The Latest

Stock image of small gray house, perhaps a dollhouse, with peaked roof and white shutters, surrounded by stacks of pennies, nickels, and quarters. Some of the coin stacks are higher than the house, others have collapsed into piles in front of the house.

Explore Articles in this Topic

Search & Filter Within this Topic

filter by Content Type

filter by Date Range

search by Keyword

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.
Policy

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.
Disability

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

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.

Organizing

We Must Strengthen the Labor-Housing Coalition

It’s time to forge a new coalition of labor unions and housing justice activists at the national, state, and local levels.

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.
Housing

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.
Policy

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?

Community Development Field

Eminent and Notorious: Radical Urban Planner Chester Hartman (1936-2023)

An appreciation of the life and work of Chester Hartman, a radical planner in the service of a vision of social justice.

A tightly cropped black-and-white view of stone Ionic columns at the entrance to a courthouse. Words are carved on the lintel over the columns; visible in this photo are "and blessing."
Eviction

Six Steps to Ensuring a Strong Right to Organize for Tenants

Getting solid legal protections in place will help tenants stick up for themselves more safely and effectively.

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.
Policy

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
Policy

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
Policy

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.
Policy

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.