolitan areas, the Census Bureau goes back to the same housing units every 4 

years, collecting longitudinal data on a wide range of geographic areas.

What is an AHS module?

The AHS questionnaire includes several hundred questions across a variety of housing and 

neighborhood topics. The questions are organized into a number of separate groups or modules 

(for example, a module on mortgage questions and a module on remodeling questions). We 

devote about two-thirds of the questionnaire to permanent core modules, which collect basic 

housing data in every survey year. The other one-third of the questionnaire is devoted to topical 

modules, described in this report, which are rotated into the survey every 4 or 6 years based on 

the needs of HUD and the AHS user community. Data from both types of modules are available 

for download on the AHS website in two formats: as summary tables, which can be accessed 

through the AHS Table Creator online tool; and as public use file (PUF) microdata.

Chapter 1. 2009 AHS Topical Module

Measuring the impact of Hurricane Katrina 

In the 2009 AHS, HUD debuted the first “modern” topical module—a series of specific questions 

aimed at obtaining information from residents of the New Orleans, LA (NOLA) metropolitan area 

who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. 

Hurricane Katrina Module 

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city of New Orleans, leaving more than 

400,000 displaced residents in its wake. Unlike any disaster in the nation’s history, Hurricane 

Katrina contributed to the unprecedented displacement of an entire city, whose population was 

scattered nationwide.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 4 

With the addition of the Hurricane Katrina topical module, data from the 2009 AHS provided the 

first comprehensive look at the quality and characteristics of the housing supply in the New 

Orleans metropolitan area since 2004—one year before the hurricane hit. The 2009 module 

collected data from about 6,000 housing units, including all units first surveyed in the 2004 New 

Orleans Metropolitan Area survey, plus additional cases. With the new data, users have the ability 

to examine important changes over time. 

Examining the storm’s effect on NOLA households

The 2009 module questionnaire asked questions designed to capture the experience of Katrina‐

displaced residents. It included questions about where householders went when they evacuated 

the city and whether they were still in transition. The module also asked about the cost of repairs 

that were made as a result of hurricane damage and about how long the reconstruction work 

lasted. It also included questions about sources of funding, including homeowners’ insurance, 

federal flood insurance, and other financial assistance. In addition, the module collected data on 

recent movers, including pre- and post-Katrina housing type, geographic locations, and other 

information about the characteristics of the householder’s pre-Katrina unit.

The 2009 AHS displacement data informed a 2011 Census Bureau study on the movement of 

New Orleans householders in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Geaghan 2011). Other research 

is being conducted using the AHS topical module data to better understand what happened to 

occupants of affected housing units pre- and post-Katrina, including a study that is measuring 

how housing unit characteristics influenced the long-term recovery of displaced residents. 

Researcher Elizabeth Fussell, an associate professor of Population Studies and Environment and 

Society at Brown University explains, “These data deepen our understanding of how important 

the housing stock is in a disaster. By focusing on how people are sorted into housing, and how 

that makes them vulnerable to displacement because of a disaster, we are better able to help 

those who are affected.”

Informing policy, preparedness, and response

Data collected in this module are valuable to policymakers and others involved in planning for 

and responding to disasters. By enabling users to examine gaps in rebuilding funding, time lags, 

and bottlenecks, as well as compare housing stock and demographic characteristics of affected 

areas before and after Katrina, these data provide valuable insights that will help inform disaster 

preparedness and future response. 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 5 

Chapter 2. 2011 AHS Topical Modules

Exploring home health and safety

Two topical modules made their debut in the 2011 AHS: Health and Safety Characteristics, and 

Extended Disabilities and Home Accessibility. These new modules collected data on two critical 

issues in America’s communities: potential health hazards in the home, and housing 

modifications made to assist older occupants and people with disabilities. 

Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes) Module 

Identifying unhealthy conditions in America’s housing stock is a prerequisite to correcting them. 

To help obtain a clearer picture of the prevalence of unhealthy homes in the U.S., we developed 

the Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes) topical module. For the first time, the 

2011 AHS collected detailed data about housingrelated hazards and their effects on health. With 

the AHS’ large random sample and nationwide 

reach, these data tell a story about the link 

between housing and occupant health, and the 

size and scope of the problem across America, 

which had not been possible before. No other 

regularly administered survey routinely captures 

these data or provides the ability to subset the 

data in such meaningful ways.

Bridging the gap between housing 

conditions and health

HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy 

Homes (OLHCHH) collaborated with 

environmental health experts from the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) 

National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) 

to create the questions included in this module. The questionnaire included questions addressing 

key injury hazards, such as lighting in staircases; hot water temperature; and swimming, electrical, 

and fire hazards. It also addressed housing conditions that can affect occupant health, such as 

the presence of asthma triggers—including cockroaches, mice, dust, and mold—and the need for 

emergency treatment of these conditions. 

Sample: 2011 National - Health and Safety 

Characteristics - All Occupied Units

Health of Household

Health of householder

Excellent

Very good

Fair

Poor

Not reported

Child Health and Safety 

Children younger than 5 live in or regularly visit

household

Electrical outlets covered

All 

Some

None 

Not reported 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 6 

Evaluating the problem to inform policy

“With this more complete and accurate look at health and safety hazards in the housing stock, we 

can improve national surveillance on housing characteristics and look for opportunities that can 

lead to improvements over time,” notes Dr. Peter Ashley, director of HUD’s Policy and Standards 

Division in OLHCHH. HUD uses the Healthy Homes module data to inform ongoing research, 

policies, and programs to improve healthy housing. For example, HUD researchers Veronica 

Helms and Elizabeth Rudd are using the module data in the first-ever study of unhealthy housing 

among children living in HUD-assisted housing. In collaboration with CDC and the Environmental 

Protection Agency, HUD researchers also are using the module data to create a lead hazard 

exposure index (Deener et al. 2019), which will help local housing and health policymakers, as 

well as HUD program administrators, identify and target neighborhoods most at risk of exposure 

to deteriorated lead paint. 

