Archives

The Unlikely Activists

Wall Street’s criminal recklessness and its impact on millions of people across the country is making activists out of an unlikely selection of people.

The Human Right to Housing

Housing and homelessness are human rights issues—and that can be an organizing strength.

Uncle Sam Outdone by Ocwen’s SAM

This summer, mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. officially launched a mortgage principal reduction program for homeowners with negative equity.

The New Bottom Line

Fighting organized money takes organized people.

(Land) Bank of America?

“What we now have taking place in Cleveland is an ‘REO Race,'” wrote Frank Ford in our Fall/Winter 2009 issue, describing a “tsunami” of...

A Surprising Victory

When business leaders in St. Louis withdrew financial support for a campaign to pass a badly needed transit tax, it was a blessing in disguise.

The Sword and the Shield

Boston's City Life/Vida Urbana is finding success by turning conventional wisdom on its head and entering the picture after a foreclosure has taken place.

True Costs, True Responsibilities

This past July, a Voice of San Diego investigation charged that rather than doing its job of providing “homes for those who can’t pay...

Green Is Affordable

The affordable housing movement has not only accepted green building, but is making it integral to its work.

The People’s Court

Cleveland housing court Judge Raymond Pianka uses innovative legal tactics to achieve code compliance, but is it enough to stabilize neighborhoods?

What Affordable Housing Enforcement?

In 2010, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie introduced legislation to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing, the enforcement body for New Jersey’s fair share...

Leading the Way to Green

In Virginia, a statewide incentive program has put new affordable housing projects out in front of most market-rate developers when it comes to green design.

Extending a Bank Branch to the Community

The systemic closing of bank branches in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods is followed by payday lenders, pawnshops, and check cashing services stepping in to fill the void.

Transit-Oriented Preservation

Affordable housing already exists near transit, but without action it will be lost.

Smart Can Be Affordable

Despite fears that rising prices follow smart growth projects, smart growth and affordable housing advocates need each other to realize the promise of each. 

Nicolas P. Retsinas

Nicolas P. Retsinas, a senior lecturer in real estate at the Harvard Business School and director emeritus of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, talks with Shelterforce about his long service in the housing field.

Still Transforming Rental Assistance

HUD, in light of a recent capital needs study, will conduct a “rental assistance demonstration” rather than complete programmatic implementation of its Preserving, Enhancing,...

Smart at the Roots

Smart growth principles can’t be imposed from the outside.