Stop Talking About Displacement
A well informed community organizing effort with a targeted purpose should be the first line of defense in protecting opportunities for wealth building and access to opportunities for upward mobility in working class communities as they experience inevitable changes.
Place Matters, But Place Changes
“Place matters, but place changes,” Univ. of Southern Calif. professor Manuel Pastor observed at the opening plenary at PolicyLink’s...
Gentrification and Public Schools: It’s Complicated
An influx of more affluent families and their resources and advocacy is just what every struggling school needs, right? Well . . .
Interview with HUD Secretary Julian Castro
Shelterforce got a chance to speak with Secretary Julian Castro about some of the current ways in which he’s working to make HUD a force for good in people’s lives, and what steps there are left to be taken.
Safe Havens
Housing first, yes, but then services, recreation, education: These are all pillars to building strong communities, and most importantly, strong people.
Author Roundtable
Shelterforce authors discuss the roles of place, mobility, and displacement on health and neighborhoods.
It’s Not Actually About Ownership
Private Property and Public Power: Eminent Domain in Philadelphia,
by Debbie Becher. Oxford University Press, 2014. 334pp. $30.50 (paper)
Purchase here.
Gentrification Is More Widespread Than We Think
In Miriam Axel-Lute’s recent post here, “Place Matters But Place Changes,” she references “a study done by Governing magazine...
Q: Is a Land Bank the Same As a Land Trust?
A: Nope. They are totally different, though complementary tools. This chart will walk you through the differences.
Managing Neighborhood Change
This report presents a strategic framework that can help practitioners and policymakers foster sustainable and equitable neighborhood revitalization, building on solid market demand while ensuring that the neighborhood’s lower-income households will benefit from the changes that have taken place.
Q: Do Section 8 voucher holders increase crime in a neighborhood?
A: No! This is a perennial fear, but research shows that additional voucher holders don't change the crime rate at all. However it does show that . . .
Interpreting Segregation
The Poverty & Race Research Action Council has received a number of inquiries on the widely publicized report from the...
What Happens Once the Artists Arrive?
Conventional wisdom says that artists and gay people are tend to be pioneers in distressed neighborhoods, signs that change is...
20 Years Later, What HOPE VI Can Teach Us
Affordable housing programs are at great risk of elimination under the current administration. In this uncertain climate, what can we learn from a program that leveraged private interest while aspiring to be a protector of affordable housing?
Making a Pipeline for Vacant Building Rehab
Baltimore’s Vacants to Value program sparked revitalization block by block with a few key legal powers and partnerships.
Parking Lots to Craft Fairs
Nashville holds—and supports—a diverse, creative community that adds as much value to our city as the musicians and songwriters for which we are better known.
Television: The Drug of the Public Realm
I have been constantly astounded since I moved back to the city last summer at the extent to which television has penetrated our public...
What Creating a ‘Stable Neighborhood’ Really Means
Last month I wrote about why Project Rebuild is basically a bad idea, and why the Obama administration is making...
Engaging the Public Schools: Are You Ready?
Many community development organizations approach the issue of public education with trepidation. Too many public schools have been entrenched in mediocrity for too long....
Poem: “Gentrification”
I have seen a neighborhood eat itself for dinner