Preparing for Peak Oil: Nutty Survivalism or Crucial Equity Issue?
Should community developers and other low-income community advocates be concerned about preparing for life after peak oil?
We all know that the greed of...
California Transit Agencies Bring Affordable Housing to Scale
In a recent Shelterforce blog post, we discussed the catalysts for the adoption of equity and sustainability as core principles in a new development...
Will Obama Fever Heal Black-Latino Relations?
The day before Obama’s thrilling clinching of the Democratic nomination, I met with a group of high school students at the Rudy Lozano Leadership...
Instantly See Average Transportation Costs, Emissions for Any Location
The latest in the snazzy series of useful tools and research on housing and transportation costs published by the Center for Neighborhood Technology is...
Hope…of Curbing Climate Change
When the Environmental Law and Policy Center was founded in Chicago 15 years ago, cell phones that could get clear reception or send images...
Rebellion Spurs Opportunity and a New Housing Movement
How a Baltimore collaborative plans to make shared-equity housing a significant sector in the local housing market.
A Tale of Two Infrastructure Projects
Living in Central New Jersey, I’ve had a ringside seat for the last few years to one of the...
Tassafaronga Village: Affordable Green, Gold and Platinum in East Oakland
Oakland, California’s Tassafaronga Village is a new mixed-income, green neighborhood development that is bringing a high degree of environmental excellence to a traditionally underserved...
Attitude Reflects Leadership
Recently I was honored to receive the Ned Gramlich Award for Responsible Finance during the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference in Denver. To be recognized by the national association of investors dedicated to aligning capital with justice was a humbling experience—one made more so by the courageous legacy of the late Federal Reserve Bank Governor […]
Crossing Neighborhood Boundaries
Equitable regions are stronger, healthier regions for everyone. This is becoming more and more of a bedrock understanding within our...
Smart, Sustainable Development Can Aid Economic Recovery
Whatever Wall Street does next, we’re going to have to find more efficiencies in our economy. Consumers are going to have less to...
Housing Policy Key to Freddie Gray’s Baltimore–and the City’s Future
“What happens to a dream deferred?” asked Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load,” he opined. “Or does...
Affordable Housing Advocates Need to be Strong TOD Advocates
The Red Line Transit Project is a proposed 14.1-mile light rail line designed to connect approximately 55,000 daily riders...
Ferguson, Sanford and the Persistence of Violent Racism
“Wonder when I’ll find paradise // Somewhere there’s a home sweet and nice” –WAR, The World is a...
DOJ Passes on Ohio
Well, not so fast. After a report in The Washington Post last weekend indicated that the White House had requested that the Justice Department...
Building Multiculturally
One culture’s idea of the ideal house is different from another. Luckily, floor plans are adaptable.
Are Big-Box Stores a Good Measure of Equity?
It’s been cause for celebration here in the DC region, and rightfully so, that suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland, has a new, high-end Wegmans...
Common Sense Is Community Development’s Most Powerful Ally
The title of this post proved itself to be true for us in Duluth, when local organizations got together to address the growing need...
So Far, Development is Divisive, and Driven By Race
Many of us live in cities that are undergoing a renaissance, but the longstanding populations are no better off...
Our Window of Opportunity Is Open–Let’s Tackle Poverty Now
Every few generations, the stars align to create the potential for monumental, transformative social change. Turns out we’re in just such a moment right now when it comes to tackling poverty in the United States. I don’t blame you for being skeptical. Economic inequality is growing, big corporations are consolidating their political power, and our […]