Keli A. Tianga
Keli A. Tianga is senior editor of Shelterforce magazine.
Shelter Shorts, The Week in Community Development—Feb. 15
Did Amazon meet its match?, Latinx homelessness, Broken Windows-clarified, Supporting victims of wage theft, One more big bank, more.
The Not-So Hidden Truths About the Segregation of America’s Housing
Our conversation with The Color of Law author Richard Rothstein on uncovering truths about our not-so distant history of federally mandated racial segregation in housing.
Preserving Affordability in San Francisco—A Look at the Housing Accelerator Fund’s First Year
An interview with Bob Annibale of Citi Community Development and Rebecca Foster of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, which aims to to preserve or develop 1,500 affordable housing units in its first five years.
The “Who Put That There?” Test—An Interview with Damon Rich, a 2017 MacArthur “Genius”
Architect and urban planner Damon Rich on democratizing design, neighborhood change and displacement, and having the freedom to choose collaborators.
We’re All Enforcing “Separate But Unequal” Schools—An Interview With Nikole Hannah-Jones, a MacArthur “Genius”
Shelterforce spoke with MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" recipient Nikole Hannah-Jones about her research into the persistence of racial segregation, and how without government intervention, average Americans have done an excellent job of enforcing "separate but unequal" schools.
Miracle on 42nd Street: A Tale of Artist Housing
The story behind a bold idea to create a subsidized housing community for artists in a New York City neighborhood.
“You’re Not Colored”: The Story of Two Civil Rights Activists of Japanese Descent
We heard about Ed Nakawatase and Tamio Wakayama's experiences as volunteers with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the American civil rights movement, and the extraordinariness of their witness to the history happening at the time compelled us to pursue a conversation.
We Need the Data—But Can’t Forget the People—in Creative Placemaking
However difficult, altering one’s viewpoint of a community is a crucial step, because creative placemaking’s overarching goal is to reach everyone where they are, and you can’t do that if you begin with a well thought-out plan in hand.
Police and Communities: Conversations Continue, Solutions Appear
Community development corporations play an important role in community safety. As such, they are often at conflict with themselves over their relationships with the police and the communities they serve.
Art in the Face of Gentrification
Four representatives of New York City organizations discuss their employment of art and artists to empower residents in the face of gentrification.
Challenges of Space and Place in Creative Placemaking
Some of us, myself included, are susceptible to the inaccurate thinking that when the arts are involved, the complications that can arise with traditional community building are lessened.
Plans for Housing in the Age of Climate Change Should Include This Tool
As extreme weather patterns in our country become less of an anomaly, the plight of people living in storm-prone...
How To Do Affordable Housing When Your Government Is Being A Jerk
We’ve written about municipalities and states going at it alone when federal funding was scarce, but there is promising news from some groups that are working on innovative financing mechanisms—and some that shift the focus from development to acquisition, which is often a stumbling block.
A Community Benefits Proposal Is Ignored. Is Displacement Far Behind?
Residents of four historically African-American neighborhoods in Atlanta are in the midst of an occupation of Turner Field—the former home of the Atlanta Braves.
Context for the Racial Wealth Divide May Free American Minds, and Mindsets
Black people were excluded from many of the income and wealth-building programs that helped build the foundation of white Americans’ wealth today.
Affordable Housing and . . . a Museum in Harlem
For over 30 years, Broadway Housing Communities has developed its own formula for meeting the housing needs of West Harlem's lowest-income residents. One of its unorthodox ingredients has been art galleries, and now, there's a children's museum in its newest building.
Keeping Everyone Afloat: Is Universal Basic Income the Answer?
Advocates and organizers who deal with the needs of the poor often say it's not really a housing/food/training issue, it's an income issue. So what would happen if we just addressed income?
“Your Lease Should Be Next to Your Bible,” #RentersDayofAction
This Tuesday, advocates took to the microphone on the steps of Newark City Hall, speaking passionately about the city...
Financial Inclusion Begins With Our Tax Code
Changes to the tax code, and tax programs that support low-wage earners, will strengthen gains made in the asset-building field.
Did Amazon Really Just Create a Pop-up Homeless Shelter?