Other organizations in the public and non-profit sectors use these data in their work related to 

health and unhealthy housing. For example, Johns Hopkins University used the Healthy Homes 

module data in a study on childhood asthma (Hughes et al. 2017). 

There is much potential in these data, especially for researchers who typically may not use 

housing data. For example, public health researchers can link these data to other data sources to 

examine disparities and determine how housing relates to other social determinants of health. 

Community public health organizations can use the AHS metropolitan area samples to examine 

local and regional differences in health intervention programs.

Extended Disabilities and Home Accessibility Module

Nearly 22 million homes in the United States include an adult over the age of 65, and 1 in 3 of 

these older adults reports that they have trouble using some feature of their home. We created 

this topical module on extended disabilities and 

home accessibility to address these urgent issues. 

For the first time, we were able to examine the 

accessibility of the U.S. housing stock related to 

mobility, and visual and auditory impairments, and 

find out whether older occupants and people with 

disabilities live in accessible homes.

Sample: 2011 National - Disabilities - All Occupied 

Units

Households with Disabled Persons 

With a disabled person

Without a disabled person

Not reported

Hearing Disabilities

With hearing disability

No hearing disability

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 7 

Answering questions about accessible aging

The ability to identify characteristics of homes that limit accessibility and better understand the 

accessibility modifications made to homes of elderly occupants and people with disabilities is 

critical to HUD and other researchers who are interested in removing barriers to independent 

living. Since 2009, the Demographics core module of the AHS has included a six-question series 

about disabilities. The Extended Disabilities and Home Accessibility module asked an extended 

battery of questions about types of disabilities not covered in the six-question series. 

The questionnaire collected data about the presence of 22 different accessibility features in the 

housing unit—from extra-wide doorways to wheelchair-accessible climate controls and kitchen 

cabinets—and about whether anyone in the household used these features on a regular basis. 

With input from CDC, we adapted questions from a 1995 AHS supplement for use in the 2011 

topical module.

Assessing housing stability for vulnerable populations

At HUD, we are using these data to evaluate the state of housing needs for elderly occupants 

and people with disabilities and estimate the extent to which the current housing stock is 

meeting their needs. Collecting these data helps advance our strategic goals of improving 

housing stability and expanding the supply of affordable rental homes for groups who need it 

most.

The Remodeling Futures project, conducted by Harvard University’s Joint Center for House 

Studies (JCHS), uses the data in research to better understand the implications of an aging 

population for the home improvement industry. For example, AHS module data informed JCHS 

research examining the growing need for accessibility features related to aging in place (Will 

2015) and exploring the importance of addressing accessibility deficiencies in the nation’s 

housing stock (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University 2014). The Bipartisan Policy 

Center cites 2011 AHS data on geographic differences in accessible housing in its Senior Health 

and Housing Task Force recommendations to meet the housing needs of older Americans 

(Bipartisan Policy Center 2016). Other groups, including the National Association of Home 

Builders, AARP, and other advocates for people who are older or have disabilities, can use the 

data to accurately assess the market for remodeling and new construction and to better serve 

this growing segment of the population.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 8 

Chapter 3. 2013 AHS Topical Modules

A closer look at neighborhoods

Topical modules included in the 2013 AHS collected a new and unique body of data on wideranging aspects of neighborhood life, such as the need to temporarily move in with other 

households, neighborhood conditions, public transportation and pedestrian friendliness, social 

connections and trust, difficulty paying housing costs, and emergency preparedness. Also new in 

2013, rather than administering each topical module to every respondent, HUD randomly split the 

national and metropolitan samples. With this change, we could maximize the number of rotating 

topical modules and reduce respondent burden, while still providing national estimates that were 

statistically reliable.

Public Transportation and Pedestrian Accessibility Module

Housing and transportation—the typical household’s two largest expenses—are closely 

connected and directly impact quality of life in America’s neighborhoods. Public transportation 

provides more options for workers to live in affordable housing. Supporting walkability is part of 

HUD’s commitment to healthy housing. As a result, the ability to evaluate public transportation 

and pedestrian accessibility is critical to HUD’s mission, and was an important driver for the 

development of this AHS topical module.

Underscoring the connection between housing and transportation

The Public Transportation and Pedestrian Accessibility module collects a wealth of data on how 

households use public transportation, bike, and walk. We reviewed several public transportation 

surveys to develop the module questions, including the commuting questions in the Census 

Bureau’s American Community Survey, the 2002 National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist 

Attitudes and Behaviors, and the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.

The module asks people how close they live to public transportation; how often they use it; their 

public transportation costs and destinations; and, if applicable, the reasons why they don’t use 

public transportation. On the pedestrian accessibility side, the questionnaire asks people how 

often they walk or bike, whether their neighborhood has sidewalks or bike lanes, whether the 

sidewalks are well lit and in good condition, and any concerns they may have about walking or 

biking in their neighborhood.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 9 

Advancing strategic goals, informing important lines of research

Although the module includes content from other 

surveys, the data in this module are uniquely 

valuable because the AHS provides a much larger 

sample and allows for cross-tabulations by special 

populations. For example, the data allow us to 

better understand public transportation use 

among HUD-assisted renter households. And 

because the AHS includes data on housing and 

utility costs, this module lets us look at 

transportation costs relative to other housing 

costs—an important line of research for HUD.

Collecting this kind of data helps HUD advance 

some of its most important programmatic and 

research efforts and accomplish some of its most 

critical strategic goals. Public transportation data collected through this module inform our efforts 

to increase economic security and self-sufficiency; improve housing stability and public safety; 

drive economic development; and promote walkable communities that are healthy, affordable, 

and diverse.

Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs used the 

2013 AHS data to investigate the relationship between residential parking that is bundled into the 

cost of housing and the use of public transportation (Manville and Pinski 2020). Likewise, Virginia 

Tech researchers used module data to study public transportation impacts on housing values 

(Hopkins 2018). Other organizations interested in transit-centered development, such as 

Reconnecting America, Strategic Economics, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, can 

use these data to study household transportation and explore ways to integrate housing, 

transportation, and jobs.

Community Involvement (aka Neighborhood Social Capital) Module 

Neighborhood social capital—the social ties and activities that neighborhoods bring to bear to 

solve social problems—is a critical neighborhood asset that contributes to community well-being. 

The 2013 AHS was the first national-level survey to examine this powerful concept. The module 

asked 21 questions drawn from similar surveys that had been field-tested over the previous 18 

years in neighborhoods in Chicago and a few other U.S. cities (Sampson and Graif 2009). As part 

of the 2013 AHS, these questions were fielded to a much larger and more geographically diverse 

sample, giving us a chance to ask residents in 25 metropolitan areas for their thoughts about 

important aspects of their neighborhoods.

Sample: 2013 National - Public Transportation - All 

Occupied Units

Amenities Accessible by Public Transit

Grocery store

Personal services

Retail shopping

Entertainment

Health care services

Personal banking

Household Uses Public Transportation

Yes

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 10

Hearing directly from residents about where they live

This module collected data on the ways neighborhoods are organized, and the extent to which 

householders’ shared expectations about social networks, connections, and trust are seen as 

assets of their neighborhoods. We developed this module in consultation with researchers who 

had previously conducted similar smaller-scale surveys, including Robert Sampson at Harvard 

University, and Cathy Haggerty and Michele Zimowski at NORC at the University of Chicago. 

The 21 questions were specifically chosen to measure five neighborhood social capital metrics:

• Shared expectations for social control, or how likely neighbors would be to report or 

intervene to solve a neighborhood problem, such as vandalism

• Social cohesion and trust, or whether households considered their neighborhood to be closeknit

• Organizational involvement, or the degree to which households participated in neighborhood 

groups, religious organizations, and civic organizations

• Neighborhood social ties, or the degree to which households considered themselves to be 

friends with their neighbors

• Volunteerism, or how often households volunteered within their neighborhood

Taking neighborhood-level data to scale

HUD is working to take these neighborhood-level 

results to scale nationwide. Because these data 

paint a clear picture of people’s day-to-day 

experiences in their neighborhoods, the data also 

help HUD achieve goals related to improving 

public safety, ensuring diverse and equitable 

communities, and building capacity at the 

community level. We are also using the data to 

look at the impact of neighborhood social capital 

on the housing choices of tenants who are 

receiving housing assistance from HUD.

Other researchers, such as Colleen Wynn, Ph.D., 

an assistant professor in the Department of 

Sociology at the University of Indianapolis, use 

the data to answer critical questions about how 

where people live impacts their well-being (Wynn 

2018). Wynn explains, “By measuring the way 

people actually feel about their neighborhoods, we are able to look at whether things like social 

control and cohesion act as a buffer against negative impacts in neighborhoods and to see if 

we’ve been missing some of the ways neighborhoods are beneficial.”

Sample: 2013 National - Community Involvement - 

All Occupied Units

Household Involvement in Organizations

Member of a neighborhood watch, community council, 

etc.

Yes

No

Not reported

Member of a religious organization

Yes

No

Not reported

Member of a civic, service, or social organization

Yes

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 11

The module provides opportunities for researchers to look at these data along with the rich level 

of household data found in the AHS to uncover insights that cannot be found in other data sets. 

Even researchers who may not normally work with housing data can find interesting communitylevel data at the intersection of housing and neighborhood social capital that could be used to 

find out more about residents, such as their housing experiences, their families, and their feelings 

about their larger communities. Organizations doing work on the ground—including law 

enforcement officers, health-related professionals, organizers, and policymakers—can benefit 

from understanding how communities operate. These insights can help inform the ways in which 

programs are developed and policy is delivered.

Movers Leaving and Entering Unit (aka Doubled-Up Households) Module 

Doubling up–when individuals and families live in someone else’s home because a lack of 

money or other means of support prevents them from having a regular place to stay—is often a 

precursor to homelessness. Because so little is known about doubled-up households, capturing 

the movement of this vulnerable population is a high priority for HUD.

With the addition of the Doubled-Up Households module, the 2013 AHS became the only current 

survey to provide the level of detail necessary to accurately measure households that are 

doubled up due to economic hardship. Data from this module adds to existing research on where 

people live before and after they become homeless (Culhane, Lee, and Wachter 1996).

The Doubled-Up Households module explores 

the reasons why households with multiple families 

choose to move into and out of their homes to 

share housing burdens. Its questionnaire

collected data on whether people moved due to 

lack of financial means; whether their households 

had trouble paying utility bills, rent, and mortgage; 

and if they recently received a notice of utility 

shut-off, eviction, or foreclosure. It also asked 

about where people would stay if they left their 

current household.

Filling an important gap in our 

understanding of homelessness

HUD created this module with extensive input from leading homelessness scholars—including 

experts from the Urban Institute, University of Pennsylvania, United States Interagency Council 

on Homelessness (USICH), Westat, the Homelessness Research Institute at the National Alliance 

to End Homelessness, Abt Associates, and Wayne State University.

Data from this module complements data from other data sources—including the Survey of 

Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and other research that uses data from SIPP. However, 

Sample: 2013 National - Movers Leaving and 

Entering Unit - All Occupied Units

Household Member Moved Out of Unit in Past Year

How Many Moved Out

1 person

2 persons

3 persons

4 persons or more

Reason for Stay

Stayed due to lack of money or financial support

Did not stay due to lack of money or financial support

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 12

there are critical differences. SIPP questions do not address the issue of risk of housing loss or 

directly allow for an assessment of “economic” doubled-up households, which is of greatest 

interest to HUD.

