Topic
Organizing
Community development relies on policies, resources, and recognition that were won by decades of organizing—and organizing remains essential to face new threats, preserve existing wins, and continue to fight back against the big lie that the way things are is inevitable.
The Latest
How State Coalitions Are Advancing Community Ownership of Housing
In recent years, housing coalitions promoting community land trusts and real estate cooperatives have formed in multiple cities and states—and they are achieving results. Nonetheless, a lot of work is needed to achieve the policy changes these groups desire.
Explore Articles in this Topic
Search & Filter Within this Topic
filter by Content Type
filter by Date Range
search by Keyword
America’s Affordable Housing Lottery Explained in 3 Minutes
Housing policy has the ability to exacerbate or mitigate extreme income inequality in American cities. Where incomes are growing and inequality is increasing, cities like New York and San Francisco, […]
Stories of Change
The Architecture of Change: Building a Better World, edited by Jerilou Hammett and Maggie Wrigley. University of New Mexico Press, November 2013, 328 pp. $49.95 (hardcover).
Activists Have Long Known That Donald Sterling Is Racist
I am a huge sports fan and I grew up in and currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, of course, I am cheering for the Golden State […]
Fighting for the Right to Remain in Southwest Yonkers
Waverly Arms is a federally subsidized building located in southwest Yonkers that my organization, Tenants & Neighbors—a tenant advocacy group—has been involved with since 2008. The building’s tenants have weathered […]
To Close the Gender Wage Gap, Start Here
It's exciting that President Obama wants to narrow the gender wage gap, as was widely reported. Here's a good first step: updating federal contracting regulations. It hasn't been done since […]
The Crapo-Johnson Housing Finance Bill Is a Disaster
Less than a decade after we saw a meltdown in the mortgage market that almost sank our financial system, Congress seems intent on creating a system of mortgage finance where […]
Here’s How HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program Could Be Better
We know that where families live can seriously effect their quality of life. Many predictors of health, education, and financial success start with place. It's one thing to see these […]
Embracing Affirmative Action, Imperfections And All
In a piece on my personal blog, I referenced a bigger politics of social and economic justice vs. a more narrow politics of identity/representation. Those of us who work in […]
Occupy Wall Street: A New Wave of Fair Housing Activism?
Is there a new community reinvestment movement afoot?
More Progress, and Peril, on the Home Opportunity Front
Earlier this month, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs released a discussion draft of legislation to overhaul the nation’s housing finance system. Early analysis indicates that, while […]
Community Developers, Don’t Ignore This Housing Finance Reform Bill
As the U.S. emerges from the housing crisis, the fundamental architecture of mortgage markets is being decided. Although it is sometimes hard for community developers to think about topics as […]
No, Minimum Rents Do Not “Encourage Financial Responsibility”
President Obama's 2015 Budget seeks to impose a $50 per month minimum rent on tenants living in USDA Rural Development (RD) financed Section 515 Rural Rental Housing and Section 514 […]