Jan/Feb 2000
Issue #109
New Challenges
For many CBDOs incorporating arts as a community building strategy, the arts are a key force binding a community, strengthening the civil society by providing a venue to share experience, culture, and values. Without a doubt, arts are an important component of community building. But should they be a CRA-eligible investment? Also in this issue, an article on predatory lending. Only North Carolina has enacted legislation to limit it. Similar bills are working their way through legislatures in a handful of other states, and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition is working to develop model legislation to limit this practice. We report on a Florida project that identified the housing and service needs of elderly tenants in subsidized housing and recommended models of affordable housing that providers should consider. Also in this issue, a brief overview of the newly released budget proposal for FY 2001, two book reviews, and an article on fundraising.
Arts Build Community
CDCs now recognize that art and cultural activities can be useful tools toward building a community’s identity, meaning, and spirit. But bank regulators have not yet reached a sufficient level of comfort with this new strategy.
Predatory Lending: Subprime Lenders trick homeowners into expensive loans.
Laid off after 29 years of working for a local telephone company in North Carolina, “Roberta Green” was struggling. Although she had a part-time job driving a school bus, she […]
Housing the Poor and Vulnerable Elderly
Owners and administrators of government-subsidized rental housing are acutely aware of their older tenants’ changing profile. More than ever, seniors in today’s affordable housing are likely to be in their […]
New Codes for Old Buildings
Rehabilitating old buildings in New Jersey used to be uncertain business. Depending on how much you spent compared to the building’s value, you had to meet the standards for new […]
New Challenges for Community Builders
As we go to press, the federal budget, including the HUD budget for fiscal year 2001, has just been released. The HUD budget, while far from what the millions of […]
Shelter Shorts
Housing Crisis Hurts Student Achievement Affordable housing advocates have long argued that effects of the affordable housing crisis extend well beyond low-income people’s day-to-day struggle to pay rent. Now perhaps […]
Raising Money for Progressive Arts and Culture Organizations
Discussions about the difficulty of raising money for certain issues are generally started by people who feel sorry for themselves. Nevertheless, progressive arts and culture organizations face challenges that can […]
Tenant Organizing Wins One-for-One Replacement
In 1996, a small group of highly organized residents of North Beach public housing in San Francisco began to raise questions about the fate of their homes, due to be […]
Civil Society and Democracy at Crossroads
A Place for Us: How To Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong by Benjamin Barber. Hill and Wang, 1998. 172 pp. Between the two great domains of power in the […]
Changing Rules of Regional Development?
Inside Game/Outside Game: Winning Strategies for Urban America, by David Rusk. Brookings Institution Press, 1999. 384 pp. David Rusk’s book, Inside Game/Outside Game, is a welcome antidote to the often […]
Housing and Community Development Campaign 2000
Decent affordable housing in healthy communities for all Americans is just as essential for our nation’s social and economic well-being as are affordable health care and high-quality education. Yet none […]
HUD Budget Request
President Clinton’s fiscal year 2001 (FY01) budget request submitted to Congress February 7 seeks increases for HUD programs in general. In a recent Memo to Members, National Low Income Housing […]