Seeking answers to inform action across the field

Understanding how the doubled-up population fits into the overall picture of homelessness is 

mission-critical for HUD. Collecting these data supports several of our strategic goals—in 

particular, it advances our goal to end homelessness and substantially reduce the number of 

Americans with severe housing needs. An analysis of the 2013 module data included in the 

Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress provided critical insights into people who may 

be vulnerable to experiencing homelessness (Henry et al. 2014). USICH uses the findings from 

this module in their work to affect homelessness (Solari et al. 2016b).

Neighborhood Quality and Features Module 

The physical characteristics of a neighborhood can have a powerful effect on quality of life and 

the value of homes in a community. But these effects 

can be difficult to measure. This rotating topical 

module incorporates the 2009 AHS questions on 

neighborhood quality and features. 

Creating a central database of neighborhood 

characteristics

The module questionnaire asks householders about 

the characteristics of their neighborhoods—from 

parks, roadways, and grocery stores, to abandoned 

buildings, and trash or litter. For many of the items in 

this module—such as the quantity of housing 

designed specifically for people ages 55 and older—

the AHS is the only national-level data source that 

allows users to estimate these important 

neighborhood features. Previously, there was no 

consistent procedure for collecting information on 

the presence or condition of these neighborhood characteristics.

Questions in the Neighborhood Quality and Features module were taken mostly verbatim from 

the 2009 AHS and neighborhoods questions included in earlier surveys, with a few 

modifications. For example, HUD consulted with food accessibility researchers at the United 

States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service to modify 2009 questions about 

grocery store accessibility.

Sample: 2013 National - Neighborhoods - All 

Occupied Units

Neighborhood Shopping

Grocery store and drug store within 15 minutes of

your home

Full-service grocery store

Convenience store

Not reported

Only grocery store within 15 minutes of your home

Full-service grocery store

Convenience store

Not reported

Only drug store within 15 minutes of your home

No grocery stores or drug stores within 15 minutes 

of your home

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 13

Data from this module inform HUD’s efforts to improve quality of life and enhance and preserve 

community assets in America’s neighborhoods—two of HUD’s key strategic goals.

Understanding the value of neighborhood amenities 

The Neighborhood Quality and Features module fills gaps in the research base for users across 

many disciplines. For instance, the module is the only source for the data the National 

Association of Home Builders (NAHB) needs to estimate how demand for senior housing matches 

supply. According to Dr. Paul Emrath, vice president for survey and housing policy research at 

NAHB, “The most important thing this data allows us to do is to be able to look at the impact of 

neighborhood characteristics on the value of a home. It helps us understand what the 

neighborhood does to the value of the homes in it.” For example, being able to examine and 

document how proposed changes, such as the addition of multifamily units, may affect the value 

of existing homes in the neighborhood is a big issue for communities making land-use decisions.

Another unique feature of the Neighborhood Quality and Features module is the subjective 

information it provides. With detailed data directly from householders on how satisfied they are 

with their current home and neighborhood; developers can plan communities with the kinds of 

homes and neighborhood amenities prospective buyers really want.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Module

Monitoring the housing stock’s susceptibility to disasters and residents’ readiness for them is a 

priority for HUD—especially since America’s low- and moderate-income communities are often 

the hardest hit by these emergencies. HUD developed this topical module to measure national 

preparedness for a disaster—with an eye on the vulnerable populations we serve. Much of the 

module’s content is based on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines for 

disaster preparedness and other disaster preparedness surveys. However, no other survey has 

attempted to measure national household disaster preparedness with a sample size as large as 

the 2013 AHS, and no other disaster preparedness survey permits cross-tabulations by the 

socioeconomic groups of special interest to HUD.

Understanding whether households are ready...or not

HUD set out to determine how prepared American households are for any kind of emergency or 

disaster—from tornados and hurricanes to earthquakes and other events. We asked 

householders whether they had an evacuation plan and meeting point, and about whether they 

had emergency supplies, such as adequate food, water, or a generator. The questionnaire also 

asked about whether household members had the financial means to relocate during an 

evacuation; where they would stay; and whether they had enough reliable vehicles to evacuate 

all persons, pets, and supplies.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 14

Building the knowledge base nationally and in communities

HUD consulted with the National Disaster Housing 

Task Force and other organizations to develop this 

topical module. Data from this module help HUD 

connect household emergency plans with housing, 

demographic, and income characteristics. Our Office 

of Disaster and Emergency Management uses the data 

to understand the readiness of HUD-assisted 

households and to carry out our strategic goals of 

facilitating disaster preparedness, recovery, and

resiliency.

Data from this topical module are valuable to many 

other national, regional, and local organizations. For 

example, local planning agencies in the metropolitan 

areas covered in the AHS use the data to inform their 

activities. NAHB uses the data to report on 

preparedness among people living in different kinds of 

housing units (Miller 2014). The Mid-America Regional 

Council, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, Reconnecting America, the City of Des 

Moines, and the Jacob France Institute of the University of Baltimore also have expressed 

interest in these data.

Delinquent Payments and Notices Module 

Missing a rent or utility payment or receiving an 

eviction notice is a crucial sign that a household’s 

housing situation is unstable. With this topical 

module, we collected new data on how many 

owners or renters had difficulty paying their housing 

and utility costs and whether they believed they 

were at risk for foreclosure or eviction. The 

questionnaire covered topics such as mortgage, 

rent, and utility payment activity, threatened 

foreclosure and eviction notices, and the likelihood 

of leaving home due to eviction or foreclosure. 

