Matthew Brian Hersh

326 Posts

Matthew Brian Hersh served as senior editor at Shelterforce from March 2008 to October 2012. He studied English at Rutgers University and has spent his professional career in journalism, policy, and politics.
Housing

The COAH Bluff, the Midas Touch, and New Jersey’s Fight for Affordable Housing

Everything was going along great for the New Jersey Legislature in its now jittery, ambling pursuit of affordable housing across the state. June was looking promising as the state legislature […]

Organizing

One Candidate Drops Out of Public Finance, Another Wishes He Could

Barack Obama’s decision to opt out of the public financing system for this fall’s general presidential election has all the Sabbath Gasbags buzzing. The Obama campaign undoubtedly weighed the pros […]

Interview

The Green New Deal

Majora Carter saw natural beauty and economic empowerment in her South Bronx neighborhood where others saw only a dumping ground. She’s changing the urban landscape in a way that’s been an eye-opener to people around the globe.

Policy

Sounding the Death Knell for Public Financing, Or a New Era of Grass-roots Fund-Raising?

Sen. Barack Obama’s decision to forgo public financing for the 2008 general election appears to be steeped more in pragmatism than it is in putting an end to public financing […]

Equity

A Big Easy Comparison, But How Similar?

“Katrina” is a loaded word, less associated with an actual hurricane than it is with catastrophic destruction from natural disaster, breathtaking flaws in effective federal emergency response (or lack thereof), […]

Crackdown Rocks Real-Estate Industry

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that the Justice Department has indicted more than 400 defendants in 144 mortgage fraud cases. The indictments, part of a sting operation that […]

Policy

The Russert Factor

How important was Tim Russert to presidential politics? Certainly he was a central figure in the news coverage in the 2008 cycle, and let’s not forget his famous Florida triplet […]

Policy

So It’s Come to This?

Forget two-year presidential campaigns that raise hundreds of millions in donations. It’s back to basics time and it’s time to know your candidates. In an apparent attempt to avoid being […]

Awarded for Smart Growth

It’s an old joke, but in the development sense, the term “smart growth” is an oxymoron in many cases. There’s a reason we celebrate things like adaptive reuse, transit villages, […]

Policy

It’s Your Moment Sen. Obama (It’s Ours, Too)

Let’s not kid ourselves: we have reason to be skeptical, tentative, wary, and yes, waiting to be inspired and swept away by someone America can line up behind. Am I […]

Uncategorized

“Let’s Refuel America”

According to a report in The New York Times Monday, auto sales are down by more than a million compared to 2007’s 16.2 million cars sold. Auto lenders are less […]

Equity

Sustainability’s Bottom Line

Are our presidential candidates (yes, including vice presidential candidate Clinton) thinking about sustainable initiatives for environmental improvement, city vitality, and sound fiscal order? Or is the sustainability movement still regarded […]