Issue #168

What does it mean to stabilize neighborhoods at scale? Barring the appearance of a community development fairy godmother, it means having resources. The past several years have seen an outpouring […]

The discussion around how to define a qualified residential mortgage (QRM) has dragged on for over a year now, with no end in sight. But advocates haven’t let it go, […]

By smashing the wall of media silence about America’s wealth and income divide, the Occupy movement has opened a dramatically new terrain for organizations campaigning for economic and social justice. […]

What kind of city does Austin want to be? According to Imagine Austin, a new comprehensive city plan, it could someday be considerably different than the one it has been. […]

New research shows a direct correlation between foreclosure and hospitalization, adding another way that foreclosures have a disparate effect on low-income communities and communities of color. The study, Is the […]

On Nov. 5, 2011, Bank of America had just withdrawn their threat to levy a monthly debit card fee, the major lenders were under fire from attorneys general for abusive […]

“Happening to a city near you” is the unsettling tag line for Land of Opportunity, a film that takes an intimate look at post-Katrina New Orleans and the interrelated struggles of those navigating it.

This past August, a broad new coalition in Boston formed to plan a massive march against Bank of America and other corporate targets on Sept. 30. A smaller group also […]

Stretching across more than 20 U.S. cities, a new consortium called Occupy Our Homes is continuing to organize actions in neighborhoods where evictions, vacant properties, and foreclosures have had damaging effects.

We who have a legacy of neighborhood action and a lived understanding of racial justice must become the next generation of Occupy.

It’s not often that a nonprofit housing developer sits down with a hedge fund manager, or someone from an investment bank who is outside of the philanthropic or CRA departments.

If a lender won’t or can’t modify, why wait until they foreclose? Some groups are taking matters into their own hands with note purchases or short sale programs.

Foreclosed properties have been flooding the auction block following the housing crisis. Less visibly, pools of distressed loans are also being sold off—and it’s a market ripe for partnership with neighborhood stabilization actors.

For Sister Lillian Murphy of Mercy Housing, your mission must not be an excuse to make bad business decisions.

A Massachusetts loan program gives lenders skin in the game while providing tools for responsible homeownership for lower-income borrowers.

Three years after the financial meltdown, credit remains elusive in many underserved communities. Although the reliance on credit scores is greater now than it’s been in a decade, many housing activists and community lenders are arguing for other means to evaluate credit risk.

Even the most sophisticated private and nonprofit partnerships for dealing with vacant property will end up with some properties that don’t pencil out. Land banks can step in to keep those properties from dragging down revitalization efforts.

Attention is turning to single-family rentals as a way to keep a growing inventory of foreclosed properties occupied in a credit-constrained market. But scattered-site rental has long been considered a very tough nut to crack for nonprofit housing groups. How do those who make it work pull it off?

Reclaiming REO at a scale that protects neighborhoods will involve a delicate dance between ground game and national reach, and between nonprofit and for-profit capacities.

Boston Community Capital’s SUN program has gotten a lot of media attention. How is it working and what’s next?