Randy Shaw
Randy Shaw is director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in San Francisco. His most recent book, "Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America," is now out in paperback from UC Press.
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Why the Presidential Race Ignores Urban America
Despite overwhelming media coverage, the 2016 presidential race has ignored the housing and economic crises impacting urban America.
Neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton has...
The New Rent Control Wars
On November 4, a near riot broke out in the usually quiet city of Alameda, Ca. The reason? A...
A Disastrous Week for Housing
In the United States, millions of people live in unaffordable and/or unhealthy homes or lack housing at all. If...
The Perfect Solution to Homelessness
The past month has seen national media stories on rising homelessness in New York City, San Francisco, Madison, Los...
As Cities Prosper, Poor People Relocate to Suburbs
The number of low-income people living in suburbs increased 67 percent between 2000 and 2011, altering longstanding perceptions of...
“Move.” Governor Jerry Brown’s Troubling View of Affordable Housing
California Governor Jerry Brown is known for expressing ideas outside the standard political box. But in the case of California’s...
Blame Politicians for Homelessness and Hunger in U.S.
Each year, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the media details homelessness and hunger in the United States. We hear of people forced into shelters due...