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
May 16, 2025 • 3 mins
For more than two years, residents of Philadelphia’s Chinatown and surrounding neighborhoods protested a plan to build a new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers on top of a local transit stop. Despite widespread opposition, the proposal appeared to be moving forward with the city’s blessing. But it fell apart in early 2025, when the team’s owners decided to build new in their current location in South Philadelphia.
Here, local poet ...
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May 15, 2025 • 1 min
A note about our running list of major federal housing actions since Trump took office on Jan. 20 2025.
Read about all the major actions here: https://shelterforce.org/2025/05/12/whats-happened-with-housing-since-trump-came-into-office/
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May 2, 2025 • 2 mins
New Jersey's Grounds for Sculpture exhibited works by Spiral Q, a Philadelphia organization that mixes art and social commentary.
Reporting by Lara Heard
Read the story and see the photos at: https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/29/art-the-parade-works-of-social-commentary-by-philly-based-spiral-q/
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May 1, 2025 • 3 mins
We've compiled a roundup of the major housing and community development–related actions and changes we’ve seen so far in Trump's second term. Reporting by Shelterforce staff; read by Miriam Axel-Lute.
Read the full story with the compilation of housing actions at: https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/30/the-first-100-days-in-housing/
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April 25, 2025 • 5 mins
Housing Choice Voucher holders rely on their local housing authority to pay the bulk of their rent. What happens if it isn’t paid?
Reporting by Shelby R. King.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/28/the-government-didnt-pay-my-rent-now-what/
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April 24, 2025 • 7 mins
Though it hasn't taken any action yet, DOGE has officially assigned a team to NeighborWorks America. The congressionally chartered nonprofit provides resources and training to a network of hundreds of local organizations that develop affordable housing and support homeowners and communities.
Reported and read by Miriam Axel-Lute. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/23/is-doge-coming-after-neighborworks/#0
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April 15, 2025 • 15 mins
If you have residents or clients who might be targeted by ICE, it’s crucial to know what to do, and what not to do when immigration officials show up. Shelterforce's Shelby R. King reports.
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April 14, 2025 • 14 mins
In Maryland, parents and school leaders joined with housing advocates to win additional rental assistance, targeted to families in the state's community schools. Jessica Shiller reads, "How Education and Housing Advocates Worked Together to Win More Rental Assistance," a piece she and Katherine Davis wrote for Shelterforce.
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April 12, 2025 • 11 mins
Technical assistance might seem dull, but it’s vital for addressing the homelessness and housing crisis. And it's about to be a lot harder for federal grantees to get. Listen to "These HUD Cuts Have Gotten Less Attention, But the Effects Will Still Be Harmful."
Reporting by Roshan Abraham; read by John Ludas.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/07/these-hud-cuts-have-gotten-less-attention-but-the-effects-will-...
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April 11, 2025 • 14 mins
Tenant organizers and advocates say the only way to protect communities is to stay the course—organizing for housing rights, tenant protections, and political power. Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/11/in-the-trump-2-0-era-organizing-is-the-antidote/
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April 9, 2025 • 7 mins
Clybourne Park—a play exploring race, real estate, and community tensions—can set the stage for discussion on the lasting impacts of housing discrimination, gentrification, and the fight for affordability. What lessons can we take from the past to shape a more just housing future? Shelterforce's Shelby R. King reports.
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April 2, 2025 • 14 mins
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped—and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes. Max Parrott reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/02/theres-a-community-oversight-fight-brewing-in-the-bronx/
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April 2, 2025 • 5 mins
It's been a year since Catalunya implemented rent control. How well is it working, and why have tenants rallied for more protections? Olivia Haber Greenwood reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/03/in-barcelona-rent-control-shows-promise-but-short-term-rentals-limit-progress/
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March 26, 2025 • 5 mins
The Mount Laurel Doctrine is credited with helping to create 75,000 affordable homes in New Jersey. But, of course, it hasn’t been a simple panacea either. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains:
Read the full piece and check out the related stories at https://shelterforce.org/2025/03/28/in-new-jersey-pivotal-affordable-housing-decision-turns-50/
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March 24, 2025 • 12 mins
A law professor explains why housing should be—and someday might be—considered a human right in the United States.
Read the piece at https://shelterforce.org/2025/03/25/six-reasons-why-housing-is-a-human-right/
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March 20, 2025 • 14 mins
As Trump reshapes the federal landscape, Housing Choice Voucher recipients, landlords, and administrators brace for potential funding cuts and fiscal chaos. Shelby R. King reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/03/18/section-8-under-trump-how-policy-uncertainty-is-affecting-affordable-housing/
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March 12, 2025 • 8 mins
The Environmental Protection Agency says $20 billion in green funding for low-income communities was mismanaged and issued with political bias, but so far the agency hasn’t produced the evidence needed to legally block the grants. Three nonprofits have filed suit. Shelterforce's Lara Heard reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/03/14/epa-terminates-already-awarded-climate-funding/
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March 11, 2025 • 17 mins
As the housing crisis deepens, interest in faith-based development is spreading across the country. How do "Yes In God’s Backyard (YIGBY)" zoning laws work, where are they being implemented or introduced, and what could it mean for communities and churches? Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's reporting fellow, takes a closer look.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/02/28/the-yigby-movement-unlocking-church-owned-land-...
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March 10, 2025 • 28 mins
Despite Enterprise Community Partners’ majority voting stake in Bellwether Enterprise, the nonprofit lender long insisted it couldn’t address its subsidiary commercial mortgage lender’s questionable lending for mobile home park purchases. Shelby King reports.
Read the full story at
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After a years-long, tenant-led effort, Louisville will use a new tool to analyze whether a proposed housing development can meet a neighborhood’s housing needs and income levels. If it doesn’t, the city won’t subsidize it. Listen to "‘Anti-Displacement Tool’ to Direct City Funding to Projects that Won’t Price Out Residents," in Shelterforce.
Reporting by Roshan Abraham
Read by John Ludas
Check out the full story: https://shelterf...
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