Shelter Shorts
Redefining Community Benefits When does a community benefits agreement (CBA) not benefit its community? When it is negotiated between elected officials and developers, says Sustainable South Bronx, a nonprofit that […]
Raising Hell and Raising Money, Too
An ally of my agency, the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV), told me about a conversation he once had with the head of the local United Way, […]
Connecting Schools and Housing
For several decades community development corporations (CDCs) around the United States have been giving new life to urban neighborhoods by developing housing and other needed facilities. Concurrently, in many of […]
The Truth About Concentrated Poverty
Last summer, Hurricane Katrina rolled over the Gulf Coast and unearthed an unpleasant truth about the state of poverty in this country: concentrated poverty still exists. Isolated deep in inner-city […]
Rx for Tenants
Doctors and lawyers team up to help tenants stuck in housing that’s bad for their health
Healthy Foods, Strong Communities
Fresh fruits and veggies are good for more than just your health.
The Prevailing Question
Should the people who build low-income housing get the prevailing wage? CDCs say they can’t afford to pay it, but can they really fight poverty if they don’t?
Thinking Collectively
In Boston, labor and community groups are using their shared values to collaborate and win victories
Can Progressives Deliver?
In key races around the country, progressive coalitions are mobilizing grassroots campaigns that just might pay off.
Homeownership Rescue
Homeowners who can’t afford their mortgages can turn to nonprofit housing organizations for help.
“It’s Like You’re Walking But Your Feet Ain’t Going Nowhere.”
In Texas, evacuees from Hurricane Katrina wonder if their lives will ever get back to something approaching normal.
Miami Scandal
After the Miami Herald reported that the city-county housing authority had squandered millions of dollars intended for homes for low-income residents, community activists declared a “state of housing emergency.” Among […]
Preservation in Mind
As more property owners seek to get rid of their federally assisted housing, advocates hope they’ll sell to someone interested in preserving affordability. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) filed a […]
Immigrant Backlash
A city that barred landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants now faces a lawsuit. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and several other groups challenged Hazleton, PA effort […]
Alabama Tenant Victory
It took 13 years, but Alabama Arise’s efforts to win minimal protection for tenants finally bore fruit this year. The governor signed a bill to limit security deposits, define habitable […]
Ohio Fights Predatory Lenders
Politicians from both parties teamed up in Ohio in May to enact a predatory lending law that is arguably tougher than North Carolina’s, which went into effect in 1999. The […]
Brokering Network
Several CDCs in the Memphis area have partnered with Seedco, the national economic development intermediary, to form a mortgage loan network. Members can either create their own mortgage brokerages or […]
NIMBYites Lose One
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that affordable housing development can’t be stopped on the grounds it might hurt neighbors’ property values. The case involved a suburb where […]
Double Bottom Line
A Tacoma, Washington CDC is putting at least $250,000 into developing a “double bottom line” real estate fund that will invest in struggling neighborhoods throughout the Seattle/Tacoma region. These funds […]
S.F. Boosts Affordability
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law an inclusionary housing policy aimed at creating more affordable homes in the city. Fifteen percent of units in new residential developments […]
Storied Groups Close
The Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, a Chicago fair housing advocacy group with a small geographic range but a national impact, ended operations in June. The council is best […]
The Big Bond
Los Angeles is putting the largest municipal housing bond ever on its ballot this November. The $1 billion bond would pay for an estimated 20,000 affordable units and create a […]
Redefining Community Benefits
When does a community benefits agreement (CBA) not benefit its community? When it is negotiated between elected officials and developers, says Sustainable South Bronx, a nonprofit that opposed recent deals […]
Ghetto Salvation
How the Other Half Worships, by Camilo Jose Vergara. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 2005, 304 pp. $49.95 (clothbound). Suppose an alien came to Earth. It is searching for […]
Make Your Nonprofit a Media Empire
Using soap operas and talk shows to mix entertainment with financial education
Schools House Homeless Kids
A school district outside St. Louis is opening a home this fall for homeless students. The Maplewood-Richmond Heights district bought a house and had lined up a dozen teenagers to […]