Rachel G. Bratt

7 Posts

Rachel G. Bratt is professor emerita at the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. She is also a senior research fellow for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Two men sit on a stoop with signs during a fair housing protest in Seattle, Washington, in 1964.
Housing

HUD Secretary Ben Carson and His Perverse Actions on Fair Housing

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act, HUD Secretary Ben Carson is doing all he can to undermine its mission.

Housing

Defending Progressive State Housing and Land Use Policies

The fates of three venerable policies on fair share housing and sustainable land use can point the way for how to support similar efforts in other states.

Housing

Fear of Affordable Housing: Perception vs. Reality

Affordable housing developments are often controversial and give rise to claims of dire consequences for quality of life and property values. But once they are built, does anyone realize they are there?

Housing

The Road to PETRA

From the early days of the public housing program in the 1930s to the present, vociferous opposition has resulted in a host of problems. Understanding the history can help put President Obama’s PETRA program in context.

Uncategorized

Why CDCs Should Advocate for a Right to Housing

While the Constitution of the United States ensures citizens many rights, housing is not one of them – although such a right has been advocated for many years. _Shelterforce_ asked Chester Hartman and Rachel G. Bratt (co-editors of A Right To Housing, with Michael E. Stone) to discuss this notion of a “right to housing.” Bratt explains how a right to housing can advance the work of CDCs. Hartman, answering a series of questions, puts it into the context of other rights Americans expect.

Uncategorized

Learning from Adversity

When East Side Community Investments, Inc. experienced financial crisis and ultimately failed, it was a wake up call to all who care about community development corporations and the work that […]

Housing

A Withering Commitment

The federal government has never had a strong commitment to housing for low-income Americans. The recent history of national housing policy sheds light on today’s rush to remove government from […]