Dear friend,

Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. This month, we wrote about Miami, rising waters, and large-scale adaptation, and also continued to share the Foreclosure and Eviction Analysis Tool (FEAT) as a "digital public good" with cities and counties across the country. We're also gearing up for a busy start to the summer.

🔊 Join us June 16th for a panel discussion on the United States' climate future, capping off our "Future of the Coasts" series with Slate. Invite forthcoming.

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

What We're Doing

Partnered Event with USAID, June 7: The Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure, Ten Years Later

Ten years ago, donors from around the world came together to negotiate a first-of-its-kind international agreement to strengthen and secure land rights in the context of food security—the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT). Arrival of the VGGT was hailed as a watershed moment for the land rights community, and prompted a flurry of activity and funding across dozens of countries.

We can now look back a decade later and ask: what have we accomplished; what have we learned; and where do we go from here? 

Please join New America and USAID on June 7th at 9 a.m. (U.S. Eastern) for an online discussion that takes stock of the VGGT's first decade, and discusses the future of this landmark agreement.

Register for the webinar here.

How Miami Can Survive Climate Change

Scientists predict 5-6 feet of sea-level rise in Miami by 2100, leaving South Beach completely underwater and downtown streets near-constantly flooded. That means billions in damages and property loss, climate gentrification, and untold instability as nearly 1 million people become displaced. And while many of the measures currently proposed or underway are wholly inadequate to deal with climate change in South Florida, a bleak future as the "American Atlantis" isn't inevitable.

Tim Robustelli and Shahin Vassigh, an architecture professor at Florida International University, wrote for Future Tense at Slate on the well-established—if ambitious—adaptation policies that Miami can adopt to better live with sea-level rise and hotter temperatures well into the 22nd century.

Read the article here, and explore our ongoing "Future of the Coasts" series on this page.

Large Investor Activity in Local Housing Markets 

Are Wall Street hedge funds, private equity firms, and other large investors really purchasing homes in the U.S. at higher rates than ever before? Or is this mostly perception, fueled by an ultra-competitive housing market amidst a nationwide lack of housing?

Sabiha Zainulbhai and Zach Blizard, Data Analytics and Research Manager at the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM), examine 20 years of home purchases in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and find that, in fact, large investors account for a relatively small percentage of the local real estate market. But the trends reveal other insights into their presence in this local housing market, indicating a critical need to track and assess their investment activity over time. 

Read the blog post here. 

ICYMI: Our Webinar, "Millions of Ukrainians Have Fled. What Happens to Their Property?"

The war in Ukraine continues to rage in eastern and southern regions, yet refugees are returning home in large numbers. As they begin to rebuild, how can Ukrainians reclaim houses still standing, or receive compensation for the homes that have been destroyed?

On April 21, we and the Norwegian Refugee Council hosted a webinar to discuss the measures that policymakers can adopt for a successful post-war recovery and what Ukrainian refugees can do to improve the odds of reclaiming the property they left behind.

A recording of the event, along with additional resources, is available 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

Estimating eviction prevalence across the United States: Homeowner associations across the U.S. have historically had a lot of leverage over what kind of development happens in their backyard. In recent years, this has extended to not only what gets built, but over who can purchase and own homes in their neighborhoods as well. Homeowner associations across the U.S. are increasingly placing caps on the number of homes that investors can purchase, especially out-of-town investors who turn properties into rentals, and delay maintenance. There is a lot of concern over the increasing presence of investors in the U.S. housing market, and any measures to ensure this does not go unchecked are warranted. However, ceding control to homeowners associations, many of which also block the development of new, affordable housing, raises questions about which neighborhoods will have the power to resist investor activity and whether more systematic regulations are needed.

Tim Robustelli

Park rangers enter fray in West Africa’s battle with militants: A recently leaked report from African Parks shows that the international conservation group has moved beyond the protection of flora and fauna across the continent. In June 2020, rangers guarding a national park in northern Benin actively pursued suspected Islamist militants using the reserve as a safe haven, in coordination with the state army and police. The previously undisclosed 36-hour chase suggests that the lines between conservation and security are becoming increasingly blurred in the politically-volatile Sahel region. Some West African officials welcome the increased security role for African Parks, especially as former colonial power France significantly reduces its counterterrorism force in the region and local governments struggle to contain the growing extremist threat. Yet many conservation experts worry that such activities make park rangers  targets for insurgents, and hinders their work to preserve natural habitats and support local communities' economic needs.

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.

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