Gender gap widens: Growth trend reverses for young single women homeowners
Women have returned to the workforce in near pre-pandemic numbers, but homeownership remains elusive for those who are single The homeownership rate for young single women declined in 2022 for the first time in six years, after peaking in 2021. The top three metros with the highest share of listings affordable for single women are …
Gender gap widens: Growth trend reverses for young single women homeownersRead More
Porto Gambles On Friendly Free Enterprise To Solve Affordable Housing Crisis
This is Porto. It needs more housing that is affordable for its residents. Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, which is currently in the affordable housing news for its ‘Right to Housing’ law. Spain’s new law includes regulatory solutions for renters, including rent controls. Portugal, facing similar affordable housing problems, is also supporting a …
Porto Gambles On Friendly Free Enterprise To Solve Affordable Housing CrisisRead More
Spain’s Right To Housing Law: Freedom From Housing Price Extortion. Or. . .Not!
Spain now allows local governments to implement rent controls. These homes are in Léon. Spain has just passed a Right to Housing law. The law allows rent controls in any and all housing markets that are deemed by local governments to be ‘stressed.’ This provision affects the 25% of the country’s housing stock, which is …
Spain’s Right To Housing Law: Freedom From Housing Price Extortion. Or. . .Not!Read More
Federal and State Dollars Could Be Used to Force Change in Exclusionary Towns — Shelterforce
Photo by Aslan Alphan via iStock Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, a suburban community east of Detroit, and Hudson, Ohio, located between Akron and Cleveland, are 200 miles apart and in different states. But the communities share a distinction: they belong to a cohort of the nation’s most exclusionary cities and towns. This means that, despite …
Prying Open The Doors To Housing For Gender-Diverse People
The Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network (WNHHN) is drawing attention to the issue of how gender-diverse people experience housing and homelessness. Two reports have just been published. One report draws deeply on the responses to own survey of 500 people. It begins to lay bare experiences that are largely missing from the public record. …
Prying Open The Doors To Housing For Gender-Diverse PeopleRead More
How The Chicago Housing Authority Plays Fast And Loose With Its Land
The CHA is changing all right. It is shortchanging its tenants in the process. In 2022, the Better Government Association (BGA) reported on activities of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). The BGA looked at the number of homes that the CHA had demolished, and how many had been replaced over a 25 year period. The …
How The Chicago Housing Authority Plays Fast And Loose With Its LandRead More
The Homeless Who Don’t Quite Notice They’ve ‘Sold Their Souls To The Devil’
I’m homeless? How did that happen? There are some awfully ugly human behaviours out there in the real world. There are also bad habits that foolhardy local councils of one stripe of another can stumble into. Maybe they make the ugliness possible, thanks to their shabby treatment of people who are vulnerable. Take the use …
The Homeless Who Don’t Quite Notice They’ve ‘Sold Their Souls To The Devil’Read More
Wraparound Supports, Sure! But Home Decorating? That, Too. Better Believe it!
The chair is a start, but it doesn’t feel like home yet. Affordablehousingaction.org has emphasized the importance of ensuring that there are mental health and drug treatment supports for people who are moving from chronic homelessness to permanent housing. Treger Strasberg, the founder of Humble Design, also takes supports seriously. She says, “We put a …
Wraparound Supports, Sure! But Home Decorating? That, Too. Better Believe it!Read More
Three Ways AFFH Has Advanced Housing Justice — Shelterforce
Representation in landlord-tenant court proceedings was a key goal of Philadelphia tenant advocates. In 2019, the city guaranteed legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction in two of the city’s ZIP codes. The policy has been in effect since February 2022, and the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project continues to support tenants. Photo by Rasheedah …
Three Ways AFFH Has Advanced Housing Justice — ShelterforceRead More
Public Housing Must Be a Part of Fair Housing Planning — Shelterforce
Photo by Peeterv via iStock The fight to preserve the environment. The fight for racial, gender, and disability justice. Massive societal upheaval at home and abroad. These are the struggles of our time. They were also the hallmarks of the 1960s. In 1968, in a nation “moving toward two societies, one Black, one White, …
Public Housing Must Be a Part of Fair Housing Planning — ShelterforceRead More
Buyers are in the game, but interest rates are keeping sellers on the bench
Relatively high rates are keeping new listings low, frustrating willing buyers New listings are at a record low for February, contributing to an incredibly low supply. Sales activity lost momentum in February as rates rose. U.S. home values stabilized after a six-month decline. Well-priced homes are moving. At 17 days, the median time to pending …
Buyers are in the game, but interest rates are keeping sellers on the benchRead More
Study: Kids Roll With Punches Delivered By Bad Housing . . . Not
Houses in Kinsale, Ireland. Good homes or bad? Do you imagine that kids won’t notice? Some studies produce surprising results that are contrary to expectations. Others add important details to our knowledge of a particular subject. And then there are studies that unfortunately confirm our common sense understanding of quite how bad things really are. …
Study: Kids Roll With Punches Delivered By Bad Housing . . . NotRead More
The State of the Temporary Affordable Housing Union? Pretty Darn Fragile!
