Shelterforce
Shelterforce is nonprofit and independent publication that covers topics from community planning to racial equity, affordable housing to the future of community development, and how policy intersects with it all. Here you can listen to authors read their latest Shelterforce articles, as well as our interviews with folks on the ground. For more, go to shelterforce.org. To support our nonprofit newsroom, make a tax-deductible donation at https://bit.ly/Donate2Shelterforce.
Episodes
October 25, 2024 • 90 mins
More than 18 million Americans live in manufactured housing in mobile home parks—which are de facto the largest source of affordable housing in the United States. But as rents rise, this source of affordable housing is at risk.
Fortunately there has emerged a growing movement of resident-owned cooperatives, also known as ROCs. Today, more than 22,000 families who own manufactured housing units in more than 300 mobile home parks a...
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October 24, 2024 • 11 mins
In recent decades, the Federal Home Loan Bank system has strayed from its original purpose—lending to support housing. Sharon Cornelissen reads, "The Government-Sponsored Enterprise that Turned Away from Its Housing Mission," an opinion piece she wrote along with Jared Gaby-Biegel and Brian Stromberg.
Check out their piece at https://shelterforce.org/2024/10/15/the-government-sponsored-enterprise-that-turned-away-from-its-housing-...
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October 23, 2024 • 17 mins
How well do the presidential candidates’ proposals address the growing housing crisis? Housing advocacy groups share their thoughts and criticisms of the plans (or lack thereof). Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen reads her latest report, "Housing Groups Weigh in on Harris’s and Trump’s Housing Plans."
Check out the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/10/22/housing-groups-weigh-in-on-harriss-and-trumps-housing-plans/
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October 18, 2024 • 46 mins
Shelterforce’s Facebook Live series, “Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing,” was back this week with Marcia Wright-Soika, the executive director of FamilyWorks Seattle. Shelterforce’s CEO and Publisher Schlonn Hawkins chatted with Wright-Soika about affordable housing challenges, how food insecurity impacts community building, and why partnering with families is the key to driving lasting change.
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October 10, 2024 • 19 mins
Organizers aim to catalyze a crisis to pressure a major federal housing regulator to lock in tenant protections. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute reads, "Could This Rolling Rent Strike Make the Feds Protect Tenants?" written by Aaron Fernando.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2024/10/04/could-this-rolling-rent-strike-make-the-feds-protect-tenants/
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October 5, 2024 • 10 mins
While renters and homebuyers' challenges dominate the headlines, they aren't the only ones wrestling with maintaining decent housing. Daniel McCue, a senior research associate at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, reads his latest piece for Shelterforce, "House Poor: Low-Income Homeowners Struggle in the Shadows."
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/27/house-poor-low-income-homeowners-s...
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October 4, 2024 • 10 mins
Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen breaks down how each presidential candidate has responded to (or ignored) five key housing issues: low supply, accessible homeownership, tenant protections, rent control, and homelessness.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2024/10/02/where-the-harris-trump-campaigns-stand-on-housing/
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October 3, 2024 • 2 mins
The skyrocketing cost of property insurance is endangering the future of affordable housing, even as the need for housing itself is growing. We break down what's been happening, how affordable housing developers are dealing with the cost increases, and more.
Read more of our coverage about this issue at: https://shelterforce.org/2024/06/27/rising-property-insurance-costs-the-threat-to-affordable-housing/
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October 2, 2024 • 15 mins
The Heritage Foundation’s “conservative playbook” isn’t new, but critics say the latest version’s policies and platforms are more discriminatory and dangerous than in the past. Shelby R. King reports: how Project 2025 would Dismantle HUD.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/26/how-project-2025-would-dismantle-hud/
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October 1, 2024 • 16 mins
Some state finance agencies are using qualified allocation plans, or QAPs, to extend affordability of LIHTC housing beyond 30 years and increase tenant protections. Roshan Abraham takes a closer llook at where it's happening. Listen to, "States Are Using This Tool to Keep LIHTC Housing Affordable for Longer."
