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View from middle distance of small village in Alaska under wide cloudy blue sky. The most visible building are low, pitched-roof, red buildings. Beyond them are clustered other houses. The foreground is a flat, snowy or icy ground, possibly a road.
Opinion

Retreating From the Coasts Makes Sense, But Our Current Approach Isn’t Working

As flooding, sea level rise, fires, and other climate impacts increase, we’ll need to move about 20 million Americans by 2100. Here’s how we can rethink managed retreat to get ahead of the rising tides.

Environment

What Makes Affordable Housing ‘Green’?

There’s no one way to determine what makes “green” housing. Here’s a breakdown of the standards and considerations used by the affordable housing industry.

A smiling woman wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts extends on arm to the sky while the other touches an air conditioner that shit in the trunk of a car.
Health

Beating Extreme Heat as a Community

U.S. cities don’t provide residents with enough protection against heat, the deadliest weather-related killer in the world. But in NYC, one organization came together to distribute ACs to neighbors in need.

Close up view of rock, scissors, and a sheet of white paper on a red table or desk. The rock is oval gray rock with a band of white quartz through it, the scissors have purple plastic grips and metal blades. The scissors are positioned such that they appear to have just cut the paper, and the rock is resting on the paper, half concealed by a portion of it.
Opinion

Legitimate Debate or Short-Sighted Complaints? 5 Reasons Affordable Housing Is Expensive to Build

There’s no denying that affordable housing can be expensive to build. But we need to look at the long-term benefits of those investments to see the bigger picture.

Opinion

Public Housing Must Be a Part of Fair Housing Planning

Because their programs provide the most deeply affordable housing in the country, public housing authorities should be both supported in improving fair housing outcomes and held to account when they fall short.

At left, tall apartment towers. At right, trees, In foreground, several mostly submerged cars in brown floodwaters, under a blue sky.
Opinion

How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Protect Low-income Renters From Climate Change

Climate change is an especially large threat to low-income residents. The Inflation Reduction Act offers a chance to act.

Interview

Taking the ADU Model to the Next Level, a Shelterforce and Next City Webinar

How can we get more accessory dwelling units built, keep them affordable, and make them forces for increasing racial equity?

A row of large gray cylindrical water storage tanks on a roof. Behind them are heat pumps and other technical apparatus.
Opinion

The Shift to Using More Electricity Will Change How Affordable Housing Is Built

Policymakers and building designers have gone from pushing for energy efficiency to focusing on reducing carbon emissions by using more electrical-based systems. What are some of the benefits and challenges of going all-electric, and how can affordable housers move forward?

Opinion

Are Urban Planners Staying Silent on Climate Gentrification?

Holmdel, New Jersey, moved its affordable housing to flood-prone land, raising a question about planners’ ethical obligations to speak up against such moves.

Policy

ADUs: Laws and Uses, Do’s and Don’ts

As ADUs gain national attention, cities are searching for the best ways to legalize their development and encourage construction.

Community Development Field

After Ida, How Can Affordable Housing Withstand Climate Impacts?

What lessons can Ida offer to affordable housing managers and owners whose properties are at risk of damage from extreme weather events?

Opinion

Flooded: How Natural Disasters Lead to Predatory Lending in the Rio Grande Valley

The devastation that communities in the Rio Grande Valley experience is twofold: the initial destruction of the floods and the cycle of debt and poverty as a result of predatory loans.