Federal Policy | May 5, 2021
How Up for Growth Works With Members Like Association of Washington Cities to Provide the Support for Pro-Housing Policy
In March, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) with Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) in the House of Representatives, introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Housing Supply and Affordability Act (HSAA), introduced this Congress as S. 902 and H.R. 2126. The legislation creates a Local Housing Policy […]
Analysis | March 26, 2021
How Can America Build Communities Back Better? Advancing Accessible Growth Can Improve Affordability, Equity, Health and the Environment.
Housing should always be an opportunity, never an obstacle. Unfortunately, because of poor policy choices, low-income and minority people have been systematically zoned out from America’s high opportunity and job-rich neighborhoods. As I have written about in the past, the government has played a crucial, often intentional, role in creating a housing market that incentivizes […]
Federal Policy | January 29, 2021
What we’ve learned about President Biden’s housing agenda
Shortly after then-candidate Joe Biden named then-Senator Kamala Harris to his Presidential ticket, we examined what her selection would mean for housing. Senator Harris had an extensive track record on housing, including sponsoring the Up for Growth Action-backed Housing is Infrastructure Act. Her housing background complemented an already robust plan put forward by the Biden campaign. Her focus includes […]
Federal Policy | December 11, 2020
Biden taps Rep. Fudge for HUD Secretary. What does it mean for housing?
On Tuesday, news broke that the incoming Biden-Harris administration would nominate Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) as the next Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The choice was a surprise. The Congressional Black Caucus, and in particular House Majority Whip and close Biden confidant Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), promoted Rep. Fudge for Secretary […]
Federal Policy | November 6, 2020
What We Know About Election 2020
While the ballots are still being counted in Election 2020, the contours of the 117th Congress and who will occupy the White House are coming into focus. Vice President Biden is on the cusp of victory after overtaking President Trump’s initial lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia, while growing his advantage in Nevada. President Trump and […]
Analysis | October 23, 2020
Salt Lake City Can Advance Housing Equity by Leaning into Accessible Growth
Earlier this week, I gave a presentation on Housing Underproduction in Utah to the Utah Land Use Institute at their 2020 Fall Meeting. What follows is a lightly edited version of my remarks. Since the 1960s, cities and states across the country have produced about 1.1 new housing units for every household formed – young people moving […]
Federal Policy | October 9, 2020
Economic Development Begins with Pro-Housing Policy
Few matters of public policy have as broad of an impact as housing. As we’ve written in our previous insights reports, housing is central to combating climate change. Transportation policy and planning is inextricably linked to housing, and vice versa. As housing goes, so goes the economy and economic recovery. Racial justice and equity cannot be achieved without […]
Federal Policy | September 25, 2020
Combatting the Housing Crisis in Rural America
The housing crisis in America is not one unique to big cities on the coasts. As shown by Up for Growth’s Housing Underproduction in the U.S., nearly every corner of the country bears part of the burden for the national 7.3 million home shortage. This is true for heavily rural areas and smaller cities, too. Though […]
Federal Policy | September 11, 2020
New Research Confirms the Benefits of “Light Touch” Density
The nation is in the midst of a major housing crisis, putting tremendous strain on families, individuals, and the economy. At the core of the crisis is a severe undersupply of homes, particularly in job and amenity-rich areas. Up for Growth research found that from 2000 – 2015, the U.S. fell 7.3 million homes short relative to housing […]
| August 21, 2020
With A.B. 2345, California Can Shrink Its Housing Shortage by 195,000 Homes Over the Next 5 Years
In an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and President Donald Trump claimed they will save America’s suburbs from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s “dystopian vision of building low-income housing units next to your suburban house.” In many ways, the op-ed read as a full-fledged embrace […]
| August 14, 2020
The Biden-Harris Ticket Has Major Implications for Housing Policy
On Tuesday, presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. The selection was historic; Senator Harris is the first Black woman and first Indian American on a major-party presidential ticket. Her inclusion could have big implications for housing policy, too. Representing a state at the epicenter of the […]
Federal Policy | August 7, 2020
The Looming Rent Crisis Will Not Solve Itself
For the past few months, Up for Growth Action has worked to support inclusion of federal emergency rental assistance in COVID relief legislation. With last week’s expiration of expanded unemployment benefits and the end of the federal eviction moratorium, the need for national rental assistance is at our doorstep. Just today, Kriston Capps at Bloomberg CityLab reported that the […]
Federal Policy | July 31, 2020
Housing for Every American Needs More than Reform: Public Comments Call for Federal Investment
Two weeks ago, we introduced the first part in our series reviewing responses to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD)’s Request for Information (RFI) as part of the work of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. This Insights Report is second and final in the series and focuses on […]