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Dear friend,
Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. This month, we participated in a number of events focused on improving U.S. eviction data. Keep a lookout for our new report outlining some policy recommendations. We're also jumping back into research, exploring small-dollar mortgages in the U.S., as well as the links between climate change, natural resources, and conflict.
Here's what we've been up to:
What We're Doing
FLH Joins DataKind and The Rockefeller Foundation for Four Events on Eviction Data
Eviction data can help stakeholders better understand where housing instability is most acute, and who is experiencing displacement. But eviction data is often poor in quality and difficult to interpret, affecting how policymakers develop solutions to help marginalized communities.
FLH recently joined DataKind and The Rockefeller Foundation for a number of events focused on improving eviction data, including:
- FLH and The Rockefeller Foundation hosted an invite-only workshop with housing advocates, researchers, and government officials to finalize policy recommendations for improving U.S. eviction data.
- Tim Robustelli presented in an online discussion on the ethics of eviction data, as part of NYC Open Data Week 2021.
- FLH joined DataKind and more than 700 volunteers for a DataDive, during which the DataKind global community sprinted to map evictions in Tampa and New York City, further refining our shared methodology for visualizing home loss.
- Yuliya Panfil participated in a DataKind panel on public data, discussing the role of eviction data in policy formulation and its ensuing social impact.
Waste by Catherine Coleman Flowers—A Powerful Story on Why the U.S. Needs More Quality Housing
Issues surrounding home quality are often lost amid housing advocates' emphasis on affordability. But an estimated 20% of U.S. households are not connected to municipal sewer lines, and many poor families rely on failing septic tanks. As many as 1.7 million Americans do not have a toilet, tub, shower, or running water. In Waste, author Catherine Coleman Flowers sheds light on the little-known issue of crumbling sanitation infrastructure, demonstrating that the U.S. housing space must focus on quantity and quality.
FLH Fellow Dona Stewart wrote a review of Waste, noting that the federal government must do more to solve the issue. Read it here.
Forsyth County, North Carolina Struggles to Help Its Most Vulnerable Amid COVID-19
Federal relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic included tens of billions in housing aid. But across the country, local governments and their non-profit partners struggled to distribute these funds to the most vulnerable in their communities. Some organizations were stretched to their administrative limits as applications piled up. Elsewhere, "means testing" and extensive documentation requirements bogged down disbursement. The result: more American households at risk of displacement.
Our research partner Jack Portman explores housing aid delivery failures on the FLH Blog, highlighting the problem in Forsyth County, North Carolina, a starkly unequal community. As Jack argues, local governments must learn from the mistakes of 2020 in order to keep families housed.
What We're Reading
New research from the PRIndex team explores differences in land tenure insecurity between men and women. Based on a sample of 55,000 individuals from 33 countries, the study affirms the tean’s earlier findings that, contrary to popular belief, men and women experience roughly equal levels of insecurity. However, women experience higher levels of "internal" tenure insecurity from their family and community, whereas men experience greater "external" insecurity from investors or government. And while land formalization is effective in mitigating outside threats to land rights, it's less effective for easing problems closer to home. The report presents an important policy question: is land documentation an ineffective solution for strengthening women's land rights, based on the "internal" threats they tend to face?
"Renting is Terrible. Owning is Worse." - The Atlantic
Many tenants have it rough in the United States—scant legal protections, few government subsidies, and little opportunity to build wealth. Yet homeownership also has its own pitfalls, such as massive down payments, declining property values, and the risk of financial ruin via foreclosure. Shane Phillips argues that Americans need a third housing option, one that combines the accessibility and limited risk of renting with the stability and wealth-generating potential of homeownership. His answer: a public-ownership rental option, in which government loans build housing and tenants' rent checks pay it off, helping them grow some equity. As rents soar and traditional homeownership becomes increasingly unrealistic for middle- and lower-class families, we wonder what other innovative housing models can improve livelihoods?
Who owns the land and how is it controlled is a relevant question in just about every housing market. In Berlin, a grassroots campaign known as Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen (DWE) is calling for the expropriation of all corporate landlords who own more than 3,000 apartments in the city through a public referendum. If it passed, nearly 250,000 apartments would become a public good that is democratically controlled (via a legal process called Vergesellschaftung, or socialization). Author Joanna Kusiak examines the top reasons why socializing apartments that belong to big-scale corporate landlords is beneficial. Among them, it tackles the housing crisis at its roots; corporate landlords build few apartments and socialization can lead to increased housing; and it keeps money in the local economy. But is it politically feasible in the German capital? And, perhaps more importantly, is it replicable in other cities?
Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Feel free to reach out to us at FLH@NewAmerica.org.
Until next month, the FLH Team.
About New America
New America is dedicated to renewing the promise of America, bringing us closer to our nation’s highest ideals. We’re a different kind of think tank: one dedicated to public problem solving. Our team of visionary researchers, changemakers, technologists, and storytellers study and seize the opportunities presented by dramatic social and technological change. We search for powerful ideas, wherever they are, and collaborate with civic innovators around the world to develop evidence-based solutions.
The Future of Land and Housing Program at New America aims to help solve today’s property rights challenges, both at home and abroad. Through our research, writing, and convening, we strive to connect new constituencies and shed light on underreported issues in the property rights space.
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