Corporate ownership of housing, particularly 1-to-4 unit properties, has been on the rise in the US over the past decade. This trend encompasses ownership by parties ranging from individual investors using a limited liability corporation (LLC) to major institutional investors. Corporate acquisition of housing picked… Read More »Corporate Ownership of Small Residential Properties
In recent years, cities around the U.S. have been grappling with a crisis in housing supply and affordability due a multitude of challenges, including rising costs and barriers to developing more housing. Innovative solutions and models of taxation such as land value taxes and collective… Read More »An Explainer and Case Study on Municipal Land Trusts featuring the Upper Harbor Redevelopment in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Introduction Throughout the United States, the dearth of affordable housing is a persistent issue that has proven largely resistant to traditional interventions. This blog post delineates a comprehensive strategy to ameliorate this crisis, and that recognizes the fundamental importance of land in guaranteeing all people’s… Read More »Part II: Bringing Bogotá’s Affordable Housing Experience to Bear in the U.S.
Faced with a critical need to provide more affordable housing for the City’s residents, in November 1990, Bogotá, Colombia’s National Savings Fund (FNA) got creative, setting in motion an ambitious plan to construct over 7,000 affordable housing units. The goals of the initiative were not… Read More »Part I: A Strategic Approach to Affordable Housing in Bogotá, Colombia
Why solutions to homelessness should be funded by a tax on local land values. This is the first piece in an ongoing series in which we explain how local housing costs cause homelessness, why solutions to homelessness should be funded from a land value tax,… Read More »“In a good economy, homelessness goes up”: The Paradox of Progress and Poverty
This is the fifth piece in an ongoing series that examines the role that control of land has played in racial injustice throughout Black history in the United States: Part 1: Slaveholders and Land Monopoly (1619 to 1865)Part 2: 40 Acres and a Ghoul (1865… Read More »Land & Racial Injustice – Part 5: Reaping What Was Sowed
This is the fourth piece in an ongoing series that examines the role that control of land has played in racial injustice throughout Black history in the United States: Part 1: Slaveholders and Land Monopoly (1619 to 1865)Part 2: 40 Acres and a Ghoul (1865… Read More »Land & Racial Injustice – Part 4: The Invisible Hand of the Housing Market (1970 to Today)
This is the third piece in an ongoing series that examines the role that control of land has played in racial injustice throughout Black history in the United States: Part 1: Slaveholders and Land Monopoly (1619 to 1865)Part 2: 40 Acres and a Ghoul (1865… Read More »Land & Racial Injustice – Part 3: Homeownership: White Subsidy, Black Exclusion (1910 to 1970)
New York received record-breaking rainfall in 2023, which led to flooding in coastal and urban areas. As the state grapples with recurring flooding issues, residents are reminded of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where governments were challenged with the displacement of thousands of families and damage… Read More »Disaster Response to Hurricane Sandy Highlights Disparities in Home Buyouts
Increasingly, the people who make our communities run – our teachers, police officers, and facility workers – can no longer afford to live where they work. “Workforce housing” is an increasingly popular solution to this problem. What is it, and does it represent an equitable… Read More »Is Workforce Housing the Answer to America’s Affordable Housing Crisis?
