No images? Click here
Dear friend,
Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Property Rights Program at New America. This month, we launched our report, Displaced in America: Mapping Housing Loss Across the United States, accompanied by a number of events. We've also continued to write about the impact of climate change on real estate. And, we’re hiring! Apply for a job on our team before September 25. Here's what we've been up to:
What We're Doing
Displaced in America: Mapping Housing Loss Across the United States
The Future of Property Rights Program is excited to share Displaced in America, a national study that examines two primary mechanisms of home loss in the United States: evictions and mortgage foreclosures.
We ranked 2,200 U.S. counties by their severity on a housing loss index--our new metric for displacement that combines eviction and foreclosure. We also analyzed the who, why, where, and consequences of home loss, diving down to the census tract level in three counties: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Marion County, Indiana.
If you missed our launch events, you can check out the recordings here:
- Displaced in America: FPR presented its national findings, and hosted a panel discussion on lasting solutions to home loss.
- Housing Loss in Indianapolis: FPR and New America Indy discussed displacement in Indianapolis, with an emphasis on racial inequity.
We're also holding a third online event today at 12 PM ET on housing loss, poverty, and economic mobility in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and hope that you'll join us. You can RSVP here.
Future of Property Rights in the News
Our Displaced in America report is receiving media attention across the country, with heightened interest in Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina. Below are a few highlights:
- Reuters featured the Displaced in America research in an article about targeting COVID-related housing aid.
- CityLab featured the Displaced in America research in an article about COVID-related evictions.
- The Arizona Republic featured the Displaced in America research in an article about home loss in the Phoenix-Tempe-Mesa metro area.
- WFDD, a radio station in Winston-Salem, ran a feature segment on the Displaced in America research in Forsyth County.
- WFYI, Indianapolis’ NPR affiliate, ran a feature segment on the Displaced in America research in Marion County.
- Tim Robustelli and Craig Richardson wrote for The Winston-Salem Journal about how Forsyth County, North Carolina needs long-term solutions to housing loss, effective well after the COVID-19 crisis recedes.
- The Future of Property Rights team was featured on television and radio, discussing their research on housing loss. Yuliya Panfil joined a panel discussion on the housing episode of WFYI-Indianapolis' "Where Do We Go From Here?", while Tim Robustelli was interviewed by KJZZ, a Phoenix-based radio station.
- The research was also covered by Cronkite News, the Arizona Daily Star, the National Post, DS News, the Deccan Herald, and The Standard.
Climate Change is Threatening to Create a New Housing Crisis in America
Katie Oran and Yuliya Panfil wrote for Business Insider about the looming housing crisis in the U.S. as climate change continues to wreak havoc on coastal communities. In the past 40 years, the U.S. Government and private insurance have spent $300 billion more rebuilding storm-damaged coastal properties than it would have cost to relocate every single household within 700 feet of the ocean. Yet, banks and private lenders continue to issue billions in mortgages in high-risk coastal zones each year, allowing thousands to move into harm's way.
What We're Reading
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak economic havoc globally, poor renters in South Africa are building settlements on vacant rural land--or so they claim. Kim Harrisberg writes that these tenants assert they have no other options due to a severe shortage in affordable housing. But these occupations have resulted in outcries from landowners, who want the perceived squatters evicted. To complicate matters: some renters are occupying land stripped from their ancestors during colonization and Apartheid, leading to hopes for repatriation. What can Americans and South Africans learn from one another regarding land reform after centuries of race-based discrimination?
Securing land rights for indigenous communities in Brazil can help to prevent deforestation and conserve millions of acres of land, reports Anna Kusmer. Land controlled and protected by tribes in the Amazon saw two-thirds less deforestation than unprotected areas. Yet indigenous land rights are increasingly under threat in Brazil, as processes to secure these rights have not been acted upon under Bolsonaro. As we've seen elsewhere, a single administration can quickly dismantle environmental protections. So, what policies can help set things right in the future for Brazil?
Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Feel free to reach out to us at FPR@NewAmerica.org.
Until next month, the FPR 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 Property Rights 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.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive newsletters from New America. Click to update your subscription preferences or unsubscribe from all New America newsletters.