Beware the Scammers
This weekend I encountered a representative of an energy service company on my porch. He was flashing a badge at me and telling me that because I hadn't responded to […]
Actually United States
Americans are a people hopelessly divided by culture wars and fundamental disagreements about the role and appropriate size of government. You know this; I know this. Everyone knows this. In […]
Poor Folk Are All Cost Burdened, No Matter What Their Housing Cost
Today the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard releases its annual State of the Nation's Housing report. As always, it is chock full of useful information about the trends […]
Planned Shrinkage by Thirst?
Even the much beleagured CEO of Nestle, who has been accused of trying to privatize the water resources of poor communities for the benefit of its bottled-water profits, officially says that […]
Who Owns the Land?
When I was a 20-something my family received a copy of the board game Monopoly as a gift. Being all varying levels of anti-capitalists, but certainly united in not being […]
CDFI Certification Helps Credit Unions Perform Better
The Credit Union National Association and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions released a report last week comparing credit unions that are certified as CDFIs (community development financial […]
If Affordable Housing Were Stylish Would We Build More of It?
In response to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's new housing plan goal of 200,000 units “created or preserved,” Justin Davidson at New York Magazine penned this plea for architectural beauty, […]
Is Housing the Homeless a Success?
Randy Shaw at Beyond Chron has a great take down of some newspaper columnists' inconsistent and illogical arguments against spending on supportive housing for the formerly homeless. But worse than […]
Is Gentrification Different When It’s Not in a Booming Metro?
Interesting research that adds a wrinkle to the gentrification conversation: Todd Swanstrom writes about “rebound” neighborhoods in St. Louis and how they don't follow the typical “gentrification” pattern. Does this […]
What Are Advocates Saying About Johnson-Crapo?
What is the affordable housing world making of the Johnson-Crapo housing finance reform? So far here on Rooflines, Dan Immergluck gave us a good overview of its provisions and cautioned community […]
Who Is a Gentrifier, and What Should They Do?
As people with choices move back into (some) urban areas that were abandoned/systematically disinvested from decades ago, gentrification is an increasingly common topic of debate. (Enough that those working in […]
Casinos are Parasites
It is not news that communities desperate for jobs and economic development often make terrible long-term decisions, welcoming in development and developers that are damaging in all sorts of ways—environmentally, […]