Dear friend,

Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. In the coming month, we'll be releasing a short report that analyzes the climate strategy of "managed retreat" in the United States. You can also catch the FLH team at the following events: 

🔊 On 9/24 at 8 a.m. ET, Yuliya Panfil will be speaking at UNIDROIT's launch of its Legal Guide to Agricultural Land Investment Contracts. Yuliya, who was one of the drafters, will speak about how to incorporate local communities and legitimate land tenure holders into concession contracts and other large agricultural investments. 

🔊 On 10/1 at 12 p.m. ET, Tim Robustelli will join speakers from HUD and NLIHC, among others, for a panel discussion reflecting on the Biden Administration's housing ambitions, achievements, and frustrations. The event is hosted by UNC-Greensboro's Center for Housing and Community Studies.

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

What We're Doing

CNN OpEd: Eviction Notices Will Get to Renters Sooner Than Most Relief Payments

The federal eviction moratorium, combined with the distribution of emergency rental assistance, served as twin pillars of federal protection to keep evictions at bay during a global pandemic that led to record job losses almost overnight. 

These measures were supposed to work hand-in-hand. But now the Supreme Court has struck down the eviction moratorium, and there's diminishing hope that aid will reach renters’ doorsteps before eviction notices will.

The federal plan wasn’t a bad one, but it was also unlikely to work. FLH's Sabiha Zainulbhai shares why in an op-ed for CNN Business. 

Read the piece here. 

Thousands are Fleeing Afghanistan. What Happens to Their Property?

As the Taliban swept through Afghanistan in their return to power, much news coverage focused on the chaotic scenes at Kabul's international airport. Thousands of Afghans were desperately fleeing the country, and they left behind their homes and land, with likely little proof of their ownership over these financially and emotionally valuable assets. 

The return of property is a critical part of repatriation and peace building, and the international community has developed a set of rules for restoring homes and land once a conflict has ended. Yet such processes are often upended by a widespread lack of property ownership documents, as well as ineffective governance, simmering ethnic or political tensions, and the simple passage of time.

So where does this leave Afghanistan? FLH's Yuliya Panfil wrote for The Thread, New America's monthly newsletter, exploring the significant challenges Afghans will face in reclaiming their land and rebuilding their country.

Read the article here.

When It Comes to Eviction and Foreclosure Data, What Do Cities and Counties Want to Know?

FLH, DataKind, and 14 cities and counties are partnering to develop a publicly-available data tool that will help local housing leaders generate insights about evictions and foreclosures. In a blog series, we're exploring the nuances of developing a local data infrastructure. 

In this post, we asked our partners how they hope to use their eviction and foreclosure data to prevent housing loss. 

FLH's Sabiha Zainulbhai writes about their responses.

Read the blog post here.

What We're Reading

FLH staff share what has stood out to them lately on land, housing, and property rights in the U.S. and internationally.

Yuliya Panfil

How mass migration and its ripple effects are upending lives across Latin America: The number of migrants around the world is at an all-time high, and climate change driven events have forced the populations of entire cities out of their homes. This photo essay in The Washington Post looks at the plight of migrants driven from countries across Latin America by natural disasters, deteriorating environmental conditions, gang violence, political instability, and hunger. It asks: what is the plight of those who are born, grow, and die on the move? Often, land is the most valuable resource these communities leave behind, and the most valuable resource they seek. How must our land governance systems adapt, to account for these new and frightening dynamics?

Sabiha Zainulbhai

How the Storm Turned Basement Apartments Into Death Traps: At least 11 of the 13 deaths in the wake of Hurricane Ida in New York City occurred in basement apartments that flooded. The New York Times reports how basement apartments have long been a source of relatively affordable housing in New York City, especially for immigrant communities. But many of these units also operate illegally, making them difficult to regulate and more likely to pose health and safety risks. In the case of Ida, it was the lack of a basic safety feature—more than one exit—that led to this horrific tragedy, further highlighting the connection between access to affordable and safe housing and protection in a world of increasing climate-related disasters. As we see an uptick in these events, how do we adapt quickly enough to ensure that those with the least protection, in every sense of the word, are not the most at risk?     

Tim Robustelli

India evictions during COVID-19 a 'human rights crisis': As a program, we’ve spent considerable time analyzing U.S. housing instability and evictions amid COVID-19. Yet this article from Thomson Reuters Foundation News reminds us that evictions are a global issue. According to Indian housing advocates, over 250,000 people were evicted and 43,000 homes were demolished in the country during the pandemic—both actions often carried out on court orders. And unlike in the U.S., where eviction usually follows the nonpayment of rent, these Indian households were removed mostly due to environmental, infrastructure, and city beautification projects. With many millions still at-risk of eviction, can housing groups and Indian officials find a way to work together and keep people housed as the virus continues to spread?

Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Reach out to us at FLH@NewAmerica.org or tag us at @FLHatNewAmerica.

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 land and housing rights challenges, both in the United States and internationally. Through our research and writing, convening, and collaboration with civic innovators worldwide, we strive to connect new constituencies, shed light on underreported issues, and implement creative approaches 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.