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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.
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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.
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FHFA: Orphaned No More
Since being taken into conservatorship, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two U.S. housing mortgage giants, have been treated as unwanted orphans. The massive size of their taxpayer bailouts was […]
Mel Watt, Get to Work!
Monday marked a big victory for housing advocates as Rep. Mel Watt was sworn in to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He replaces Edward DeMarco, who many housing advocates […]
The Quest to Create Standards for Affordable Homeownership
Stakeholder engagement is the heart of any successful community development effort. If you’ve ever worked for a community organization or been involved in a community project, you’ve probably spent a […]
The Push for Public School
Confusion, ambivalence and anger all seem to accompany many discussions of public education. High stakes testing, positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) , wrap around services, isolation rooms, and common core […]
A Year of Progress….Let’s Not Screw it Up!
There was major action on the home opportunity front this past year, the result of persistent activism by advocates, joined by millions of everyday Americans. The gains set the stage […]
Titling Homes as Homes: A Novel Idea
I wrote in June that housing advocates should look to today's manufactured home as a tool to meet affordable housing demand. After all, it is less costly than many other […]
Jon Kest’s Activism, New York’s Future
Thousands of Bill de Blasio’s grassroots supporters—as well as the small inner circle of advisers who helped catapult him into office and will help guide the newly elected mayor as […]
Nelson Mandela was a Community Organizer
Off the top of your head, what was Nelson Mandela’s job title? “Icon?” Nope. “Inspiring speaker?” Nope. “National leader?” Nope. “World figure?” Nope. He was, of course, all of these things. Those […]
You Put One Seed in the Ground, You Get Many in Return
The passing of two annual events: Thanksgiving, a time to celebrate the harvest and by extension with family, and Black Friday, an event that encapsulates our consumer economy provided a […]
Take Note: Berlin Thrives with a Declining Population and Housing Surplus
A few months ago I wrote a piece for Shelterforce and a related piece for Rooflines on Mumbai. There I argued that our ideas and practices about housing and community […]
CDCs: You Don’t Have to Develop Real Estate to Be a Success
This is part two of my post on community development and community organizing. In my first post, I argued that community development corporations needed to revitalize their relationship to community […]
U.S. Catholic Funders: Resist Calls to Abandon Social Justice
In the last few years community organizers have learned it’s in their self-interest to become astute Vatican watchers. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) which is run by the US Conference […]