Celebrating the opening of a tiny home village in Seattle in 2021. In 2023, the City is having trouble finding sites for the new tiny homes that have been built by volunteers. From . . . temporary affordable housing that isn’t housing anyone at all while it takes a lengthy snooze. Read more in The …
The State of the Temporary Affordable Housing Union? Pretty Darn Fragile!Read More
Why Oregon Created Its Own AFFH Rule — Shelterforce
The grand-prize winner for 2022 in the Fair Housing Council of Oregon’s annual poster contest for Oregon students in grades 1-8. Artwork by Bayalyn Stack and Kira Fryer. Image courtesy of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon Woven into Oregon’s land use and housing production policies is an obligation for all cities with at least …
Why Oregon Created Its Own AFFH Rule — ShelterforceRead More
Hong Kong: A View of Chinese-Funded Affordable Housing On Steroids
Capitalist Hong Kong was content to offer impossibly tiny apartments to the poorest. That’s not good enough for the new landlord in town — China. When it comes to affordable housing, centrally planned governments have one big advantage over the dispersed powers and inter-govermental squabbles of more democratic political structures. The advantage: centrally planned economies …
Hong Kong: A View of Chinese-Funded Affordable Housing On SteroidsRead More
Chasing The Almighty Dollar To Build Affordable Housing
Downtown Red Wing, Minnesota, population 16,500. The City has a housing trust fund to make housing more affordable for its residents. When developers in the United States are putting together the funding for an affordable housing project, they may tap local or state housing trust funds. Trust funds are generally set up to achieve a …
Chasing The Almighty Dollar To Build Affordable HousingRead More
Why Canada Needs A National Housing Benefit
Entrance to the Centre Block of Canada’s houses of parliament. In the days leading up to the 2023-24 Federal Budget, here’s an article in the Ottawa Citizen. It promotes a proposed Canadian Housing Benefit to help people with very low incomes pay for housing. The article is written by Tim Aubry and Geoffrey Nelson, who …
NYC Adopts Common Torture Technique To Be Applied To Homeless Youth
It’s truly astounding the cruelty that groups of self-important, out of touch bureaucrats and/or politicians can inflict on their fellow humans: “Homeless youth are nothing but a nuisance. Let’s torture them with sleep deprivation until they move on!” That’s the meat of a surprise New York City directive to youth drop-in centres. Visitors may stay …
NYC Adopts Common Torture Technique To Be Applied To Homeless YouthRead More
Why Bangor’s Affordable Housing Policies Won’t Address Homelessness — Shelterforce
Downtown Bangor. Photo by Flickr user Justin Russell, CC BY-NC 2.0 In the past year, officials in Bangor, Maine, have been talking a lot about affordable housing. On the surface, this seems like a positive turn. It follows a pandemic-induced housing crisis that has seen the number of unhoused people in the city increase dramatically. …
Why Bangor’s Affordable Housing Policies Won’t Address Homelessness — ShelterforceRead More
Prince William: The Next Proud Meddler In United Kingdom Politics?
Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with permission. The Passage, a homeless drop-in centre, in London, England. “Who will rid me of this meddlesome prince?” Those words might well have been spoken recently by the United Kingdom’s momentary Prime Minister Liz Truss, distracted as she was from driving the …
Prince William: The Next Proud Meddler In United Kingdom Politics?Read More
Converting Private Rental Housing To Social Housing – The Whys And The Hows
Private flats for rent in Kent. Are they suitable for purchase for social housing? Here is another call to purchase existing housing to accomplish social objectives, this time from England. In its recent report, the New Economics Foundation presents an overview of the need for more social rent (truly affordable) housing that will be held away …
Converting Private Rental Housing To Social Housing – The Whys And The HowsRead More
Wealthy Incomers: Economy Boosters? Or Trojan Horses Bent On Plunder?
Countries, states, and cities, be careful what you wish for! Wealthy foreigners may boost your economy by dropping a trail of cash across companies linked to tourism. Ask Portugal, a European country with an attractive climate, scenic landscape, a vibrant, historic culture and a dependency on tourist dollars. If its booming foreign tourism is such …
Wealthy Incomers: Economy Boosters? Or Trojan Horses Bent On Plunder?Read More
American Music: Legacy of Hollywood Composers? Not For Its Soul. Think Again.
Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with permission. The latest view of NMPH’s soon-to-be new building comes courtesy of Google. Construction to refurbish this former public housing building is slated for completion in 2024. So, why is an affordable housing blog with a home in Canada so enamoured with …
American Music: Legacy of Hollywood Composers? Not For Its Soul. Think Again.Read More
What Is Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing? — Shelterforce
In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, which outlawed discrimination in housing. The act also required federal agencies (and anyone getting funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) to “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.” In other words, they must dismantle the effects of past discrimination, not merely prevent future discrimination. This …
What Is Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing? — ShelterforceRead More
Miami Workers Center Honored with Local Organizing Award – On the Home Front
Miami Workers Center is a frontline strategy and action center that builds power with working-class tenants, workers, women, and families in Miami-Dade County. Through leadership development and grassroots campaigns, they seek to transform their workplaces and neighborhoods to win the respect, rights, and resources we all deserve. Miami Workers Center led the successful grassroots organizing …
Miami Workers Center Honored with Local Organizing Award – On the Home FrontRead More
AFFH’s Bumpy Road to Overcoming Segregation — Shelterforce
A fair housing protest in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle, in 1964. Photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives, via Flickr, CC BY-2.0 The Biden administration in January announced a much anticipated and controversial proposal that would require many cities, counties, and states to reduce segregation and eliminate discriminatory housing policies within their borders. The …
AFFH’s Bumpy Road to Overcoming Segregation — ShelterforceRead More
Third Time’s the Charm? — Shelterforce
“Ley de Vivenda Equitativa / Fair Housing Act,” 2010, a work by Katie Wolf, is constructed of both Spanish and English versions of the Fair Housing Act. Photo by START Gallery, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
1 Magic Bullet To Create Affordable Housing? Amsterdam Looks To Many
Public housing in Amsterdam. More is needed. Decision makers have plans to bridge the gap. Like so many cities around the world, Amsterdam has been gambling on shelter as a means to generating wealth for all. And like many other communities, it is discovering that by churning housing ownership, wealth may well be achieved by …
1 Magic Bullet To Create Affordable Housing? Amsterdam Looks To ManyRead More
Save Affordable Housing From the Free Market? Houston Had A Vision. It’s Blurring
A community land trust like the one in Houston can be a perfect way of integrating lower income housing and tenants into a neighbourhood. No ‘public housing’ stigma visible here. Does this house belong to the land trust? Maybe. But then, maybe not. The problem is obvious. The tentacles of profit-earning capitalism are enmeshed in …
Save Affordable Housing From the Free Market? Houston Had A Vision. It’s BlurringRead More
Third Time’s the Charm? — Shelterforce
“Ley de Vivenda Equitativa / Fair Housing Act,” 2010, by Katie Wolf, is an artwork that is constructed of both Spanish and English versions of the Fair Housing Act. Photo by START Gallery, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Legislation is only as good as its implementation and enforcement. This is something fair housing advocates know …
The U.S. has lost 58 ‘million-dollar’ cities since the market’s peak in July
The rebalancing of the housing market has been felt the most in areas where affordability is stretched There are currently 464 U.S. cities where the typical home value is $1 million or more. There were 522 at the housing market’s peak last July. There are 190 “million-dollar” cities in California alone. The New York, San …
The U.S. has lost 58 ‘million-dollar’ cities since the market’s peak in JulyRead More
Chronic Homeless Need Help, But Lived Experience Counters Incarceration
A personal reflection on the experience of inpatient mental health treatment followed by years of homelessness. The latest fad(?) in solving homeless problems has been dominated by fed-up citizens endlessly encountering dangerous(?) chronic homeless people on the streets. Responding to the concerns of their citizens, politicians in a number of American jurisdictions have dusted off …
Chronic Homeless Need Help, But Lived Experience Counters IncarcerationRead More
Old, Tired, Sick? “There is no medicine as powerful as housing.”
Are these really the best medicine? The headline comment above comes from Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the University of California’s San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. There’s more: “By the time homeless people are in their 50s and early 60s, they look much more like other people in their 70s and 80s. The …
Old, Tired, Sick? “There is no medicine as powerful as housing.”Read More
Building Community Power in Newark, NJ — Shelterforce
Like what you’re reading? Join 12,000 of your colleagues and be among the first to know about new articles, jobs, events, opportunities, and resources. Get Shelterforce Weekly delivered to your inbox every week. It’s free and easy to do! Constant Contact Use. Please leave this field blank. 2023-03-10 15:39:07 #Building #Community #Power #Newark #Shelterforce Source link
Bearing Witness To The End Of An Honourable Life
A warning to readers. This post might be a bit of a downer. Being the middle of winter and all, it’s a time when tough stuff can be particularly hard to take. But when an eviction notice drives someone to suicide, we at affordablehousingaction.org decided that winter and depression notwithstanding, this is a story that …
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