Housing Advocacy
The Latest
Unlikely Partners: How Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Came to Be
In the 1970s, anti-redlining movements were in full swing and the idea that activists, lenders, and elected officials could share power to revitalize communities and advance homeownership felt like a reach. But that was exactly my charge.
Explore Articles in this Topic
Search & Filter Within this Topic
filter by Content Type
filter by Date Range
search by Keyword
Congress Misses AmeriCorps’ 20th Birthday
AmeriCorps turned 20 on September 12th. To celebrate, the agency had an immensely successful Thunderclap campaign that reached over 51 million people on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. It was the 4th most popular Thunderclap campaign so far. Now I’m an old dog still learning new social media tricks so I didn’t know what a Thunderclap […]
All Hands on Deck: Bringing Universities More into the Fold
(with Sheryl Verlaine Whitney) If there was one phrase heard more than any other during our work at HUD, it was “All hands on deck.” (Actually, it was second only to “Are you kidding me?”). In virtually every situation, whether it was implementing programs in response to the housing crisis, getting Recovery Act funds allocated […]
Moving Toward Solutions in Ferguson
Over the past few weeks, many news accounts have laid bare questionable—and perhaps criminal—police behavior and the subsequent and continuing protests by concerned citizens in and around Ferguson, Mo. On a single day, September 10th, at least three protests happened—one at the state capitol, one outside St. Louis City Hall, and one near Ferguson (a thwarted highway sit-in […]
The Roots of #Ferguson
The situation in Ferguson, MO continues to be volatile, news cycle after news cycle. A second young person, a Howard University grad, was shot, members of the national press have […]
Subsidizing the Upper Middle Class?
On June 30th, CapitalNewYork.com published an article titled “Defining Affordability Upward,” about Upper West Side Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal and her battle to create “affordable” housing for families earning over $150,000 […]
Jobs/Transit, Hope on the Horizon?
With all the gridlock in DC, it seems impossible that anything fruitful or significant can really happen. But a few dedicated public officials are starting to push two very promising […]
“Learning In”: A Coalition Organizes for Equitable Redevelopment
Residents and small business owners are already seeing rents rise in Union Square, a diverse neighborhood in the largely working class city of Somerville just north of Boston, Massachusetts. But […]
Julian Castro “Outstanding Pick” to Lead HUD
President Obama's nomination of Julián Castro, Mayor of San Antonio, to serve as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has kicked up a lot of […]
President Obama Could Be Doing More for Unemployment
In January, U.S. Rep. John Conyers and seven other Congress members created the Full Employment Caucus, with the goal of creating more than 24 million jobs in order to to […]
America’s Affordable Housing Lottery Explained in 3 Minutes
Housing policy has the ability to exacerbate or mitigate extreme income inequality in American cities. Where incomes are growing and inequality is increasing, cities like New York and San Francisco, […]
Activists Have Long Known That Donald Sterling Is Racist
I am a huge sports fan and I grew up in and currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, of course, I am cheering for the Golden State […]
Fighting for the Right to Remain in Southwest Yonkers
Waverly Arms is a federally subsidized building located in southwest Yonkers that my organization, Tenants & Neighbors—a tenant advocacy group—has been involved with since 2008. The building’s tenants have weathered […]