These data have been used to examine the 

relationship between income and missed rents and 

mortgage payments (Solari et al. 2016a). Data from this module can also be used to study the link 

between housing cost burden and the likelihood that households will miss rent or mortgage 

payments. 

Sample: 2013 National - Emergency and 

Disaster Preparedness - All Occupied Units 

House or Building Number Clearly Visible

Yes 

No 

Not reported 

Generator Present

1-unit buildings

Yes 

No 

Not reported 

Non-Perishable Emergency Food

Yes 

No 

Not reported 

Sample: 2013 National - Delinquent Payments 

and Notices - All Occupied Units

Utility Activity in Last Three Months

Received notice of utilities shut-off due to missed

payment(s):

Yes

Have or had utilities shut-off:

Yes

No

Not reported

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 15

Understanding the barriers to housing security

HUD uses these data to test new ways of measuring “housing insecurity”—an umbrella term that 

encompasses several dimensions of housing problems people may experience, including 

affordability, safety, quality, insecurity, and loss of housing.

Chapter 4. 2015 AHS Topical Modules

Understanding how counseling, culture, hazards, and the cost of food affect 

American households

In 2015, the AHS underwent a major redesign. For the first time since 1985, HUD and the Census 

Bureau selected new national and metropolitan area longitudinal samples. While we changed the 

AHS sample design, we continued the process of supplementing the AHS core question modules 

with rotating topical modules.

The 2015 AHS added new topical modules on the use and benefits of housing counseling 

services, the importance of community arts and cultural venues, and access to and affordability of 

food. The 2015 survey also included an updated module on potential health and safety hazards in 

the home. We also added questions addressing neighborhood features and quality, as well as 

some home safety features, back into the core modules.

Health and Safety Characteristics (aka Healthy Homes) Module (Revised)

The 2015 AHS added a revised version of the 

Healthy Homes module, which first appeared in 

the 2011 AHS. The updated topical module 

included new and revised questions about 

secondhand smoke, radon exposure, and 

preventive asthma medications. The 2015 

questionnaire asked about air and water quality 

and the presence of musty smells and tobacco 

smoke inside the home. It also included 

questions on testing for and work done to 

reduce the level of radon. Questions from the 2011 module on householder health, winter heating 

hazards, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were dropped.

HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes closely coordinated with environmental 

health experts from CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and a national non-profit 

organization—the National Center for Healthy Housing—to create questions for this module. 

There is no other regularly administered survey that routinely captures these data, which allow 

for the more accurate identification of health and safety hazards present in the home. 

Sample: 2015 National - Health and Safety 

Characteristics - All Occupied Units 

Radon in the Home

Air tested for radon 

Radon level too high

Action has been taken to reduce radon level:

Yes

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 16

These data will be valuable to researchers and organizations interested in the link between 

housing and health. The Urban Institute, for example, used 2015 module data to explore the 

relationship between housing and asthma among school-age children (Ganesh et al. 2017).

Arts and Culture Module

Why do different demographic groups gravitate to different kinds of neighborhoods? HUD 

developed this topical module—which measures the importance of access to arts and culture—to 

add another dimension to our understanding of neighborhood choice and satisfaction. 

This AHS topical module collected new data on householders’ access to arts and cultural venues 

and events—including musical, theatrical, and dance performances, literary events, film 

screenings, museum and gallery exhibits, and crafts and performing arts festivals. The 

questionnaire asked about the importance respondents placed on such amenities, and the role 

these amenities played in their choice of current neighborhood. This module was the first to 

capture nationally representative data, from the housing unit perspective, on how people value 

proximity to arts and cultural venues in their neighborhoods.

Understanding how arts and culture impact and serve communities

HUD worked closely with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to develop the module 

questions, analyze the data, and interpret results. HUD set out to better understand the social 

and economic impacts of arts and cultural venues on neighborhoods, and we use these data to 

analyze how arts and cultural amenities affect housing costs, residential choice, and 

neighborhood satisfaction. 

The NEA was motivated to collaborate on this 

module by its organization-wide need to learn more 

about peoples’ attachment to their communities 

through art. Module questions that asked about 

people’s attitudes filled an important gap for the 

NEA. Sunil Iyengar, director of NEA’s Office of 

Research & Analysis, describes the value of this 

information: “With these data, we have the unrivaled 

ability to start to talk about arts institutions as cultural 

assets in communities...to say they are valued by this 

much...and to make a link between these cultural 

amenities in people’s communities and people’s 

housing preferences.” The NEA analyzed data from 

the 2015 Arts and Culture module to describe adults who value living near arts/cultural venues 

and who cite greater access to arts venues as a reason for their neighborhood choice (National 

Endowment for the Arts 2019).

Sample: 2015 National - Arts and Culture - All 

Occupied Units 

Access to Arts and Cultural Events Played Role in 

Neighborhood Choice

Yes

No

Not reported

Importance of Living Near Arts and Cultural Events

Very important

Important

Not important

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 17

Delivering valuable insights across many disciplines

The Arts and Culture module gives researchers the ability to analyze targeted data on proximity 

to the arts together with a wide range of variables already embedded in the AHS, such as 

household characteristics and the types of housing units in which people live. As a result, the 

module can be a valuable tool for users in many disciplines. Community-based arts organizations 

can use the data to better understand how people value the arts, the degree to which they are 

served by arts establishments in their communities, and what needs to be done to more fully 

serve neighborhoods through the arts. Many others—from community planners to policymakers 

and householders—want and need reliable information about neighborhood arts and culture 

because these factors can play a large role in where people want to live, and how they spend 

their time and money.

In the future, groups interested in arts programming and affordable housing could use this kind of 

data, in combination with other data sets, to do geo-mapping—mapping where arts organizations 

are located compared to where people live—as a way to flag pockets that lack access to the arts. 

