archived-category
Winter 2019
After the housing crash of 2008, one of the pieces of wisdom many people said we had learned from it was that there wasn’t “a national housing market,” but rather a whole bunch of very different regional markets and neighborhood submarkets. Like many lessons, it may have only been partially absorbed, however. In this issue we look at many different kinds of housing markets and their implication for our work.
Scroll down to read more, plus other features and columns from this issue, or purchase a copy to hold in your hands.
The Latest
Housing Markets Vary—So Must Our Tactics
There is widespread understanding about the vast differences in life outcomes that statistically come with different neighborhoods.
Search & Filter Within this Topic
filter by Content Type
filter by Date Range
search by Keyword
Whose Affordable Housing Crisis?
Being priced out of appreciating neighborhoods is not the housing affordability problem most Americans face. But they are facing one.
YIMBYs: Friend, Foe, or Chaos Agent?
The relationship between pro-building “Yes in My Back Yard” activists, longtime housing advocates, and anti-displacement organizers varies across the country, but has often been fraught with difficulties. Is there a way forward?
YIMBY, White Privilege, and the Soul of Our Cities
A common narrative being promoted about why there is a housing crisis ignores history and serves to assuage new residents’ guilty feelings. But we can craft a new narrative together.
Why Voters Haven’t Been Buying the Case for Building
It’s not because they’re stupid. If we want to convince people, we need to stop yelling and start listening.
Medicaid Dollars for Housing?
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary says his department is exploring ideas to pay for non-health services like housing and nutrition with Medicaid, but it’s unclear whether that would, or could, actually happen.
Preserving Affordable Housing by Buying, Not Building
Two organizations are quietly furthering income integration in higher-income Chicago neighborhoods without new development.
Single-Family Subsidies Are Needed Outside Hot Markets
There isn’t a tax credit program available to spur investment in single-family residential neighborhoods, but an alliance of national real estate, housing, community development, lending, and construction organizations is working to change that.
Injecting Racial Equity into an Election Cycle in St. Louis
A group of 10 St. Louis organizations joined together to encourage mayoral candidates to address racial equity and make it a focal point in an election.
Millennials and the Affordability Crisis: A Review of Generation Priced Out
As tenant struggles become a bigger focus of activist recruitment, Randy Shaw’s new book, Generation Priced Out, is an essential organizing guide.
Q: Does Airbnb Cause Rents to Increase?
A: Yes! Since hosts can make 50 to 200 percent more on short-term rentals than on long-term rentals, Airbnb affects purchase prices as well.
Is Local Control Good or Bad?
And how do we get more of the good and less of the bad?
What We Don’t Know About Development and Displacement
The data on the relationship between new development, affordability, and displacement is not nearly as clear-cut as advocates (of all persuasions) often imply.