Dear friend,

Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. This month, we were busy finalizing a report on eviction data in the United States. Keep an eye out, as we plan to publish the study next week. We're also continuing research on a wide range of topics, from small dollar mortgage loans in North Carolina to the intersections of climate migration, land use, and conflict in the Sahel region of Africa.

Here's what else we've been up to:

What We're Doing

Maryland Needs a Comprehensive Eviction Database

U.S. states are receiving billions in federal housing assistance, as American renters continue to struggle amid COVID-19. But many decision-makers lack the necessary information to effectively direct funds towards at-risk households. In Maryland, for example, aggregate eviction data is only available in 3 out of 24 counties, and the latest statistics are from 2016. Without data showing where evictions are most acute, and who is being displaced, how can the state help its most vulnerable?

Tim Robustelli wrote an OpEd for The Washington Post arguing that Maryland needs an up-to-date eviction database to better help struggling renters, both during the pandemic and in the long-term.

FLH and LifeScope Present Project Visible at MIT's March Idea Flow

Nearly half the world's population lacks documentation to prove ownership of their homes and land. At the same time, we're increasingly spending our social and economic lives online. Through Project Visible, FLH and our partner LifeScope are continuing to explore how the digital data we generate daily can demonstrate housing occupancy and property ownership.

We recently joined an idea flow session at MIT to discuss the potential use case of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, where FEMA denied 75,000 applications for housing aid due to lack of documented home ownership.

A recording of the brainstorm is available here.

The Government Is Helping People Pay Rent, but Something's Gone Wrong

Recent research from across the U.S. reveals that state and local governments are struggling to administer pandemic-related housing aid. Due to a combination of burdensome application requirements, patchy outreach, and staffing challenges, rent programs aren't reaching those most in need. But now, after a year of experience, local governments and their nonprofit partners should work to streamline their distribution processes and make programs more accessible.

Yuliya Panfil and Elizabeth Garlow, Director of New America's New Practice Lab, wrote an article for Slate, examining the problems surrounding rental aid and putting forth policy recommendations for increasingly efficient and equitable programs.

New America Presents "Calamity as Catalyst"

After a year of working from home, New America's experts recently reflected on the past 12 months, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. As part of New America's "Calamity as Catalyst," a digital editorial feature, Tim Robustelli gets personal as he writes about housing insecurity amid COVID-19 and last summer's national reckoning with racial injustice. 

Other articles and videos from our New America colleagues share perspectives on policy in the pandemic, racial equity, access to the internet, online learning, and more.

What We're Reading

"Pakistan slum dwellers map flood risks to stop evictions" - Thomson Reuters Foundation News

As climate change brings more extreme weather, residents of flood-prone areas are looking for new solutions to minimize threats to their homes. Heavy monsoon rains flooded much of Karachi last year, leading local authorities to plan for the demolition of thousands of slum settlements to widen the stormwater drains many blamed for the disaster. Faced with the prospect of evictions, residents worked with the non-profit Technical Training Resource Center to map and mark drain blockages throughout the city. Their efforts showed only a small number of houses needed to be removed to clear the drains, staving off thousands of evictions that the government originally planned, while also providing invaluable data as to where the flood risks are located. The question now is can this grassroots model be replicated throughout the country?

"Land-grab universities" - HighCountryNews

What do Cornell, Washington State, MIT and 49 other colleges and universities across the U.S. all have in common? They benefited from a massive wealth transfer in 1862, when President Lincoln sold nearly 11 million acres of Indigenous land in order to save fledgling higher education institutions. Researchers Robert Lee and Triston Ahtone chronicle every acre obtained and sold from nearly 250 tribes, bands, and communities, and illustrate how these acres have led to growing endowments that institutions continue to profit from today. This detailed accounting challenges universities to go beyond acknowledging the land they sit on, and to re-evaluate their foundations for success.

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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