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Community Development Field
Shelterforce considers “community development” to be an extremely broad term. But there are still many conversations about the ways in which that broad work happens. Comprehensively or in coalitions of specialized organizations? Locally or regionally? Place or people? While the answers to all of these are usually “both,” there are many conversations to be had about “how.”
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Is DOGE Coming After NeighborWorks?
Though it hasn't taken any action yet, DOGE has officially assigned a team to NeighborWorks America. The congressionally chartered nonprofit provides resources and training to a network of hundreds of local organizations that develop affordable housing and support homeowners and communities.
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Imagine if Banks Had a Rating Showing Compliance with Consumer Law?
When consumers shop for new cars or other major products, they often like to consult with Consumer Reports or some other resource that rates companies selling the products. Imagine if […]
Advocates: Let’s Get These Details Right From the Beginning
Advocates must insist that state guidelines not use exclusionary practices to deny people of color this housing opportunity, nor create housing that reinforces racial and ethnic segregation.
Jane Jacobs: Defender of Cities and their People
On April 10, 1968, New York state officials scheduled a public hearing to discuss their plans for an expressway that would have sliced across Lower Manhattan and displaced hundreds of […]
The Complexity of Compliance
Native American Connections (NAC) is a leader in the development and management of high quality, affordable housing communities. It owns 534 multi-family units with another 106 units currently in development […]
Q: What’s the difference between community economic development and traditional economic development ?
A: A lot! In fact, they are so different that the Democracy Collaborative, which made the chart below, has coined the term “community wealth building” to set apart the truly community-oriented practitioners of economic development.
Voices From the Field: Mixed Income
Do we need more mixed-income housing? Why or why not? The following data and observations were collected via a survey we conducted from late January through mid-February, distributed via Shelterforce Weekly and social media.
In Memoriam: Marva Smith Battle-Bey
Marva Smith Battle-Bey, director of the Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation in Los Angeles, which she founded in 1979, passed away on April 7th. Battle-Bey was well known not only […]
Out of Homelessness, A Mom Turns Advocate
Jenean F. and her husband worked hard to achieve the increasingly elusive American Dream. She was a stay at home mom and he worked as a salesman in the auto […]
CRA on a State Level Makes Sense
When practitioners in the affordable housing and community development field think about the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), they think about the federal CRA, and for good reason; the federal CRA […]
Harvard Planners Talk Race, Design, and St. Louis
In our recent interview with long-time urban planner and racial equity advocate Chester Hartman, he told us he thought that urban planning programs were not “taking race and poverty into […]
Energy Efficiency: Vital to the Budgets of Low-Income Households
Electricity and water are indispensable for day to day living, and low income households pay a disproportionate share of their income for these necessary utilities—up to 25 percent of their […]
Fracking Waste and Drinking Water, A Toxic Combo
Environmentalists have succeeded in making fracking, renewable energy, safe water, and climate change part of the presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are doubling down on who is more […]