Housing Counseling Module

Homeowners who may be struggling to keep their 

homes, along with renters who have issues with their 

apartment or landlord, and those who want to 

become owners, often turn to government agencies 

and other groups for counseling and advice. With the 

development of the Housing Counseling module, the 

AHS became the only federal nationally 

representative household survey to collect data on 

these kinds of counseling services.

The module’s questionnaire collected a wealth of 

data about the number of homeowners and renters 

who have sought professional housing counseling, why they sought advice, how much they paid 

for these services, and whether the advice was helpful. Housing counseling experts within the 

Housing Counseling Program at HUD developed these questions to help fill a critical gap in this 

line of research. Most existing studies of housing counseling have been small-scale evaluation 

studies or larger scale analyses of administrative data. For example, NeighborWorks America 

conducts a small private survey of housing counseling, and the Census Bureau’s Economic 

Census collects data on businesses that provide housing counseling to low-income individuals 

and families but does not collect data on households that receive counseling.

Sample: 2015 National - Housing Counseling - All 

Occupied Units

Received Professional Housing Counseling

Yes

Homeownership counseling

Rent counseling

Both

Not reported

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 18

Food Security Module

Food-insecure households lack access to enough affordable and nutritious food. While a few 

state-level studies have shown a link between food insecurity and high housing costs, this 2015 

AHS Food Security module was the first to collect the detailed level of national data needed to 

help us understand how food security is related to where people live.

The module collected new data on the relationship between food security and housing quality 

and affordability. The questionnaire asks about food-related concerns, such as whether 

household members were worried food would run out before money was available to buy more, 

if they could afford to eat balanced meals, or if they had to cut the size of a meal because they 

lacked money to purchase food. 

Understanding how housing affects access to food

HUD partnered with the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Economic Research 

Service (ERS) to adapt a set of 10 questions from 

the ERS’ U.S. Household Food Security Survey 

Module, which measures the prevalence of 

household food security in the United States. This 

and other federal surveys include field food 

security questions, but none include detailed 

housing data. Motivated by a need to better 

understand the relationship between housing 

affordability and food security, the USDA 

collaborated with HUD to develop questions for 

the 2015 Food Security module.

Telling the whole story behind food 

insecurity

At HUD, these data support our efforts to uncover where problems with housing may lead to 

poor outcomes. HUD uses the data to understand the relationship between food security and 

housing burden at the household level, and to examine the role housing and food assistance may 

have in moderating the effects of food insecurity. We are also analyzing how HUD assistance 

programs, especially rental assistance, affect food security. HUD is conducting research using the 

2015 module data to look at the relationship among housing affordability, food stamps, and food 

insecurity. 

Sample: 2015 National - Food Security - All 

Occupied Units

Households in the Last 30 Days

Worried Food Would Run Out Before Getting Money to

Buy More

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

Not reported

Could Not Afford to Eat Balanced Meals

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 19

Users across many disciplines can use these data to look at how the concept of food security is 

related to where people live and determine the part housing plays in the food security problem. 

George Carter, Ph.D., a survey statistician in HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, 

notes that “organizations in the public and private sectors can use this data to look at the 

predictors of food insecurity and to tell a story about the mechanisms going on behind the 

scenes that can lead to food insecurity. The more you know about what causes food insecurity, 

the more you know about how to intervene to improve people’s health.”

Translating research into community interventions

City planners can use data from the AHS Food Security module to identify areas with food 

security challenges. Healthcare organizations with a focus on prevention can use the data to 

consider how interventions that improve food security can positively impact health outcomes and 

translate this research into practice. “Rather than only examining the problem through a single 

lens,” Carter adds, “this research can bring together groups who may not think their goals are 

related—for example, those focused on increasing affordable housing and those focused on 

hunger.”

Chapter 5. 2017 AHS Topical Modules

New insights on commuting, emergency preparedness, delinquent payments, 

evictions, and urbanization 

The 2017 AHS rotated in four topical modules. These modules collected new data on how people 

commute to work and commuting costs, the causes and effects of evictions, and whether people 

consider their neighborhood to be “urban,” “suburban,” or “rural.” The 2017 AHS also added 

updated modules on disaster and emergency preparedness; and delinquent payments and 

notices for mortgage, rent, or utility bills. 

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Module (REVISED) 

We revised this module—which first appeared in the 2013 AHS—to expand the kinds of data we 

collect on household preparedness for emergencies and disasters. The revised module 

continued to ask about emergency supplies and whether a household would have the financial 

means, a place to stay, and reliable vehicles to relocate during an evacuation. The 2017 module 

questionnaire added new questions about a household’s first source of emergency information 

during a disaster and whether the home was covered by flood insurance. We also collected new 

data about disaster repairs in renter-occupied units and the presence of a tornado safe room or 

shelter.
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 20

Examining readiness nationwide and in high-risk areas

HUD collaborated with the National Disaster 

Housing Task Force and experts in the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

Individual and Community Preparedness 

Division to develop questions for this updated 

module.

Data from this module can be used alongside 

other data on high-risk areas to determine 

whether susceptible populations are adequately 

preparing for disasters. For example, AHS 

module data complement data collected by FEMA’s National Household Survey (NHS), an annual 

survey that tracks progress in personal disaster preparedness. The telephone survey measures 

the public's preparedness actions for hazards they are likely to face and assesses attitudes and 

experiences that can motivate actions to prepare. The NHS includes a nationally representative 

sample and a series of hazard-specific oversamples in U.S. counties where particular hazards—

such as earthquakes, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, winter storms, extreme heat, tornadoes, and 

urban events—present a risk to those living there. 

According to Christi Collins, a branch chief in FEMA's Individual and Community Preparedness 

Division (ICPD), “The data from HUD's American Housing Survey help to bolster some of the data 

FEMA collects independently. By helping us connect the who—the demographics—to the 

where—the hazard risks—we can create relevant messages for the public that will likely have a 

greater success rate."