As cities around the U.S. scramble to figure out how to address the housing affordability crisis, one of them...
The Next Boom for Worker Co-ops?
Baby boomers are the largest percentage of business owners, and they’re headed toward retirement. The worker cooperative movement wants to keep the jobs they’ve created from disappearing.
Tackling Uncomfortable Issues, With Enthusiasm
We've written about the fissures that can appear when community developers and organizers of different ages, gender, or ethnic...
Community Development and Faith
Pope Francis begins his visit to the United States today with stops in Washington D.C., New York City, and...
Serving the Community, In Their Language
From hiring priorities to translation headsets to special requests of the phone company—the exciting and important work of serving multicultural, multilingual populations.
Serving the Community, In Their Language
From hiring priorities to translation headsets to making special requests of the phone company—the exciting and important work of...
Staying Ahead of the Age Wave
Groups working with older adults, including many community developers, are crafting a range of creative interventions, from home modifications to service-enriched housing models, to allow seniors to age in place. Will it be enough?
Interview with Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
Ai-Jen Poo has been organizing with domestic workers for over 15 years, helping in New York to win some of the first statewide labor protections for occupations often exempt from labor laws, and expanding this campaign to a nationwide vision for a strong caregiving workforce and infrastructure for elder care. In 2014 she became a MacArthur Fellow, but this was hardly her first award.
Affordable Housing Strikes Back
George Lucas seems to be on a mission to be an affordable housing developer—or at least to use affordable...
Intergenerational Housing-The New Sharing Model?
With regard to housing, it is ever clearer that designing new models that mix the young and the old is becoming necessary, as affordable housing options for both groups don’t exist on the scale needed. Some programs are creating viable options.
Bridging the Age Divide with Clicks, and Bricks
When you take a moment to ponder the technological leap humankind has made in just the past ten years, it's pretty unbelievable. But if...
Hard-Earned Victories Recognized by NLIHC
Its gratifying when you’re recognized by your colleagues for hard work, and that happened this past weekend when The...
We Served Too
Women are an increasing percentage of veterans, and of homeless veterans, but their experiences of homelessness differ from their male counterparts, and so must the solutions.
One Veteran’s Story
Michael Powell's journey from childhood poverty to military service and subsequent struggle with addiction is probably not unlike thousands of others who have served; but in listening to his story, you realize that somewhere along the way it may have become more complicated than it needed to be.
“Inequality Happens?” Hopefully Not
In a recent Rooflines post, Sarah Treuhaft holds up new, reputable data that finds that inequality is not a circumstance of economic success, after all, but that it actually has a dampening effect. Specifically, the widening gap between the poor and lower middle class (households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution) and […]
Historic, and Green, and Affordable, and at (Some) Scale?
Iberville Offsites—the collective name of the 46 historic homes throughout New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood, restored and preserved as low-income affordable housing—received the 2014 National Trust/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation earlier this week. “This project is proof that eliminating blight, providing affordable housing and maintaining the historic fabric of our neighborhoods are not […]
A Win for the CLT And Inclusionary Housing Community
The NHI family is very pleased to share the news that our op-ed, “Faith in land trusts: Time to consider the middle ground of housing,” appears in The Boston Globe today. Publication of the article by National Housing Institute executive director Harold Simon, with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy president and CEO George McCarthy, is a […]
2014 Elections: The Takeaway for Housing and Community Development Policy
Enterprise Community Partners created this quick yet comprehensive analysis of the implications of the election on housing and community development programs that we here at Shelterforce and Rooflines have found helpful. (Photo credit, Flickr user Carl CC BY-SA 2.0)
Two Years Later, Much More Work Remains
Today marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. To commemorate, the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey joined Sandy survivors, community leaders, and elected officials at several events along the Jersey Shore. In a statement, HCDNNJ President and CEO Staci Berger said: “Coming back from a disaster of the magnitude of […]
Finding and Fostering Entreprenuerial Spirit in Underserved Communities
A few years ago, I had what I thought was a great business idea. After much excited Googling and resource combing, I came across a seven-week small business training program being offered through my town. The training, run by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), was only open to people who were unemployed. I was […]