Conrad Egan
What do Saul Alinsky, Students for a Democratic Society, HUD, and the Housing and Community Development Department of Fairfax County, Virginia, have in common?
Conrad...
HAMP Is Not Enough
The federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program has a lot of mass appeal. But banks have been slow to act and HAMP was never intended to be the sole solution to the foreclosure crisis. HAMP needs backup.
Interview with HUD Secretary Julian Castro
Shelterforce got a chance to speak with Secretary Julian Castro about some of the current ways in which he’s working to make HUD a force for good in people’s lives, and what steps there are left to be taken.
PETRA, and What It Means for the ‘Public’ in ‘Public Housing’
As housing advocates, policy analysts, and tenant organizers have examined PETRA, they have found concerns that need to be aired.
Does Public Housing Have a Future?
Everybody hates public housing, except the low-income people who live there and the people on the long waiting lists to get in. After years of neglect, the Obama administration wants to save public housing for future generations. Let's let them.
You Don’t Have to Go Home — You Just Can’t Stay Here
The wags at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — a.k.a the U.S. immigration agency — launched a pilot program last week that would allow...
CHA Back in Charge
After 23 years, the Chicago housing authority is no longer in receivership. The court-ordered receivership had placed administrative duties in the hands of a...
What’s in Store for PETRA?
At the time it was unveiled last year, the Obama administration’s Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act, or PETRA (see SF, Summer...
Why the Presidential Race Ignores Urban America
Despite overwhelming media coverage, the 2016 presidential race has ignored the housing and economic crises impacting urban America.
Neither Bernie Sanders nor Hillary Clinton has...
Think Globally, Act Regionally
Several other Rooflines bloggers have speculated about the impact of a new emphasis on metropolitan areas coming from the federal level. This past Friday,...
HUD’s New Team
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama administration is equipped with an impressive list of housing experts at the top.
The State of Vacant Property Registration
“Local Vacant Property Registration Ordinances in the U.S.: An Analysis of Growth, Regional Trends, and Some Key Characteristics,” by Dan Immergluck, Yun Sang Lee...
ACORN Rates State Attorneys General on Foreclosure Prevention Leadership
While America has been waiting for Congress and state legislatures to get their act together on the foreclosure crisis, some state attorneys general have...
Left Behind by the “Rescue”
At week’s end, there’s not much good news, but instead a world of pain to report.
As of today, Americans have a “rescue plan” that...
The Risk In The System Starts to Come Home
Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel that watches over the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has never been...
It’s All About the Votes
With the news talking about close races in swing states, and voter intimidation in full swing, the importance of voter...
Congress Agrees: Collaborative, Comprehensive Care Needed For Rural Vets
Rural America has a strong history of protecting our country. In fact, as highlighted in a recent report on...
Malign Neglect? Urban Policy in the Trump Era
To paraphrase physicist Niels Bohr, (or maybe it was Yogi Berra), “predicting is difficult, especially when it’s about the...
Defending DACA Is a Moral and Economic Imperative
President Donald Trump has decided to end the Obama-era program that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants. Over the course of its five-year history,...
Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development, April 6
Gentrification Is Bad For One's Health | Housing Teachers-At School | Protecting Space for Local Business | TOD Doesn't Have to Displace | Community Artists Win in Court | More . . .