Topic
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.
The Latest
Blocked, Restored, Blocked Again—Housing Funds Are in Legal Limbo
Since Trump took office, the administration has blocked multiple affordable housing funding streams. Here's a look at which funds have been frozen, which have been reinstated, and which are in the courts.
Explore Articles in this Topic
Search & Filter Within this Topic
filter by Content Type
filter by Date Range
search by Keyword
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.
Despite Progress, States Have Work to do to Ensure Access to Affordable Rental Housing and Homeownership
If expanding access to homeownership can reverse the trends of growing racial wealth inequality, why are we seeing so many states roll back the supports that make homeownership possible?
California Takes Historic Step Toward Affordable Housing for All
Amid a housing crisis in California, legislators last week approved a historic package of bills that will shape the future of housing policy in the state. The bills raise revenues […]
10 Ways to Talk About Inclusionary Housing, Differently
We need to talk about inclusionary housing in a different way that circumvents common misperceptions and creates a new narrative for policymakers in moderate markets and more conservative political climates. Here are 10 messages to help frame your conversations.
The Community Reinvestment Act at 40: A Careful Review of the Reviews
A review of HUD’s Cityscape issue, which is devoted to reviews and studies of the Community Reinvestment Act at its 40th anniversary.
We Are All NIMBYs…Sometimes
If we built enough housing, we would still need subsidized housing for many people, but market prices would be low enough that most people could afford them. But we’ve chosen not to. And the reason we give for that choice, more than any other, is that we are trying to preserve or improve the character of our communities.
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, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) […]
In Spite of HUD, Fair Housing Process Can Help Communities
Last year, Philadelphia was one of the first cohorts to go through the AFFH process, a fair housing assessment mandated by HUD to discover impediments to opportunity in the city. […]
Civil Rights Organizations on Hurricane Relief Efforts
Throughout what we know will be a long recovery over the coming weeks, months, and years, Shelterforce hopes to share the stories of the people and organizations charged with serving […]
Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Sustainable Urban Development Projects and “Environmental Gentrification”
Absent a fundamentally new approach to redevelopment planning that places housing affordability at the center of the process, large-scale sustainable development projects are likely to become engines of what has been termed “environmental gentrification.”
If We Want the Arts in Baltimore, We Need Its Artists
Artists have left their mark on Station North and paved the way for an arts district, but the organically-developed communal live/work spaces that play such a vital role in helping make Baltimore an arts mecca are an endangered species.
After a Far Fall, Is Louisiana Becoming a Better Place for its Lower Income Families?
When the 2017 Prosperity Now Scorecard was published last month, it was no surprise that Louisiana ranked second-to-last among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as it typically falls somewhere near the bottom. In many ways, the Scorecard confirmed what we already knew: that most Louisiana families, especially low-income families and families of color, are not faring well financially. What was surprising, however, was how far Louisiana had fallen.