Delinquent Payments and Notices Module (REVISED) 

Many of the questions in the 2017 AHS 

Delinquent Payments and Notices topical 

module previously appeared in the 2013 AHS. 

The 2017 module questionnaire continued to 

ask questions about utility payment activity and 

foreclosures and eviction notices, whether 

people had to move due to lack of financial 

means or other support, and where they would 

stay if they left the household. The revised 

module collected new data on delinquent 

payments in renter-occupied units. We also 

expanded the universe in several foreclosure-related questions, to ask the questions of a wider 

range of households.

Sample: 2017 National - Emergency and Disaster 

Preparedness - All Occupied Units 

First Source of Emergency Information During Disaster

Family, friends, or neighbors 

Radio

Television

Internet (including Facebook and Twitter)

Other source

Not reported

Sample: 2017 National - Delinquent Payments and 

Notices - All Occupied Units 

Utility Activity in Last Three Months

Received notice of utilities shut-off due to missed

payment(s)

Yes

Have or had utilities shut-off

Yes

No

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 21

Commuting Modes and Commuting Costs Modules

Where a household lives greatly impacts how much the household spends on transportation. 

HUD includes data on commuting costs and modes of transportation in the AHS to ensure that 

the survey provides users with the most comprehensive housing-related data possible. Two new 

2017 AHS topical modules—Commuting to Work by Mode of Transportation, and Annual 

Commuting Costs by Type of Commuter—collected critical new data on commuting, including 

time and distance traveled, number of days worked per week, modes of transport, and costs of

commuting during a typical work week. By asking specific commuting questions and looking at 

differences across populations and geographies, AHS data on commuting costs and transportation behavior complement and expand on commuting data found in other federal surveys.

Telling the larger story of commuting

HUD consulted with commuting experts at the Census Bureau to develop questions for this 

module. The Census Bureau did not have a counterpart in its larger surveys that directly asked 

about commuting costs. It wanted to supplement the deep, neighborhood-level commuting 

information already collected in its existing surveys (e.g., the American Community Survey) with a 

variety of detailed commuting modes and cost data from the AHS so as to tell the larger story of 

commuting. The goal was to gain a better understanding of how people got to work, the distance 

they traveled, their work schedules, and costs by mode of transportation. The Census Bureau 

also wanted to know who was paying the most to commute and why.

The Census Bureau plans to use the data collected 

through these modules in its ongoing work on the 

Supplemental Poverty Measure—its official update on 

the prevalence of poverty in the United States. The 

Census Bureau is exploring the possibility of using 

these data to estimate work-related expenses, with 

the goal of gaining a more refined understanding of 

variations in commuting costs across geographies. As 

Brian McKenzie, chief of the Census Bureau’s Journey 

to Work and Migration Statistics Branch, explains, 

“This detailed, topic-specific information, combined 

with the rich demographic and geographic 

information from other larger surveys, provides a nice 

overview and a more complete understanding of the 

commuting picture.”

HUD uses data from these topical modules to develop better estimates of housing costs that 

include commuting costs. Because the AHS estimates can also be tied to housing conditions, 

these data provide information critical to HUD’s work that is not available in other surveys that 

ask about housing and commuting.

Sample: 2017 National - Commuting to Work 

by Mode of Transportation - All Occupied Units 

Respondent Worked for Pay in the Last Year1

How Often Commutes to Work in a Typical Week

1 day

2 days

3 days

4 days

5 days

6 days

7 days

Does not leave home for work

Not reported
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 22

Applying commuting data to address a range of challenges

In addition to helping users better understand household expenses, these commuting data can 

be helpful in studying worker productivity, the housing market, ways to link housing to jobs, and 

more efficient community planning. For example, this kind of information, available at the 

metropolitan-area level, can be valuable to those in the real estate industry as they increasingly 

focus on walkability to work and access to rail stops as neighborhood amenities.

Evictions Module

Evictions—whether formal or informal—can have severe consequences for families. It is a key 

contributor to housing instability, and places families at risk of slipping deeper into poverty or 

even into homelessness. This 2017 AHS topical module collected new data on the causes, 

process, and effects of eviction on renters who were forced to move. The questionnaire includes 

items on the types of warnings or notices received, what led to the move (for example, rent 

raised, property condemned), whether households were behind on rent payments, and whether 

children had to switch schools because of the move. With the addition of this one-of-a-kind 

module, the 2017 AHS conducted the first national-level survey on the prevalence of evictions. 

No other federal survey includes these or similar questions.

Estimating evictions to inform interventions

HUD developed the 2017 AHS Evictions module in collaboration with the Harvard University 

Department of Sociology, the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, and noted Princeton 

sociologist Matt Desmond, who has done extensive fieldwork on housing and poverty among 

low-income renters. The content of these questions was taken from Desmond’s Milwaukee Area 

Renters Study. 

As of the publication of this report, HUD is still reviewing the evictions data and has not released 

estimates to the public.

Urbanization Module

In 2017, HUD added an “urbanization” question to the 2017 AHS, asking members of households 

whether they considered their neighborhood to be “urban,” “suburban,” or “rural.” 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 23

Comparing urbanization definitions 

HUD added the urbanization question to replicate 

the main findings of a similar survey conducted by 

the real estate company, Trulia. We also wanted 

to provide empirical evidence of how existing 

federal urbanization definitions align with people’s 

description of their neighborhood. At the same 

time, by adding the urbanization question, HUD 

was able to collect data that will help inform 

discussions regarding the next generation of 

federal definitions, including the Census Bureau’s 

2020 Urban Areas and the Office of Management and Budget’s 2023 Core-based Statistical 

Areas.

With the 2017 Urbanization module, HUD collected data from nearly 76,000 households, 

including approximately 2,150 households in each of 25 large metropolitan areas. We are 

considering ways to formally publish findings from the urbanization question. 

