LOCUS and the Brookings Institution partnered on this research which examines the state of the real estate industry with data-backed insights, unpacking a series of five trends that are converging to create a mismatch between what the real estate industry is building and what is sorely needed to build a prosperous economy where everyone gets a chance to succeed.
The real estate industry is failing to fully address persistent segregation by race and income, pent-up demand for more attainable housing, destabilized regional housing markets fueled by climate change, and other converging trends. It’s time for a real estate reset.
Smart Growth America, along with some of our programs, identified immediate executive actions and long-term policy changes that the incoming Biden administration can implement to eliminate structural inequities and address catastrophic global climate change.
The House Select Committee on Climate Change released a new legislative blueprint this week for tackling the climate crisis that incorporates many of SGA’s recommendations across our programs, demonstrating how smart growth is at the very core of any potential plan to reduce emissions.
This week the House will consider the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that reflects many of Smart Growth America’s core priorities, including a new kind of transportation bill, billions to invest in new or rehabilitated affordable housing, and support for more inclusive and equitable development around transit to help give more Americans access to opportunity.
The popular narrative about younger generations aging and leaving urban centers is presented as inevitable. But most news stories fail to examine why many younger people are taking up residence in suburbia—or whether or not the suburbs they’re choosing have more in common with cities or the exurbs their parents preferred. Perhaps their move to the suburbs is more a product of constrained housing supply that leaves them with little choice but to decamp as they grow.
LOCUS and LOCUS Massachusetts are pleased to announce Jay Ash, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as the morning keynote speaker during the 2018 LOCUS New England Leadership Summit, happening October 24, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The 2017 Federal Financing Toolkit features 90 federal financing opportunities that are designed to help real estate developers and investors as well as local elected officials achieve their development goals.
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In rural places, a smart growth approach can mean putting a new post office near the elementary school, creating more affordable homes near jobs, or analyzing the long-term financial impact of development decisions.
Today, Dr. Ben Carson was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, putting him at the helm of the federal agency that oversees home mortgage lending practices and other housing-related programs.
To Secretary Carson we say congratulations. America’s housing and community development policies have a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of millions of Americans, and in your new position you have a unique and valuable opportunity to improve this country.
Smart Growth America and LOCUS are looking forward to working with Secretary Carson. He is an unconventional choice for this position, but can bring fresh eyes and renewed energy to the department. Under Secretary Carson HUD has the potential to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and address America’s housing affordability crisis. We believe the private sector can and should play a significant role in that work, and welcome a chance to collaborate.