Whatever Happened to ...
To know where we’re going, we need to know where we’ve been. Every now and then we need to take a look back to see how things have changed—how did promising or ambitious initiatives pan out? Did the trends that seemed to be going strong stay on course? How were thorny challenges resolved? Our first official Under the Lens series revisits some of our past coverage and asks, “Whatever happened to that?”
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The Permanent Affordability That Wasn’t: Lessons from the Pythian Building
A high-stakes, high-profile community land trust project once hailed as a triumph in New Orleans ended in disaster for its residents, but it’s important to draw the right lessons about why.
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West Virginia Tackles Vacancy With Tax Reform
In 2018, Shelterforce wrote about the Center for Community Progress’s recommendations for tax reform in West Virginia to address vacancy. Guided by CCP’s suggestions, the state auditor’s office has recently passed two laws to change its tax sales process and keep properties in use.
How It’s Working: Laws That Help Tenants and Nonprofits Buy Buildings
Shelterforce checks in on three communities that have passed policies giving tenants and nonprofits first dibs on purchasing property. Are these policies keeping residents in their homes?
What Happened to Rent Control in Minneapolis?
Minneapolis voters gave their city council the power to enact rent control by ordinance. Two years later, the future of rent control is still in limbo.
Where Missoula Built Sidewalks, A Health Equity Focus Followed
The Missoula City-County Health Department is working to expand health equity through a full-time government position, five years after a health initiative brought new sidewalks to low-income neighborhoods.
Louisiana to Drop Lawsuits Against Katrina Survivors Over Recovery Grants
Louisiana sued thousands of homeowners for not following the rules in how they spent recovery grants. After a joint news investigation, the governor announced that the state won’t try to collect the money.
New Philly Land Trust Was Promised Dozens of Homes; How’s It Going?
Two years ago, Philadelphia officials agreed to give 59 vacant buildings to homeless advocates. The historic deal has faced several setbacks, but is still moving forward.
Paying Hospitals to Build Housing—New Jersey Program Expands
More affordable housing projects approved, new funding for scattered-site improvements for substandard housing, and talks about replicating the program beyond the Garden State.
Looking Back: Good Outcomes for Affordable Housing on Transit Land, Tenants Facing Eviction, and More
In our next installment, we take a look at some positive outcomes—what happened with affordable housing on transit-owned land, cooperative agency work in Massachusetts that helped at-risk people, and the Minneapolis tenants who were facing eviction after court wins against their landlord.
Burdensome Documentation Requirements Keep NOLA Homeowners from Getting Home
The Road Home program was supposed to help thousands of families rebuild their homes after Hurricane Katrina. Instead, $33 million was left undistributed, and now the Louisiana Office of Community Development is suing homeowners who couldn’t rebuild.
CLTs Still Going Commercial—Nonprofit Offices, Hairdressers, and a Sausage Factory
Community land trusts, better known for permanently affordable housing, expand into commercial spaces for a wide range of reasons, and in a wide range of ways.
Affordable BeltLine Project Still in Progress in Atlanta
It was a decade ago when the Atlanta BeltLine partnership set a goal of creating almost 6,000 units of affordable housing, as well as a collaborative of land trusts. What’s happened since? Did the partnership achieve its intended goals?
From PETRA to RAD—The Path to Converting 140,000 Public Housing Units
More than $10 billion in private financing has been invested in public housing thanks to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. But housing advocates say it comes at a cost, and there still isn’t enough oversight of the program.