| October 11, 2019
Housing Affordability Starts with Strengthening Existing Programs
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is one of the primary ways the federal government spurs the creation of affordable housing for lower income Americans, responsible for nearly 90% of the affordable units in the country. Established by the landmark 1986 tax overhaul, LIHTC provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit to private entities developing affordable housing […]
| October 4, 2019
Why the YIMBY Act is an important first step for federal housing legislation
The United States is in the midst of a major housing shortage and affordability crisis. Research from Up for Growth found that from 2005 – 2015, we fell 7.3 million homes short of meeting housing needs. This shortage means that families and individuals struggle to find high quality, affordable homes in the areas where they want […]
| September 27, 2019
Revitalizing Disinvested Neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act
Housing decay, obsolescence, and widespread vacancy comes with a high cost – both economically and socially. Vacant homes and lots not only reduce property values for surrounding units, they also mean a loss in property taxes, which pose significant challenges for government. Key infrastructure like schools, roads, and utilities face dwindling property tax revenue. From […]
| July 16, 2019
Housing is on the Move in the Nation’s Capital
In recent weeks, a flurry of housing legislation was introduced in both the House and the Senate. You can read our press releases on the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, the YIMBY Act, and President Trump’s Executive Order creating a White House […]
| June 19, 2019
Oregon inches closer to reducing exclusionary zoning
Earlier this year, Oregon made housing headlines when House Speaker Tina Kotek introduced legislation that would end single-family-only zoning in the Portland metro area and in Oregon’s larger cities. HB 2001 was – and continues to be – viewed as a significant step towards addressing Oregon’s severe shortage of homes. According to our own research, […]
| May 17, 2019
The Legacy of Redlining Lives on Today Through Exclusionary Zoning
As many of you likely know, much of our modern municipal zoning regime was created after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down government-backed residential segregation in Buchanan v. Warley in 1917. While the Court found that explicit, government-backed laws preventing primarily African American citizens from purchasing property in predominantly white neighborhoods were unconstitutional, the following decades […]
| May 14, 2019
The Fifth Wave of Housing Advocacy
America’s approach to housing, and particularly affordable housing, has ebbed and flowed over the past century. The nation’s focus on housing policy has shifted based on contemporary housing and economic challenges, with corresponding legislation and institutions created to address those issues. From New Deal programs to President Bush’s ownership society, our governments’ relationship to housing […]