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A tightrope walker pictured from below walking across a line between buildings.
Community Development Field

Are Insurance Problems on the Horizon for Community Development Groups?

A mistaken cancellation letter to a national membership organization might indicate trouble to come for on-the-ground community development organizations.

Text: Shelterforce Presents/Women of Color on the Front Lines/“Her Story, Her Power" in neon yellow against purple banner. Below are headshots of the speakers framed by brushstroke circles of varied pink to purple shades. Top row, from left, Chelsie Evans Enos, a woman with brunette hair, and black top; Deletta Dean, a woman with short blond hair and black top; and and Maggie J. Parker, a woman with short black hair and blue blazer. Below them, from left, Wendy Santamarie, a woman with brunette hair and gray blazer; and Agnetha Jamie Gloshay, a woman with brunette hair, red bangs. Lower left corner bright yellow and says "March 27/3 p.m. ET/Register"
Community Development Field

Her Story, Her Power in Community Development: A Shelterforce Webinar

Five women from diverse backgrounds who span the country—Missouri, New Mexico, Hawaii, California, and Texas—got together with Shelterforce to talk about the community development field and their work in it.

A row of small, two-story houses with pitched roofs on a paved street. They alternate in color between yellow and medium gray, and some have shrubs in the front yards. There are no cars n the street.
Community Development Field

Soaring Property Insurance Rates Threaten Affordable Housing Development

Rapidly rising insurance premiums are forcing affordable housing developers to cut back on programming, lay off staff, and even sell. To add insult to injury, some insurers also seem to be adding penalties or withdrawing coverage for housing voucher holders.

LIHTC

LIHTC: Are Little Changes Enough? A Shelterforce Webinar

There are reforms and expansions of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit afoot. But some in the field argue that we need to change the tax credit model of financing housing more deeply—or move away from it entirely. Join scholars and organizers as they discuss these issues and explore a path forward.

Westerly Creek development
Affordability

How Are LIHTC Rents Set—And Why Can’t So Many Renters Afford Them?

This video breaks down the LIHTC rent-setting process, and shows the surprising number of people it doesn’t serve.

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.
Housing

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.

View from the street of a bank built in 1917. From the photographer: The building features a red brick exterior with terra cotta trim, decorative panels with Sullivanesque detailing, Sullivanesque trim, a decorative mosaic in the tympanum below the arch above the front entrance with the word “Thrift” in gold lettering in the middle of an expanse of blue tile and decorative white, cream, green, purple, red, and orange tile accents, decorative metal lettering on the facade above the arch displaying the words “The People’s Federal Savings & Loan Assn." ... Gargoyles above the pilasters framing the front entrance, fixed glass windows at the corners, brass double doors.
Affordability

How the New CRA Rule Will Help, and Where It Falls Short

The assessments that evaluate a bank’s lending practices have improved, but there are several missed opportunities for reform. For one, the new rules won’t incorporate a racial analysis into lending examinations.

A collage of photos from stories that appeared on Shelterforce, with 2023 etched in the center.
Community Development Field

Shelterforce’s Top 10 Stories of 2023

What were the biggest Shelterforce stories of the year? We count down the top 10 of 2023.

Concept bold thinking—individual red paper plane flies in different direction in contrast to crowd of ordinary white planes
LIHTC

How to Really Reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program

Adding more credits and making tweaks do not actually address some of the major weaknesses of the program. We should be bolder.

Close-up of a 2012 copper US penny, cut into six pieces of unequal size.
Affordability

You Might Have to Accept Cuts—But Don’t Accept Devaluing of Your Work

As municipalities face post-pandemic fiscal shortages, there’s a longer-term danger lurking behind budget fights.

A row of 26 people of varying ages and skin tones stand in front of a pink building with a large archway leading to a plaza or park with trees. Many of the people are wearing ID tags on lanyards and all are smiling.
Affordability

How We Can Bring Vienna’s Housing Model to the U.S.

Legislators visited Vienna to learn about the city’s social housing program. Here’s how they say their states’ housing crises would benefit from similar policies.

Graffiti of green housing overlapping each other.
Housing

The Only Tool in the Box: What It Means That LIHTC Dominates Affordable Housing

Even those who praise the tax credit program and what it has accomplished are concerned that there are so few sizeable alternatives to it.