Massachusetts Strikes a Blow Against Exclusionary Zoning
Proposed state bill in Massachusetts boosts housing production, helps end exclusionary zoning.
Housers: Now Is the Time to Buy Land
The coronavirus did not end the urban affordability crisis. To the contrary, it is only a matter of time before urban America’s restaurants, bars, hotels, and entertainment venues are filled […]
Habitat for Humanity Steps into Housing Politics
The primary image evoked by the Habitat for Humanity name remains that of President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter working with volunteers to build or improve single-family homes. Habitat’s do-gooder image […]
Ignore the Myth—Voters *Do* Rally for Housing
When it comes to whether voters support building more housing as one key strategy for expanding affordability, election outcomes show the case is closed.
Housing Advocates—Seize This Moment!
I’ve been working to address housing affordability since the late 1970s. There has never been this much media and public focus on the issue.
Why San Francisco Outdoes New York City on Tenant Rights
New York City has been outpaced by San Francisco in protecting tenants since the latter adopted rent control in 1979. While protections for the city’s tenants have steadily weakened and even disappeared since the 1990s, San Francisco’s rent control and eviction protection laws have expanded and strengthened.
Homeowners Reap Profits While Fueling Housing Crisis
The widespread critique of California’s SB 827 got me thinking about why nobody talks about those really profiting from land use decisions that inflate their property values: homeowners.
As the Arctic Icebergs Melt, So Does Political Opposition to Housing
The times they are a changin’, at least when it comes to San Francisco and Berkeley housing. What accounts for the pro-housing movement’s growing strength? Three factors, one of which may involve the president.
Should Online Shopping Change How We Use Space?
Should ground-floor use go from retail to housing? In San Francisco, the closing of once-popular San Francisco restaurants and the decline of longtime Union Square pillar Macy’s raise a […]
Does the Disability Rights Movement Offer A Model for Housing Activists?
The Republican and Democratic National Conventions are over, and the nation’s affordable housing crisis has struck out. Not a single primetime speaker even uttered the words “housing crisis” or relayed […]
Why Can’t Harlem Stop Gentrification?
In his May New York Times editorial, “The End of Black Harlem,” Michael Henry Adams portrays the historic African-American community as moving inevitably toward gentrification. He cites the familiar signposts—a […]
Why the Presidential Race Ignores Urban America
[Editor’s note: The following piece originally appeared on the BeyondChron.org website on Jan. 28, 2016] Despite overwhelming media coverage, the 2016 presidential race has ignored the housing and economic crises […]