A Way for Investors to Save Affordable Housing, Not Harm It
Investors have helped preserve more than 1,700 affordable housing units in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
The Financialization of Housing and Its Implications for Community Development
Over the last two decades homeowners and investors have increasingly treated housing as a financial asset, like stocks or bonds. How has this changed the housing market for the worse, and how can we fix it?
What Is the Financialization of Housing?
It's a wonky term with real-life consequences. At its most basic level, the "financialization of housing" means treating a home like a financial asset first, and a place to live second. But there are many more perspectives.
This Manufactured Home Park Will Soon Be Boat Storage, But One Resident Stays to...
Angela Kaufman purchased what she thought would be her longtime home in a mobile home community. Less than a year after she moved, the park was sold and residents were told they had to go.
Sealing the Cracks in Weatherization and Home Repair
Deferred home maintenance can lead to serious structural, safety, and health issues. A new program in Pennsylvania aims to fill the gaps in home repair and weatherization programs.
Did LA’s Supportive Housing Bond Fail?
Six years after Prop HHH was passed, the fund appears to be delivering on its housing construction goals in the 10-year timeline, but the measure is being routinely criticized on all sides for delays, rising costs, and being an inadequate fix to LA’s homelessness crisis.
Tenant Screening Companies Profit from Eviction Records, Driving Housing Insecurity
Sealing eviction records at the point of filing is an urgent step toward dismantling harmful tenant screening practices.
Q: Would More Housing Vouchers Increase Rents?
A: So far, researchers haven't found that an increase in vouchers by itself causes rents to rise.
Help! Not Police! Crisis Responses That Avert Police Calls
Cities, court systems, citizen groups, and affordable housing operators are crafting ways of responding to emergencies that reduce the risk of negative police interactions.
Something Old, Something New: Biden’s Housing Plan
President Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan is a catchall of existing proposals, tiny tweaks, and things Congress would have to fund—plus a few genuinely interesting administrative moves. Here’s the rundown.
Helping Tenants with Mental Health Challenges Who Are at Risk of Eviction
Support at all stages of an eviction could help vulnerable tenants navigate the process, avoid being removed from their home, or if they are evicted, help them catch their footing.
Two Paths to Density: Profit vs People
As communities across the country begin promoting density to address the affordable housing crisis, they must grapple with how that housing will be built, and for whom.
Getting Medicaid to Pay for Pest Control
For children who have asthma, pests like cockroaches and mice can trigger allergic reactions and lead to recurring and expensive hospital visits. Could insurers save money by investing in housing-based improvements like pest management services?
Restorative Housing Policy: Can We Heal the Wounds of Redlining and Urban Renewal?
Our fair housing laws enshrine an approach that prohibits us from explicitly referring to race, even in programs intended to undo the harm caused by racism. Now restorative housing policy is attempting to directly confront this history.
Leaky Roof? A USDA Home Repair Option
One USDA program has given out over a billion dollars in rural home repair grants since its inception, and could be inspiration for similar programs in urban and suburban communities as well.
Vacant Homes Wither Under Flawed Tax Sale System
Outdated tax sale rules and predatory investment practices keep Baltimore homes in a revolving door of vacancy. But that could soon change.
Tenant Rights in Our Backyard—A Panel Discussion
Tenant activists discuss how the housing movement can do better at aligning itself with the tenants' rights movement.
Affordable ADUs: How It’s Being Done
In the face of limited financing options, local governments, nonprofits, and social enterprises are experimenting with ways to make affordable ADUs a reality.
Are Urban Planners Staying Silent on Climate Gentrification?
Holmdel, New Jersey, moved its affordable housing to flood-prone land, raising a question about planners' ethical obligations to speak up against such moves.
ADUs: Defined, Disambiguated, and Debated
Accessory dwelling units are being touted as a way to provide more affordable rental units for tenants, and additional monthly income for homeowners. But some cities allow them, others don’t. So what are ADUs exactly?