Explainers

A. Yes! Nonprofits are often uncertain about what they can legally do, but they can get out the vote among their residents, clients, and staff.

A: Yes. Landlords in most places can discriminate against voucher holders, and many do. This often keeps voucher holders in a few segregated neighborhoods.

A: More than half are elderly or disabled. Of the rest, most of them do have a job! Ninety-four percent of rental assistance receipts are …

Yes! Over 50 percent of premature deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to preventable non-medical factors, specifically behavioral, environmental, and social conditions.

A: No! Despite common fears, decades of evidence shows that rent regulation doesn’t restrict housing supply and quality. Feel free to print and distribute! Click on the image above to […]

Shelterforce has gathered some racially loaded terms that are common in our field. We suggest you use these sparingly and carefully, if at all.

While we use terms like “affordable housing,” “moderate income,” “housing poverty,” and “area median income” often, we thought it’d be helpful to explain what all these housing affordability terms mean. Make sure you’re using these 19 terms correctly.

A: No! A long-running program in Philadelphia is showing that scattered site rehab can be cheaper and have a larger revitalizing effect at the same time.

A. Not very much. Despite the claims of many states, when you look at the numbers, the vast majority of taxpayer dollars directed to economic development go to big corporations.

A. Actually they do! However, they tend to be saving for the short term, rather than the long term.

A: A lot! In fact, they are so different that the Democracy Collaborative, which made the chart below, has coined the term “community wealth building” to set apart the truly community-oriented practitioners of economic development.

A: Not for everyone. Even after significant recovery, most of the country still has record high levels of . . .