Standing on a truck in front of a group of several hundred protesters, Tom Gordon expressed a feeling shared often at the ONE Northside Convention in early May: city residents know what their communities need. Gordon, who’s stayed in...
What Does “Community Control of Land” Mean?
When we put out a call for essays about the meaning of community control of land, we expected we might get a handful of responses. Instead we got dozens and dozens, coming from all different parts of the country, from residents and researchers, activists and advocates. We clearly touched a nerve.
A Bad Mix: Utility Shut-Offs and Chronic Illnesses
In most states, a household can avoid or delay termination of its utility service due to overdue balances if the shut-off would significantly impact their health. But the process isn’t as simple as it may seem
Regrets of an Accidental Placemaker
Had I unintentionally contributed to the gentrification of my neighborhood and other neighborhoods around Washington, D.C.?
In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Seeks to Be a Good Neighbor
The current HopkinsLocal effort, a three-year program launched in September 2015, is also clearly a response to the death of Freddie Gray and the events that followed.
Q: Why Don’t People Who Get Rental Assistance Get a Job?
A: More than half are elderly or disabled. Of the rest, most of them do have a job! Ninety-four percent of rental assistance receipts are ...
A Year Later, Can the Grenfell Tower Fire Be a Catalyst...
Shelterforce asked author and housing worker Glyn Robbins what led him to view U.K. and U.S. housing policy as intertwined, how public protest stifled the Conservative Party’s 2016 Housing Act, and what’s changed in the wake of Grenfell.
Housing, Not Warehousing—A Victory 10 Years in the Making
Warehousing is one of real estate’s best-kept secrets, and a crucial piece of how the housing market can keep supply low and demand high. One New York City organization rallied to prove warehousing still posed a problem, and pushed the boundaries of what was politically possible.
Advocacy for Social Change: Coalitions and the Organizations that Lead Them
Many books discuss the corrosive effect of money in politics and lobbying organizations, but few are devoted to how those representing the have-nots organize on a national level to fight for laws and regulations that seek to empower communities.
Seattle Takes Ownership of Its Displacement Challenge
Seattle is tackling displacement by aiming to reduce the systemic and structural barriers in connecting marginalized populations to opportunity.
How to Kill Land Speculation
People live in communities because natural and human-made resources make them productive places to live, work, and play. Because geographically based resources are gifts...
Shelter Shorts, The Week in Community Development—July 13
A "Good" Payday Lender | Urban Sprawl Is Bad for Your Health | More Nutritious Food for Low-Income Families | This Bank is *Opening* Branches
Shared-Equity Homeownership With No Public Subsidy
What if the future of shared equity homeownership was not dependent on government subsidies? Vivacité - Société immobilière solidaire, a Quebec-based non-profit organization, designed a shared equity program based on a social economy model that leverages impact investors to ensure perpetual affordability and scales its impact.
Despite Win Against Landlord, Minneapolis Tenants Still Face Eviction
North Minneapolis residents fight to take control of their buildings after city administrator finds homes to be uninhabitable.
We Can Totally Build Our Way Out of This Problem
Here's a list of possible translations to the statement, "We can't build our way out of the housing crisis," and a handy response to each.
Shelter Shorts, The Week in Community Development—July 6
Carson’s HUD Is So Out of Touch | Seattle’s Luxury Housing Surplus | Expand Housing Subsidies, Reduce Childhood Poverty | Michigan Lets Its Students Down | More...
Practical Ideas for Addressing Micro-Segregation in Mixed Income Communities
Practical lessons from long time community builders on promoting integration and interaction among residents of mixed income communities.
Section 8 Allowed
Early research shows that laws prohibiting discrimination based on source of income may improve outcomes for Housing Choice Voucher holders.
The CLT Solution: In Suburbia and Beyond
After 30 years and the development of thousands of units of affordable housing, the Long Island Housing Partnership Inc. and its affiliates are now concentrating on the Community Land Trust model.