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/13/states-are-using-this-tool-to-keep-lihtc-housing-affordable-for-...
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September 20, 2024 • 11 mins
Dallas's bonds aren't usually used for housing. A new coalition of advocates changed that. Listen as Bryan Tony reads, "How a Dallas Housing Coalition Won Bonds for Affordable Housing," a piece he and Kate Gustafson recently wrote for Shelterforce.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/19/how-a-dallas-housing-coalition-won-bonds-for-affordable-housing/
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September 20, 2024 • 11 mins
Four years ago, New Castle County bought a hotel to provide safe housing for its most vulnerable residents. That property evolved away from purely emergency housing to a very different, more holistic, model of care. Listen to Frances Nguyen report, "What Started as Emergency Housing Could Offer a Model for Ending Homelessness in Delaware."
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/17/what-started-as-emergency-housi...
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September 17, 2024 • 13 mins
Thirteen years ago, an ambitious government initiative set out to move hundreds of families away from perilous conditions, including landslides, in Ecuador's capital. Today, 37 of those households are still waiting for the subsidies they need to become true owners of their new homes. Listen to, "How Quito’s Climate Relocation Plan Left 44 Families in Jeopardy," by Robinson Markus.
Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/08...
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September 16, 2024 • 16 mins
As flooding, sea level rise, fires, and other climate impacts increase, we'll need to move about 20 million Americans by 2100. Here's how we can rethink managed retreat to get ahead of the rising tides. "Retreating From The Coasts Makes Sense, But Our Current Approach Isn't Working," was written by Yuliya Panfil Tim Robustelli.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2024/08/06/we-must-relocate-to-prepare-for-climate-cha...
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September 13, 2024 • 16 mins
Programs that offer reentry housing for formerly incarcerated people often replicate jail or prison settings. How can housing providers do better? Frances Nguyen reads her latest reported piece for Shelterforce, "Housing Advocates Design a Better Homecoming for People Leaving Incarceration."
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/09/04/housing-advocates-design-a-better-homecoming-for-people-leaving-incarceration/
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September 13, 2024 • 15 mins
Shelterforce's Lara Heard breaks down the latest information on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. How is the affordable housing industry taking advantage of the funding opportunities, and why are some folks worried about the fund's rollout?
You can also read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/08/23/whats-happening-with-the-billions-in-climate-funding-for-low-income-communities/
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September 10, 2024 • 17 mins
There's no one way to determine what makes "green" housing. Here's a breakdown of the standards and considerations used by the affordable housing industry. Shelterforce's Lara Heard reads, "What Makes Affordable Housing ‘Green'?" written by Roshan Abraham.
Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2024/08/01/what-makes-affordable-housing-green/
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September 9, 2024 • 3 mins
CEER recruits residents to gauge their communities' climate needs and to act as climate educators. Shelterforce's Lara Heard asked Rita Robles and Carmen Cavezza about the program, how it works, and future plans.
Listen to a summary of their interview here, or read the transcript at: https://shelterforce.org/2024/08/20/in-houston-climate-ambassadors-represent-their-own-neighborhoods/
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September 6, 2024 • 16 mins
Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps have long been blamed for racial inequities in today’s Black neighborhoods, but recent research shows that’s misleading. Listen to, "Redlining Maps Didn't Affect Neighborhoods the Way You Think They Did," an op-ed written by Alan Mallach, and read by John Ludas.
Read the op-ed at: https://shelterforce.org/2024/08/21/redlining-maps-didnt-affect-neighborhoods-the-way-you-think-they-did/
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September 6, 2024 • 15 mins
For decades, a group of Cambodian refugees worked to improve and upgrade their Stockton, California, affordable housing complex. While they technically own half of the property, they're still waiting on HUD to approve their full ownership. Why hasn't it happened yet? Listen to "Will This Resident Group Get Full Control of the Complex They Helped Fix?" This article was reported by Amanda Abrams, and read by John Ludas.
Read the sto...
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