No images? Click here
Dear friend,
Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. This month, we changed our program name, to better reflect the focus of our work! We're also finalizing our Displaced in the Sunbelt report, set for release next Thursday, January 28th. Keep a lookout for invites to report-related events in early February.
Here's what else we've been up to:
What We're Doing
Sabiha Zainulbhai Joins FLH
The Future of Land and Housing Program is very excited to announce that Sabiha Zainulbhai has joined our team as a Senior Policy Analyst.
Prior to New America, Sabiha worked at the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development in Washington, D.C., where she conducted research on local affordable housing and community development issues, and was a principal research analyst at NORC @ the University of Chicago.
Sabiha's work with FLH will focus on domestic housing and land use policy.
From Disaster to Recovery: Welcome to 2021
COVID-19 and its recession had disastrous consequences for housing security in the U.S., and FLH spent much of last year focused on displacement in America. We studied evictions and foreclosures nationwide, working with stakeholders to understand home loss amid the pandemic.
In 2021, we're beginning to see paths forward. To borrow President Joe Biden's words, our goal is to "build back better," using data to tackle racial discrimination and systemic inequities within the American housing system.
We also plan to refocus our attention on topics that we neglected last year: land and resource rights internationally; the impact of climate change on housing; and Project Visible, an effort to help people around the world use their digital trails to prove where they live.
Yuliya Panfil reflects on 2020, and previews our research agenda for the coming year, in a blog post here.
How Can the Biden Administration Ensure Women Benefit from Land Technology?
Governments, NGOs, and private companies all over the world are using drones, GPS, and blockchain to help millions of people map, document, and defend the rights to their land and homes. But these exciting advances carry a significant shortcoming: they're leaving women behind, further exacerbating the property rights gender gap.
Yuliya Panfil, in collaboration with Ailey Hughes and Stephanie Sampson from Medici Land Governance, wrote about the challenges that women face in accessing and utilizing land technology, and the ways the Biden administration, with Samantha Power nominated to head USAID, can change that.
Read the Thomson Reuters Foundation News article here.
What We're Reading
As the world continues to urbanize and digitize, more governments are considering the adoption of smart city technologies. From Toronto to Barcelona, cities are planning to implement tools such as self-piloted subway trains, air quality sensors, and AI chatbots. John Lorinc argues that project success depends a great deal on governance--such as the privacy laws, regulations, data standards, communication strategies, and institutional capacities surrounding smart city tech. Perhaps cities can learn from well-established practices related to bridges and buildings. But we wonder if elected officials can also learn anything from the governance of other public spaces, such as the commons?
Anagha Srikanth examines new techniques to save the Amazon from increased deforestation. It's well-known that Indigenous communities possess the knowledge to save the rainforest--and now they're able to access cutting-edge technology in their fight against illegal loggers. Nonprofits are supporting Indigenous leadership in the Amazon by providing drones and satellite imagery in order to monitor illicit logging activities. Deforestation has increased 10% amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as politicians' attention has shifted away from the Amazon, and the damage may soon become irreversible. We wonder what other modern tech and innovative property rights models can further protect the largest rainforest in the world?
"Atlanta's Mayor Hitches Her Legacy to an Ambitious Housing Affordability Plan" - U.S. News & World Report
Atlanta, Georgia added 700,000 residents in the last decade, with many high-earning workers attracted by the city's consistent economic growth. But this rapid expansion, along with strict zoning laws, has contributed to a severe affordable housing crisis. 60% of Atlanta is set aside for single-family homes, leaving many low-income residents housing-cost burdened and living in crowded and/or substandard housing. Trevor Bach examines a sweeping proposal from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to reform the city's zoning, allowing for more density amid the southern sprawl. But is local-level rezoning a feasible solution to housing shortages in the U.S., where conservative state leaders often limit the reform efforts of progressive city officials?
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.
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.