President-Elect Obama on Smart Growth, Transportation, Cities, and Regions
Here’s a little about what this week’s historic election may mean for smart growth, sustainable development, and metropolitan America, based on Barack Obama’s statements...
California Off a Cliff
Hey everybody, have you heard? The California legislature finally passed a budget plan on July 21 (the constitutional deadline is June 15). The state...
Homeownership: Dream or Nightmare?
Politicians have told us for decades that homeownership is the American Dream. They do this because they get lots of...
The Feds Bow Out: We’re On Our Own
Yes, the federal government is back in business.After 16 days and untold billions in lost earnings and wasted dollars,...
How to Make Housing Affordable for All the Working Poor
The headlines tell the story: “Half of all renters can’t afford the rent.” “Renters, get ready to take it...
Administration’s Assault on Workers Continues in Congress
A proposed 20 percent reduction to the Department of Labor's overall budget would make working people less safe, and will discourage them from speaking up when abuses happen.
The Important Deadline Coming Up for All Governors
States have a deadline to submit their Opportunity Zones nominations. What factors will be weighed in the decision process, and what will federal designation mean to distressed neighborhoods?
The Warren Housing Bill: Ready to Take On The Affordability Crisis?
Sen. Warren's proposed bill represents the kind of holistic housing strategy we need from the federal government in facilitating affordable housing for all Americans in all cities and towns who have been left out, locked out, or exploited over decades by the national housing market.
As Affordable Housing Units Expire, Los Angeles Lags in Preservation Efforts
As thousands of affordable housing units expire, L.A. lags behind other cities in its preservation efforts. But one group of tenants may be victorious.
Q: Who Enforces CRA?
Why are there three different agencies enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA? Who does each agency enforce it on?
A Movement-Based Federal Housing Agenda
What are the New Deal for Housing Justice and the BREATHE Act and how do they move beyond previous housing agendas?
Homes That Last
Counter-cyclical stewardship is the only way to ensure that lower-income families are neither nudged out by rising costs nor forced out by foreclosure.
Interview with Shelley Poticha, Director of Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
Shelterforce speaks with Shelley Poticha, director of HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, about implementing sustainable policy at the federal level while encouraging local innovation, keeping down the cost of green housing, and effecting change while dealing with federal government bureaucracy.
Senator Kennedy’s Awful Diagnosis
Oof—Bad sucker punch from the cosmos on Tuesday.
We all saw the worrisome weekend news about Senator Edward Kennedy’s seizure, but it was followed by...
Service Forum: McCain’s Moment of Truthiness
Just finished watching ServiceNation’s presidential forum on national service, and I’m here to give credit where it’s due: Judy Woodruff asked John McCain to...
Obama’s Challenge: Encourage Social Movements and Other Lessons From FDR and the Great Depression
As Obama prepared his economic recovery plan, he read Jonathan Alter’s The Defining Moment, (Simon and Shuster, 2006) about FDR’s rise to the presidency...
Losing CDBG Funds
The House Appropriations Committee this week introduced HR 1 that funds all federal programs in the current fiscal year. Included in this bill is...
Election 2012: All Over But The Governing
The signs are off the lawns, checkbooks have closed (for now anyway), the president and Congress are back to full-time...
Unfriend Your Neighbor to Get a Loan?
Want to be that one person who bootstraps themselves out of poverty and makes it, against all odds? Not...
GOP Tax Plan Takes Mortgage Interest Deduction Unfairness Off the Charts
Let's raise the standard deduction and lower tax rates to give everyone a tax cut!
It should not surprise you that since this is a...