Trump’s Empty Shell of a Promise to Renters
Diane Yentel slams President Trump's latest executive order as "reckless and harmful."
YIMBY, White Privilege, and the Soul of Our Cities
A common narrative being promoted about why there is a housing crisis ignores history and serves to assuage new residents’ guilty feelings. But we can craft a new narrative together.
Policing, Segregation, and Causation vs. Correlation
Racial disparities in police killings increase with segregation. Does this mean segregation causes racialized police violence?
Some Thoughts On This Martin Luther King Jr. Day
On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as one of the lucky ones who actually had the day off to reflect on this great...
Banks Can Earn CRA Credit for COVID Response—But Who’s Benefiting?
All banking activities, regardless of whether they benefit middle- and upper-income or low- and moderate-income people and communities, could count in the next round of CRA exams. This would further disadvantage communities that are already disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Community Organizations Have to Talk About Police Violence Directly
It’s easy to quickly refocus the conversation around police violence on the problems our organizations are already set up to fix—here’s why we shouldn’t.
Just as I Suspected, Paying Rent Is Racist
Every month millions of Black Americans hand over half of our livelihood to the descendants of those who forcefully brought our ancestors here to work for free. Essentially, America is in the business of charging its captives rent.
Better Business, Better Food…Better Community?
At a grand opening for a new retail market operated by a farm family, celebrants posed for a group photo on the sidewalk and...
Two Americas On Display: DC & Las Vegas
I was struck by two hugely contrasting stories in Sunday’s Real Estate section of The Washington Post. If you want evidence that John Edwards’s...
Anti-Displacement Organizing Should Start Here
Organizing in AAPI communities has challenges, but their location and composition make them key in the fight against gentrification. Here's why.
Don’t Just Defer Loans—Start Modifying Loans Now
We have learned how to successfully provide broad-based mortgage payment relief to millions of American households in need. There’s nothing to stop us this time around from doing it right.
Lessons from Post 9/11 America for a Post-COVID Society
A post-COVID society can look different from post 9/11 America if we reject racism, focus on the most vulnerable communities, and balance rapid response with long-term strategies that tackle systemic disparities.
Housing Policy Must Change in Wake of COVID-19
COVID-19 will hurt the low-income and housing insecure the most. We must act now to protect them—and ensure safe housing for all going forward. Here's how.
Two Americas On Display: DC & Las Vegas
I was struck by two hugely contrasting stories in Sunday’s Real Estate section of The Washington Post. If you want evidence that John Edwards’s...
To The New First Family: Welcome To My Hometown
What an exciting time to be a D.C. resident.
In this historic and wonderful week, the Obamas are moving not only to a new job...
Not Your Granddad’s Suburb: Trump’s Racist Appeals Fall Flat In Diversified Suburbs
Trump attempted to win over the suburbs by using racist buzzwords, demonstrating his ignorance of what modern suburbia looks like.
Redlining Would Be Relegalized by CRA Reform Proposal
In an attempt to make compliance easier for banks, regulators are proposing to incentivize the very thing the Community Reinvestment Act was written to fight.
The Most We Can Do: A National Mandate for Housing Justice
As the United States wrestles with its long history of racial injustice, shared-equity programs stand as one solution to address inequality and exclusion in the realms of housing.
Are We Diluting the Mission of Community Land Trusts?
CLTs’ dependence on external grant funding to acquire land and maintain their operations make them particularly susceptible to mission drift. Coming in with this knowledge, organizers may still be able to use the tool adequately or opt for other collective land ownership strategy.
Transportation and Fair Housing Part 1: We Need a Better Measure of Opportunity
Factoring in costs that tend to be lower in urban high-poverty neighborhoods, but not costs that tend to be higher there makes the H+T Index unsuitable as a tool for locating low-income housing.