(a) Any housing authority may, within its area of operation, undertake studies and analyses of housing needs and of the measures required to meet such needs, including the gathering of data with respect to population and family groups, and the distribution of such groups according to income, and the gathering of data with respect to the amount and quality of available housing, and its distribution according to rental and sales prices, employment, wages, and other factors affecting local housing needs and the measures required to meet such needs.
(b) An authority may make the results of such studies and analyses available to the public and to the building, housing, and supply industries.
(c) An authority may also engage in research and disseminate information on the subject of housing generally.