Opinion

A close nighttime view of the front of a squad car, with red and blue lights glowing on the roof, and red and blue lights in the grille. The headlights are also on. The windshield appears black and no people are visible in the car.

Sweeps Aren’t Outreach—Policing Homelessness Still Doesn’t Work

A new study shines light on the connection between homeless outreach teams and policing, and examines why so many cities are still using resident complaints to guide their response to the homelessness crisis.
Against a blue sky, a view from street level of part of an imposing seven-story building in red and tan brick with red-brick towers at intervals.

Social Housing: How a New Generation of Activists Is Reinventing Housing

Not so long ago, social housing was rarely discussed in the U.S. Today. there are over a dozen social housing campaigns across the country.

We Must Strengthen the Labor-Housing Coalition

It's time to forge a new coalition of labor unions and housing justice activists at the national, state, and local levels.
A broadly smiling woman with dark skin and braids, wearing a black shirt with a green-leaf logo on it, stands in front of a medium-blue wall. A business name, The Olive Street Agency, with the green-leaf logo, is printed (or affixed) to the wall in white capital letters.

CDFIs Shouldn’t Act Like Banks, But Too Often Do

When receiving bank funding, CDFIs often limit their investments in accordance with bank restrictions. How can reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act help center the needs of underserved communities?
A park bench by a cracked sidewalk. There's graffiti on the bench seat, and the back is printed with "Baltimore/The Greatest City in America." Behind the bench is a brick wall with a gray metal vent at the left.

The Dirty Little Secret—Rising Property Values Are Incompatible with Affordability

Rising property values come with positive community development, but this shift can make neighborhoods inaccessible to low-income renters and fixed-income homeowners.
The Virginia State Capital seen frmo the bottom of the steps leading up to it, on a sunny day.

Should Virginia Build Housing for Public Servants on Public Land?

Amid widespread rent increases, directing public land to affordable housing could allow people to stay in their communities, as well as reduce commutes and employee turnover.
Aerial view of brick three-story buildings in Philadelphia, in golden light, with a church tower in the distance. At top right, part of a big rainbow is visible

Appraisal Bias Is the Fair Housing Issue of the Day

Newly released data on home appraisal practices is a step forward in the fight against racially biased appraisals. There’s still a long way to go.
Aerial view of a suburb with hundreds of houses built close together on curving streets and no sign of green anywhere

Is the Solution to Homelessness Obvious?

Some say yes. But simply making it easier to build will not reach those who are unhoused.
Three children eating spaghetti at a kitchen table. One, wearing a striped shirt, is dangling a strand of spaghetti in the air and eating it from the end. The child on the right has a very messy face, and at left, a child in a high-chair is holding a spoon or fork.

Proposed AFFH Rule Doesn’t Address Renters Directly—But It Should

Renters' rights are fair housing rights. Before publishing a final Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, HUD must specifically address the needs of renters. Here's how.
An extreme close-up of a dollar bill showing the dome of the U.S. Capitol

Federal and State Dollars Could Be Used to Force Change in Exclusionary Towns

Strict zoning policies keep housing unaffordable. But there are strategies governments can implement to change exclusionary housing policies and promote the construction of more affordable housing.
A group of about 30 people stand in a large room with marble architectural details. All are smiling broadly. Three are holding signs: one says "#RightToCounsel" and two others say "Law Students for RTC."

Three Ways AFFH Has Advanced Housing Justice

Grassroots organizers have used the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule to strengthen communities in the past. These examples show what we should advocate for in a new AFFH rule. 

Public Housing Must Be a Part of Fair Housing Planning

Because their programs provide the most deeply affordable housing in the country, public housing authorities should be both supported in improving fair housing outcomes and held to account when they fall short.

Why Bangor’s Affordable Housing Policies Won’t Address Homelessness

After the population of unhoused people in Bangor increased during the pandemic, the city put forward a series of affordable housing solutions. But the new policies may harm unhoused residents rather than help them.
Under a blue sky, in a large arching gateway is suspended a banner that reads "End Rent Burden." Below it is a line of 11 picketers holding signs that say "UAW on Strike: Unfair Labor Practice." A passerby is talking to one of the picketers.

Tenants Rights Advance in California

Reaction to the housing crisis in California has led to a series of gains for tenants, including a new Renters’ Caucus.
A person holding eggs.

Egg Prices and Rents—What Do They Have in Common?

Avian flu gave companies cover to price gouge. Could the attention to lack of housing supply do the same for landlords?
A 1953 postcard advertising a model home, a small Cape Cod with a stone front and two dormer windows. The side of the house is painted red.

Reforming Zoning in a Racist Market Still Worth It

In a racist society, markets cause racist housing outcomes, but nonetheless the influence of land use regulation shouldn't be ignored.
At left, tall apartment towers. At right, trees, In foreground, several mostly submerged cars in brown floodwaters, under a blue sky.

How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Protect Low-income Renters From Climate Change

Climate change is an especially large threat to low-income residents. The Inflation Reduction Act offers a chance to act.
Two women in a crowd of protesters hold a big hand-lettered sign that says "Power to the tenants." Other people near and behind them are also holding signs.

Biden’s Renters Rights Blueprint: Meaningful or Not?

What should we make of the administration’s tenants rights announcement?
View from across the road of homeless tents lining the freeway in Los Angeles. Behind them are palm trees, with multistory apartment buildings in the background

Bordering Towns in LA County Clash Over Their Homeless Policies

Local governments often come to different conclusions about how to address homelessness within their respective city borders. Varying approaches only exacerbate the problem.
Six people in winter coats and hats stand across the street from a construction site. At the center, a young man in a cloth cap stands at a podium gesturing as he speaks.

How Atlantic Yards Failed to Deliver Affordable Homeownership (With a Hakeem Jeffries Cameo)

Atlantic Yards demonstrates that developers' promises must be backed up in contracts, otherwise economic and political cycles can undermine them.