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.

Housing the Working Poor

What big ideas should housing activists put forward to the next president and Congress? Assuming that a Democrat wins the White House and that the Democrats hold onto or even expand their majority in Congress, housing advocates have an opening to promote a progressive agenda. Are we ready?

Dragged Down by Regs

For an "emergency" measure, NSP came so loaded with ever-shifting regulations and restrictions it was hard to get any money out the door. It's getting better, but more could be done.

Tough Love for TARP

The Congressional Oversight Panel assembled a year ago when TARP was enacted in order to review the regulatory system and financial markets offered some encouraging words, but an overall sobering analysis, in October in...

Tune into NHI & PDI Web cast—How To Get Out of the Mortgage...

For those of you unable to tune into our June 3 Learning Lab Web cast held in collaboration with The Professional Development Institute, here’s a link to the archived version. John Taylor,...

Does HUD’s “Hope” Float?

Today’s New York Times editorial titled “Show Us the Hope” slams the inadequacies of both the Bush administration’s and Congress’s attention to the plight of homeowners caught in the foreclosure crisis that is behind...

Finally Touching That Third Rail?

Rail travel is romanticized so much in our nation’s culture — be it in song, film, or political theater — that it’s easy to forget that we forgot about it a long time ago. We...

House Subcommittee Votes to Eliminate Housing Trust Fund

A House subcommittee voted to stamp out the National Housing Trust Fund this week, signaling a very difficult road ahead for fund advocates. Of course, the fund, a flagship objective of the National Low...

Budget Reaction Roundup: Social Security Cuts Dominate

Reaction to Obama's proposed FY 2014 is coming in fast and, in some cases, furious. We're seeing mixed feedback to his proposals, with some lauding the benefits of compromise...
Extreme closeup of 1040 income tax form

Homeownership Tax Credits

Congress is likely to enact some kind of homeownership tax credit, perhaps as early as this year. Given Bush’s agenda, it may be a very regressive one.

Carson Tries to Please Everyone in Confirmation Hearing, Mostly Succeeds

Triage is in effect among those opposed to the incoming administration and the president-elect's cabinet picks. This morning’s Senate hearing for Ben Carson was not a exercise in determining...
Row of trailer homes with mountains in the background.

A Policy Agenda for Manufactured Home Owners

In Minnesota, ten mobile home communities have closed in the past twenty-five years, and no new ones have opened. This uncertainty affects nearly 3 million Americans who are residents in the nation’s 50,000 manufactured housing communities. While most of these homeowners own their own homes, they rent the land, leaving them vulnerable to dramatic rent increases, arbitrary rules, and even eviction.
homeless camp under bridge

Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development, May 4

A Trauma-Centered Approach to Youth Violence in Cleveland | We May Know Who Benefits From Port Covington | What Housing Crisis? | Clearing Homeless Encampments in Philadelphia | Restaurant Tax for Affordable Housing
Sol2Sol banner at the climate march

It Takes Strong Roots to Achieve Climate Justice

Throughout 2018's Sol-2-Sol climate justice convening, indigenous people led many of the actions and activities.

Reaching Out to Voters in the Justice System

Many people lose their right to vote while incarcerated and don’t regain it after their sentences are over. There are many more people involved in the justice system who can vote but don’t know it. Communities could increase their political power if they could reach these voters.

We Need Rental Registries Now More Than Ever

Most communities lack a way of collecting real-time data on whether landlords are complying with rules. A rental registry could change that.

A Once Reliable Way to Refinance Older Affordable Housing Gets Harder to Access

It had been relatively easy for a developer to get 4 percent tax credits, but that’s no longer true in many places. How is this affecting nonprofit housing developers—and could the human infrastructure bill help?
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a White House podium.

Biden Has Power to Impose Rent Control, Say Housing Advocates

There’s legal precedent for the administration to limit rent hikes at least on all buildings with federally backed loans.

Brave New World for Nonprofits

The current "bathtub recession" poses a drowning hazard for community development and housing groups, as philanthropic giving shrinks and foundations look beyond nonprofits for solutions to social problems.

Nicolas P. Retsinas

Nicolas P. Retsinas, a senior lecturer in real estate at the Harvard Business School and director emeritus of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, talks with Shelterforce about his long service in the housing field.

One Year Later

Numerous groups, from grassroots organizations to national researchers have been following the progress, or lack thereof, in rebuilding the Gulf Coast region post-Katrina. Here are two reports that offer both assessments and recommendations from...