Community Development Field

“Attainable” housing | Defeating land contracts | Harassed tenants get legal win | Preaching against gentrification | Housing on Bill Gates’ mind

Private developers and public agencies are finally investing in neighborhoods near transit and jobs—where many low-income communities of color have lived for generations—and as a result, are being pushed out just as resources in their neighborhoods are increasing.

Demolitions conducted using Hardest Hit Funds have exposed already suffering communities to asbestos; Vancover gets accessory dwelling units right; Obama dismisses the idea of a community benefits agreement in Chicago; and more in this week’s Shelter Shorts, a look back at the week in community development news.

You’ve heard of transit-oriented development. But food-oriented development might be easier to generate. 

This issue represents a great cross-section of what community development is. We have stories of organizing, housing, health, and arts. Stories of affordable housing challenges in strong and weak markets; we have pieces on policy, program, and resistance; and more.

Talk of tax reform has reached a fever pitch, but most Americans don’t realize just how high the stakes are and what impact the final legislation could have on their own financial security for years to come.

It is often said that you get what you pay for. Clearly, too little is being paid to create positive change in America’s most vulnerable places.

Today, America is a place where symbols are often more important than the causes or deeds they describe. With social media and the 24-hour news cycle all competing for attention, […]

If we are truly going to reduce our housing policy objectives to the realm of goals related to “opportunity,” I would like to offer some guidelines for its proper use.

New York seems poised to move the concept of community land trusts in new and exciting directions.

Here’s something we don’t talk about enough: developing affordable housing in a tight, high-cost market also increases overall affordability through filtering! Just in the other direction—it trickles up.

At Texas Housers, we’ve confronted a series of natural disasters over the past decade that forced us to develop new approaches for our housing advocacy. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, we find ourselves back at it. Here are seven lessons we have learned.