Policy

The rules of the game—and the attitudes of the players—have an enormous effect on community development work at all levels. Here we look at some of the conversations about how to shift that policy for the better.

Ten smiling people of varying ages and skin tones, all clad in purple T-shirts, stand at the far side of a garden, all of them holding shrubby green plants in black pots to be planted in the dark-brown newly turned soil. Toward the near side of the garden, a shovel lies waiting to be deployed. Behind the garden is a brick building with a mural showing adults and children raising their arms, mouths open in song or chant.

Supreme Court Decision: Good for Homeowners, Bad for Land Banks?

A SCOTUS ruling that protects a homeowner’s equity may end up benefiting speculators and hurting land banks.
Open door to a new home with key and home shaped keychain.

A Critical Look at the Section 8 Program, a Webinar

In September, Shelterforce’s Shelby R. King was invited to participate in a virtual “Housing Hangout.” Panelists discussed the history of the Section 8 program, its strong points and failings, and ideas for large-scale reforms.
An across-the-street view of a large domed building with broad steps leading up to the pillared front. Two people on the sidewalk are taking a photo, and two others are strolling by. The sky is a deep autumnal blue and the trees lining the plaza are in bright fall reds and oranges.

West Virginia Tackles Vacancy With Tax Reform

In 2018, Shelterforce wrote about the Center for Community Progress's recommendations for tax reform in West Virginia to address vacancy. Guided by CCP's suggestions, the state auditor’s office has recently passed two laws to change its tax sales process and keep properties in use.
A night view of San Francisco, with a dark blue sky and golden lights shining in all the windows.

San Francisco Is Fighting to Keep Its Homeless Sweeps Going—With or Without Shelter

Courts are curbing cities’ ability to threaten, cite, or arrest people merely for being homeless. Now states and cities are searching for loopholes to avoid the injunctions.
View from across the street of a row of six apartment buildings, all three stories, in varying brick shades. All have square patches of lawn in front and wrought-iron fences with gates. At far right is parked a silver sedan. There are no people in the photo.

How It’s Working: Laws That Help Tenants and Nonprofits Buy Buildings

Shelterforce checks in on three communities that have passed policies giving tenants and nonprofits first dibs on purchasing property. Are these policies keeping residents in their homes?
A group of people stand around a person with a megaphone. There are signs in the back of the room.

What Happened to Rent Control in Minneapolis?

Minneapolis voters gave their city council the power to enact rent control by ordinance. Two years later, the future of rent control is still in limbo.
A stylized drawing of an urban scene done in the style of a blueprint. A crane looms over rows of buildings.

Will ‘Critical Race Theory’ Attacks Undermine Urban Planning Education?

Laws meant to restrict professors from discussing how race has shaped public policy could target the factual discussion of housing policy and its history—but professors say they don’t intend to go along.
Several people in winter clothing stand outdoors on a sunny day holding signs. At center, a light-skinned woman in late middle age holds a sign that says "Safe Homes for All," written in red paint. Other people, partly visible, hold printed signs calling for rent control. Behind the protesters are hemlock trees and beyond them, partly visible, are tall buildings.

‘Renters Are Struggling’: Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control

"We have seen corporate landlords—who own a larger share of the rental market than ever before—use inflation as an excuse to hike rents and reap excess profits beyond what should be considered fair and reasonable."
A small, one-story, gray-shingled cottage with a red door and white trim, with overhanging trees on the left and right.

FHA Changes Could Make ADU Construction More Affordable

The Federal Housing Administration may soon allow homeowners to count projected rent toward their qualifying income to build an accessory dwelling unit. While ADU advocates call the change “monumental,” the proposed policy isn’t perfect.
A nighttime photo in Jersey City, NJ. The photo is take on the side of a street, with orange light trails in the center of the image going down the street. There are parked cars on the right side of the image, and high-rise buildings to the left.

Jersey City Grants Free Counsel to Renters Facing Eviction

Jersey City renters can’t keep up with a housing crisis fueled by proximity to New York City. A new right to counsel program, funded by development fees, could help.
Six disabled people of color smile and pose in front of a concrete wall. Five people stand in the back, with the Black woman in the center holding up a chalkboard sign reading "disabled and here." A South Asian person in a wheelchair sits in front.

Which U.S. Laws Require Accessibility in Housing—And How Well Do They Do?

Activists have been fighting for decades to expand accessible housing for disabled residents. They’ve made progress, but say that current regulations and enforcement don’t go far enough.
A composite picture that includes blueprint-style drawings on blue, a row of apartments in pink and a tall tower in blue. Large figures are a smiling young woman with long black hair and a smiling young man in a wheelchair. Smaller images include people with canes and in wheelchairs, and two men seated on a bench at a bus stop, the older one wearing dark glasses and holding a cane.

Disability Justice and Equity in Housing

Welcome to Shelterforce’s newest Under the Lens series, Not Just Ramps—Disability and Housing Justice. This introductory article lays out why the connection between disability and affordable housing is so strong, and why it’s so important for housers to understand.
A senior Black woman wearing top and pants in shades of pink with a dark gray sweater, and wearing a surgical mask, sits in an armchair facing a home healthcare nurse. She is Black, with very short hair and wearing black-rimmed glasses, blue scrub top; also wearing a surgical mask and stethoscope, and carrying a clipboard or tablet. On the wall behind the seated woman is a bright blue artwork.

How States Can Use Medicaid to Address Housing Costs

New federal guidance enables states to use Medicaid dollars to support housing needs.
A dark-skinned woman in a red blouse stands holding a mic and looking at a screen on which is projected "What are TIFs?" with several bullet points beneath in much smaller type. Behind her is a curtain, and in the corner a table and chair with some meeting materials on them. The audience she is speaking to is not visible.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF): Revitalization Tool, Developer Handout … or Both?

Tax increment financing attracts development in disinvested areas, but it also diverts millions of tax revenue away from city services to investors. And some claim officials are using the program in racist and corrupt ways. What is TIF? And how does it work?
View from the end of the driveway of a new-looking white two-story house with a two-car garage, front porch with an overhang, and a gabled roof. The front yard is still all muddy soil with tire tracks.

When a Land Bank Starts a Land Trust

An Ohio land bank adds to its developing power through a nonprofit land trust.
A room bare of furnishings except a mattress on the floor. The walls are yellow, the window frame is light green. The blinds are closed. There's a bare-bulb light fixture on the wall casting a glary light

Who Gets Tenant Protection Vouchers?

A program to stabilize residents whose subsidized housing is disrupted has also been used to support other highly vulnerable residents, but those uses are a matter of controversy.
A mountainous Colorado landscape

Colorado Passed a Historic Affordable Housing Measure. Is It Enough?

The state underfunded affordable housing for decades, but voters recently approved $300 million in new annual spending—and more could be coming.
A sign saying "Closed" hands in a window that reflects treetops and the sky. The interior of the building is dark.

PHAs Could House People with Convictions, But Most Don’t

Policy changes by local public housing authorities can be transformative for Americans with convictions, and for their families.
Two-story brick apartment houses surrounded by evergreens and deciduous trees. At right are several parked cars. A woman in a pink top and gray leggings is raking leaves along the curb.

Albany’s Good-Cause Eviction Law Worked—Before the Courts Blocked It

As local tenant protections face judicial backlash across New York, tenants are pushing for a statewide version of the law.
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.