Accessing the AHS urbanization data 

HUD has created numerous tables comparing existing urbanization definitions to householder’s 

neighborhood descriptions. HUD can also create custom tables, or researchers can request 

access to the internal microdata via a Census Research Data Center. More information on the 

how to request access is available from the Census Bureau. 

Chapter 6. 2019 AHS Topical Modules

Measuring the household impact of disabilities, high food costs, college 

enrollment, and Hurricane Harvey

The 2019 AHS added new topical modules on the housing experiences of students enrolled in 

post-secondary education and the receipt of disaster assistance after Hurricane Harvey. The 

2019 survey also rotated in a topical module on food security first deployed in 2013, along with a 

newly updated module on home accessibility modifications. Data from these modules will be 

released in late 2020. The AHS website will have updated information on data releases from 

these new topical modules.

Food Security Module (Reinstated) 

The Food Security module, which appeared first in the 2015 AHS, was rotated back into the 2019 

AHS with no changes. The questionnaire in the 2019 module collected important data on the 

relationship between food security and housing costs. Results also provide users with 

longitudinal information they can use to compare changes in food security estimates over time.

Sample: 2017 Urbanization Table 5: Neighborhood 

Description by Place Size

Census Places (2016)

Not incorporated/Not CDP

Respondent's Neighborhood Description

Weighted Sum of Households

Urban

Suburban

Rural
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 24

Disabilities and Home Accessibility Module (Revised)

Using the AHS 2011 Disabilities and Home Accessibility module as a base, we developed the 

2019 module to take a closer look at the varying levels of home accessibility in American 

households1

. The 2019 module digs deeper into fewer issues than the earlier module, so users 

can accurately measure the specific accessibility features that are lacking, and fully understand 

where deficiencies exist in the housing stock. 

Unlike the earlier module, the 2019 module does not ask about user-home mismatch or the 

history of adding accessibility features. Instead, the new 13-item module focuses on three 

themes: extended disability, features of the home, and future plans. It asks questions about a 

wide array of mobility limitations. For instance, in addition to looking at wheelchair accessibility, 

the module also sets out to understand safety and accessibility features relevant to millions of 

Americans who have mobility limitations that do not require wheelchairs. It also examines 

accessibility for householders who have some level of limitation or frailness, but no diagnosed 

disability. 

HUD consulted with Harvard University’s Joint Center for House Studies, the National Association 

of Home Builders, AARP, and advocates for people with disabilities to develop this module. 

[We will insert Data Table and link when available.] 

Post-Secondary Education Module

We know that where students live affects their success in college. But there are major gaps in the 

research and limited national data on the issue. HUD developed the AHS Post-Secondary 

Education topical module to help build a more robust research base on the actual housing 

conditions that college students experience nationwide, including those living in HUD-assisted 

households. These data filled a critical gap—the 2019 AHS offers the only in-depth national data 

currently available on post-secondary students’ housing issues.

Uncovering housing issues that affect student success

The Post-Secondary Education module expands on the current education questions in the AHS. 

The module collects more details about the experiences of household members attending a 

post-secondary institution, while continuing to identify those attending high school. The 

questionnaire asks about enrollment in college and vocational, technical, trade, and business 

schools. It also collects data on whether the student’s enrollment is full- or part-time, whether the 

school is public or private, and whether the household member lived in the housing unit or dorm 

while enrolled.

1 A HUD-commissioned study of the 2011 AHS accessibility module questions concluded that several of the accessibility 

questions were likely too difficult for respondents to answer correctly. Following the report’s recommendations, as well 

as discussions with experts, HUD elected to substantially revise the module for 2019. 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 25

HUD collaborated with ED to construct this module. ED wanted to examine housing conditions 

for students enrolled in college and understand the post-secondary education experience of 

housing-benefit recipients. The agency wanted to explore the types of housing college students 

live in, how housing situations differ among students enrolled in different types of institutions and 

programs, and how students pay for their housing while enrolled in postsecondary education.

Documenting the impact of student housing insecurity

Earlier research examined student enrollment and housing separately or focused only on 

students in college- or university-owned housing. For the first time, the new AHS module data 

distinguish between students living in housing owned by the institution and housing that is not. 

The data also allow for analysis of the intersection between current school enrollment, program 

type, and other variables. New questions regarding postsecondary enrollment shed light on 

housing conditions that affect student success, including housing costs, the types of 

neighborhoods in which students live, their neighborhood search process, housing quality, and 

the demographics of their households. Erin Berg, in ED’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult 

Education, explains that the module provides “insight into what role college attendance plays in 

housing instability as well as the role housing instability plays in college attendance and 

completion.”

These data can support expanding efforts—at the federal, state, and local levels—to help 

students overcome barriers to graduation. ED and other federal agencies can use data from this 

module to inform national-level policy decisions, financial aid programs, and other housing 

interventions aimed at helping students complete their post-secondary education. The module 

gives college and university leaders involved in awarding financial aid the information they need 

to more accurately estimate the actual housing costs students face in their campus communities. 

Other local decision-makers can use data to understand the housing conditions and challenges 

college students face in their communities. 

Hurricane Harvey Module

When Category 4 Hurricane Harvey hit South Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, it brought 

unprecedented devastation to these communities. In the aftermath of Harvey, state and local 

officials and organizations in the affected areas stepped in, mitigating the hurricane’s impact by 

offering a wide range of resources to help disaster victims with critical needs. HUD developed 

this topical module to determine whether people affected by Hurricane Harvey were interested in 

receiving state or local resources to help with recovery efforts. What we learn can help inform 

decision-making regarding disaster relief services during future weather disasters. 
Topical Module History Report: 2009-2019 26

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June 2019

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Office of Policy Development and Research

Washington, DC 20410-60001 / 1.1 / 1.1.1