Subject: Communities
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The U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to eliminate the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, in the latest move by this Congress to make ineffective government a self-fulling prophecy. Of course the census has been under increasing suspicion for…
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No one expects that a one-size-fits-all definition for community development or a blueprint model for effective CD is attainable—it must be tailored to the needs of individual communities. But are there basic rules we can follow for effective CD? We've…
Driving through Virginia's Hanover County the other day, I was struck by how much history has imprinted itself on the landscape. I drove by the Hanover Courthouse, where Patrick Henry argued against the English king's right to impose his will…
Unemployment and other economic reversals have led to adult children to come back home to live with their parents, increasing housing size and reducing demand for housing: (see NPR's "One Roof, Three Generations, Many Decisions") even as the number of…
The other day at a meeting I heard some residents complaining that Virginia's transportation department won’t pave their road. I had to feel for these folks, with their cars forever covered in dust from the dirt road, but I was…
I was introduced to the concept of the community garden on my street in Boston several years ago, on a site where a house had burned to the ground some time earlier. After it was cleared, the city claimed the…
Over the past couple weeks John Muller at the Greater Greater Washington blog has written some truly provocative pieces, including "Ward 8 development founders, may lose $4 million in grants" and "Abandominiums house Anacostia resentment," that identify important issues concerning…
"Why does everyone in the country live out in the middle of nowhere? It’s so inefficient!" This was the reaction of a friend of ours, who hails from Europe, on a recent visit to our rural neck of the woods.…
Boston's historic Charles Street AME never missed a mortgage payment, but the church could not refinance and ultimately fell in arrears on its $4 million construction loan to be used to build a community center. Separately, the church, founded in…
I read a recent column that suggested getting rid of the word “suburb.” While there’s still a distinction between the central city and the outskirts, the author noted that many of the outskirts have acquired an urban character, and can…
Having lived in DC for nearly a quarter century now, I am still flabbergasted to see white people pushing baby carriages on streets in my old neighborhood on H Street in Northeast. Now a national example of successful "commercial district…
On the national level, the Tea Party has been viewed by some as a conservative movement concerned with rolling back changes over the past few decades for social and economic justice. On the local level, though, community developers and planners may notice more…
Like many states over the past several years, New York State has been implementing fiscal austerity measures to rein in expenses in the face of struggling revenues. But what will be left of New York communities when the dust settles,…
Surprise! People in small towns like to walk and ride bicycles nearly as much as people in cities do. That's the word from a report just released by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. Since the statistics show the small town citizens…
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In October 2011 a coalition of Philadelphia-based community, faith, and labor groups under the umbrella of the Campaign to Take Back Vacant Land, the Women's Community Revitalization Project, and Shelterforce publisher National Housing Institute sponsored a symposium at Philadelphia City…
How can property owners become the stewards of a carefully crafted local vision? Milwaukee's "Queen Anne," one of the few Queen Annes in such a historic setting, is owned by an organization that has thrived on that same block for…
"From concrete to pasture." That's how one might characterize my relocation a couple years ago from Boston to Central Virginia. Boston is a place where a carefully landscaped pocket park nestled amid multi-family dwellings and shops represents the height of…
What's it like not having access to high-speed Internet today? For anyone who is aware of high-speed Internet, not having it is essentially to not have the Internet at all. If time is money, the time spent staring at the…
Last week's webinar, "Can Lease Purchase Save Us?," sponsored by NHI/Shelterforce and NeighborWorks America, provided an in-depth look at the lease purchase model that allows potential homebuyers to rent their intended home until they are ready to buy. The hour-and-a-half…
Milwaukee is about to lose an incredible economic opportunity due to an inability to capitalize on our talents. To kick off the new year and my inaugural Rooflines blog post, I'd like to begin by outlining an "Opportunity Profile." I…
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National Housing Institute
