The Latest

A crowd of protesters gather in front of the U.S. supreme court. One woman is speaking. They are holding signs that say "housing solves homelessness" and "housing not handcuffs."

Explore Articles in this Topic

Search & Filter Within this Topic

filter by Content Type

filter by Date Range

search by Keyword

A vacant building in New York City that has boarded up windows and a "Get Rich" signs for a kid cut.
Housing

Housing, Not Warehousing—A Victory 10 Years in the Making

Warehousing is one of real estate’s best-kept secrets, and a crucial piece of how the housing market can keep supply low and demand high. One New York City organization rallied to prove warehousing still posed a problem, and pushed the boundaries of what was politically possible.

Several residents, as well as some children, enjoy outside exercise equipment.
CDCs

Getting Health on Board

It’s becoming increasingly common for community development corporations and grassroots housing organizations to have board members from the health care sector. Here’s why.

Eastern Market food advertisement banners on old buildings in downtown Detriot.
Housing

Inclusionary Housing in Soft or Mixed Markets

The time to strike isn’t when the iron is hot. Cities in soft or mixed markets should adopt inclusionary housing policies before the housing market heats up and the process becomes even more challenging.

homeless camp under bridge
Community Development Field

Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development, May 4

A Trauma-Centered Approach to Youth Violence in Cleveland | We May Know Who Benefits From Port Covington | What Housing Crisis? | Clearing Homeless Encampments in Philadelphia | Restaurant Tax for Affordable Housing

Community Control

“More Than the Sum of Our Property Values”

How can power over land be used in such a way that people who are at a political disadvantage—who are poor, members of racial, ethnic or religious minorities, very young or very old, or have a disability—benefit? How about those who cannot speak for themselves, like trees or rivers?

Community Control

Community Rights and Urban Land

The contemporary American understanding of community control over urban land is rooted in post-war organizing against government-driven redevelopment and bank-driven financial disinvestment. Broader movement groups, like the Chicago chapter of […]

Community Control

Co-ops: Resistance to Living in the Land of the Lord

For Section 8 recipients, a step toward economic mobility (and community control) can be limited-equity cooperatives. A Section 8 voucher can be used to pay some of the monthly carrying costs of a co-op unit.

Carin McKay and Chris Carlsson at City Hall during a Mission No Eviction protest in 2015. Charlsson holds a sign that reads "We support the Pigeon Palace becomming a SF Community Land Trust."
Housing

The Fight Is Unfinished in San Francisco

Stabilizing their home came at a steep price. These residents no longer face the threat of possible eviction, but they now confront the well-disguised iron hand of the market wrapped in the velvet gloves of “affordability” and “fairness,” pitting them against efforts by their public financiers to force them into higher rents over time.

Affordability

Interrupting Inequality Through Community Control of Land

Our belief is that community in CLTs emerges not from the simple fact of membership, but from the relationships, cooperative efforts—and disputes–of those occupying and making decisions over the land.

Housing

Settling Homeless Families in Vacant Homes

Take Back the Land broke into foreclosed, vacant homes, performed repairs, and housed homeless families in them. The most hopeful lesson to draw from the land occupation and the squatting activities is that pressure can be applied anywhere.

A family of four sit under an umbrella in front of the land trust home.
Affordability

Community Ownership Redefines ‘Highest and Best Use’

The “highest and best use” of real estate should be the maximum fulfillment of social, environmental, and economic benefit for the greatest number of stakeholders including future generations.

Community Control

Community Land Cooperatives Should Oversee Neighborhood Economic Development

This nonprofit is organizing a real estate investment cooperative for the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, with the exclusive purpose of incubating, funding, and assisting “community land cooperatives.”