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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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Organizing the New Tenants Movement
During the past year, the tenants’ movement has suffered major setbacks. Landlords in California and Massachusetts, once strongholds of tenant activism, succeeded in wiping out rent controls. In New York […]
Building A Power Base
The first and most important battle organizers face is working with members to build an independent power base. Building an organization, and forcing a target to deal with your organization, […]
The Early Years
It was during 1973 that I first began thinking about a national publication for the housing movement. I was a legal services lawyer helping to build the New Jersey Tenant […]
Transforming Communities
Over the past few years, many independent, housing focused CDCs have undergone a metamorphosis into broad-based groups or collaboratives. This change is driven from two directions: from without as more […]
How Cambridge Lost Rent Control
25 years ago tenants organized, formed coalitions, took to the streets, and won rent control in Massachusetts. But, after two and half decades of constant battles against powerful and wealthy […]
Neighbors Plow Field of Nightmares
Using an ancient common law right of self-help nuisance abatement, one neighborhood was able to board up vacant houses and evict the drug dealers. What do you do when drug […]
Ann Arbor Tenants Union
For 27 years, the Ann Arbor Tenants Union has worked to put tenants in power and keep landlords on their toes by counseling, educating, and organizing.
The Neighborhood Institute: Training Citizens and Preparing Leaders
Since the 1960s, citizen participation in community development has been an ideal intended to spur neighborhood revitalization. Yet that ideal – embedded in such programs as CDBG and HOME – […]
A Nation in Trouble
Most of us feel today that this country and its communities are in serious trouble. We don’t, however, see anyone doing anything ambitious enough to matter. What you are about […]
Holding Politicians Accountable
The elections of 1994 demonstrated the power of constituent organizing (mostly done by the right wing), the dissatisfaction of many voters with the current work of elected officials, and the […]
ACORN Organizes Public Housing Residents
As the ACORN Tenant Union comes near to completing its first full year of organizing public housing residents, with 150 developments organized representing some 38,000 public housing tenants across the […]
Holding Landlords Accountable
When landlords file for bankruptcy, can tenants get any protection or repairs?