What New Orleans Can Teach Other Cities About Reducing Homelessness
October 15, 2019
In the shadow of the Superdome — the epicenter of Hurricane Katrina’s horrors — Will Vanslaughter zips in and out of traffic, scrubbing windshields, charming drivers, armed with a squeegee, a water bottle and a smile.
Luxury Apartments Get the Tax Breaks Meant to Boost Low-Income Areas
September 25, 2019
Elyria-Swansea is a short bike ride from the epicenter of Denver’s brewery-hopping and co-working scene, but it feels farther away. Here modest mid-century bungalows and Victorian houses boxed in by chain-link fences press up against train tracks, Interstate 70, marijuana grow houses and a pet food factory that pumps musty smells into the air.
On-Site Health Care Could Help Seniors Stay at Home
September 24, 2019
The “two super fantastic ladies” — as one resident calls them — at the Weinberg Villages senior housing complex are operating quasi-undercover. Sure, they serve up smiles, friendly chit-chat and treats for four-legged visitors. But while they’re smiling and talking to the residents here, they’ve really got an ulterior motive.
‘Gravely Disabled’ Homeless Forced Into Mental Health Care in More States
September 11, 2019
Often, when she got high on meth, “Melanie,” who suffers from schizophrenia, would strip naked and run screaming straight into San Francisco traffic. Invariably, police would bring her to the hospital, where she’d undergo treatment. There, her psychotic symptoms would quickly subside.
New Grandfamilies Housing Caters to Seniors and Kids Alike
August 22, 2019
After her daughter died from lupus, Charlene Green was left caring for her two grandchildren. But their housing situation was precarious at best: mold and mildew everywhere, ceiling caving in.
Affordable Housing Push Challenges Single-Family Zoning
August 20, 2019
Phil Chang has a naturalist’s take on the 600-square-foot rental unit he built on top of his garage last year, after the city made it easier for people to add apartments to single-family homes.
The Feds Are Cutting Back on Group Homes. Some Say That’s a Big Mistake.
July 8, 2019
A landmark federal law aiming to revamp the foster care system will make it much harder for group homes to exist. (States can delay implementation of the law up to two years, but that means forgoing funding for prevention services.)
Housing Crunch Sends Bigger Populations to Smaller Towns
June 13, 2019
Cities with fewer than 200,000 residents grew faster than larger metropolises between 2017 and 2018 as high housing prices chased many people away from big cities and their closest suburbs.
Housing Authorities Reel as HUD Singles Out Undocumented Immigrants
May 23, 2019
Public housing authorities say they were blindsided by a proposed federal rule banning many immigrants from receiving housing assistance — and, they said, they will fight to keep it from being implemented, even if that means ending up in court.
Denver Homeless Camping Ballot Initiative Fails
May 8, 2019
Denver voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Initiative 300, a ballot question that sought to give homeless people the right to camp in public places. Some 83% of the 114,517 votes counted opposed the measure.
This City Might Give Homeless People the Right to Camp Anywhere
April 29, 2019
The Denver initiative is the latest front in a campaign advocates for homeless people have been waging at the state level for years.
Where ‘Returning Citizens’ Find Housing After Prison
April 23, 2019
Most people released from a New York City prison move straight into a shelter.
This ‘Innovative’ Housing Program Serves Just 3 Households
April 17, 2019
City leaders nationwide have been calling Denver to learn about the Lower Income Voucher Equity program — “LIVE Denver,” for short — since Democratic Mayor Michael Hancock announced the first-of-its-kind partnership in 2017.
‘A Pileup of Inequities’: Why People of Color Are Hit Hardest by Homelessness
March 29, 2019
Outside the shelter one recent morning, James Jeffery, a grizzled 69-year-old who’s been homeless off and on for a decade, stands, philosophizing. He moved to the city a few months ago, and he’s been bothered by something ever since. “Why are all these shelters in D.C. black more than anything?” .
Rural America Faces a Housing Cost Crunch
March 25, 2019
The problem of housing affordability, long a concern in popular big cities, has moved to rural America.
Rent Control Is Making a Comeback. But Is That a Good Idea?
November 28, 2018
Many states outlawed rent limits decades ago but booming cities want to overturn that.
Ballots for Buildings: Voters Weigh Affordable Housing Measures
November 6, 2018
More people are competing for an increasingly limited share of rental housing.
In Shift, States Step in on Affordable Housing
October 15, 2018
States are beginning to intervene in zoning rules, once a purely local matter.
This City Wants to Reverse Segregation by Reviving Neighborhoods
October 3, 2018
Should cities invest in neighborhoods with the greatest need, or those likely to prosper?
Getting a Section 8 Voucher Is Hard. Finding a Landlord Willing to Accept It Is Harder.
August 31, 2018
Section 8 tenants often are trapped by limited options.
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