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climate change

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A row of small, two-story houses with pitched roofs on a paved street. They alternate in color between yellow and medium gray, and some have shrubs in the front yards. There are no cars n the street.

Soaring Property Insurance Rates Threaten Affordable Housing Development

Rapidly rising insurance premiums are forcing affordable housing developers to cut back on programming, lay off staff, and even sell. To add insult to injury, some insurers also seem to be adding penalties or withdrawing coverage for housing voucher holders.

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Close up view of rock, scissors, and a sheet of white paper on a red table or desk. The rock is oval gray rock with a band of white quartz through it, the scissors have purple plastic grips and metal blades. The scissors are positioned such that they appear to have just cut the paper, and the rock is resting on the paper, half concealed by a portion of it.
Housing

Legitimate Debate or Short-Sighted Complaints? 5 Reasons Affordable Housing Is Expensive to Build

There’s no denying that affordable housing can be expensive to build. But we need to look at the long-term benefits of those investments to see the bigger picture.

At left, tall apartment towers. At right, trees, In foreground, several mostly submerged cars in brown floodwaters, under a blue sky.
Policy

How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Protect Low-income Renters From Climate Change

Climate change is an especially large threat to low-income residents. The Inflation Reduction Act offers a chance to act.

Construction

Taking the ADU Model to the Next Level, a Shelterforce and Next City Webinar

How can we get more accessory dwelling units built, keep them affordable, and make them forces for increasing racial equity?

A row of large gray cylindrical water storage tanks on a roof. Behind them are heat pumps and other technical apparatus.
Equity

The Shift to Using More Electricity Will Change How Affordable Housing Is Built

Policymakers and building designers have gone from pushing for energy efficiency to focusing on reducing carbon emissions by using more electrical-based systems. What are some of the benefits and challenges of going all-electric, and how can affordable housers move forward?

Health

Are Urban Planners Staying Silent on Climate Gentrification?

Holmdel, New Jersey, moved its affordable housing to flood-prone land, raising a question about planners’ ethical obligations to speak up against such moves.

Environment

ADUs: Laws and Uses, Do’s and Don’ts

As ADUs gain national attention, cities are searching for the best ways to legalize their development and encourage construction.

Community Development Field

After Ida, How Can Affordable Housing Withstand Climate Impacts?

What lessons can Ida offer to affordable housing managers and owners whose properties are at risk of damage from extreme weather events?

Financial System

Flooded: How Natural Disasters Lead to Predatory Lending in the Rio Grande Valley

The devastation that communities in the Rio Grande Valley experience is twofold: the initial destruction of the floods and the cycle of debt and poverty as a result of predatory loans.

A flooded street in Princeville, North Carolina.
Housing

Deciding Not to Rebuild After Climate-Related Disasters

Officials in large and small cities along the East Coast are realizing that maybe they shouldn’t rebuild on land that repeatedly floods. Instead they’re focusing on buyouts, building affordable housing on higher ground, and other mitigation efforts.

Los Angeles green new deal
Policy

L.A.’s Green New Deal and Housing: Will a Crucial Opportunity Become a Missed One?

Los Angeles’ Green New Deal is an opportunity to demand the type of investment in housing required to actually address the crisis we face. It would be an awful mistake to back down.

Community Development Field

From Sustainability to Resilience

My first reaction to the emergence of “resilience” as a lens for viewing community development was mostly informed by skepticism.

Flooding in North Charleston, South Carolina
Policy

The Uncertain Flood Zone

Communities need accurate maps and more access to data to increase flood resilience—but right now FEMA’s not providing that.