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Shelter Poverty: The Chronic Crisis Of Housing Affordability, Michael E. Stone

Michael E. Stone

This paper examines housing affordability in the United States over the past three decades using the author’s concept of “shelter poverty.” The major findings are as follows: The number of shelter-poor households has been over 30 million since the early 1990s, an increase of more than 70 percent since 1970. Among families with children, rates of shelter poverty are much higher, and over the past several decades have risen faster, than among households with just one or two persons. Nearly half of all renter households are shelter-poor, victims of low incomes and rising rents; most low-income renters are headed by …

From Trespasser To Homeowner: The Case Against Adverse Possession In The Post-Crash World, Kristine S. Cherek

Kristine S Cherek

Since the financial crisis began in September of 2008, there have been approximately 3.7 million completed foreclosures in the United States, and approximately 1.4 million additional homes are currently in some stage of the foreclosure process. In the midst of this post-housing crash world, the centuries-old doctrine of adverse possession is gaining new attention. This Article examines the doctrine of adverse possession as it may be used, and as it is currently being used, with respect to residential properties that stand vacant as a result of foreclosure actions. As adverse possession is currently construed in a majority of states, a …

Adr’S Place In Foreclosure: Remedying The Flaws Of A Securitized Housing Market, Lydia Nussbaum

Lydia R. Nussbaum

Millions of Americans lost their homes during the foreclosure crisis, an unprecedented disaster still plaguing local and national economies. A primary factor contributing to the crisis has been the failure of conventional foreclosure procedures to account for the new realities of securitization and the secondary mortgage market, which transformed the traditional borrower-lender relationship. To compensate for the shortcomings of conventional foreclosure procedures and stem the tide of residential foreclosure, state and local governments turned to ADR processes for a solution. Some foreclosure ADR programs, however, have greater potential to avoid unnecessary foreclosures than others. This article comprehensively examines the key …

Decison Models For Housing And Community Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Affordable Housing: Update On Federal And State Activities, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

The Fair Housing Act, Zoning, And Affordable Housing, Patricia E. Salkin, John M. Armentano

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

Can You Hear Me Up There? Giving Voice To Local Communities Imperative For Achieving Sustainability, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

Sustainable development is an international challenge that demands attention at all levels of government. The calls to action to achieve sustainability have varied over the last few decades. For example, in the 1970s and 1980s attention was focused on the need for environmental review and growth management strategies. In the 1990s the rhetoric shifted to smart growth and livable communities, and today, the issue has been reframed as advocates view sustainability through the lens of global warming and climate change. Regardless of the nomenclature, however, the end game is the same. While the United States as a whole speaks through …

Housing For The Aging, Sybil R. Idelkope

Sybil R Idelkope

Future housing for the elderly should focus more on the psychological stresses of aging, and find solutions for the physical disabilities through this perspective. With design techniques such as biophilic architecture, mixed use and warmer, yet contemporary, materials, elderly housing can feel less institutional, and people can feel like their new home is at least comfortable and supportive of their needs.

Will The Social Housing Profession Be Politically And Socially Influential Or Irrelevant? Lessons From Other Professions, Mary A. Kaidonis

Mary Kaidonis

The emerging social housing profession in Australasia is poised to be an empowered base for influence or to it can be irrelevant. The information of the Australasian Housing Instutute (AHI) represents a new phase in social housing, offering a unique opportunity to re-define the notion of professionalism.

Unaffordable “Affordable” Housing: Challenging The U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development Area Median Income, Michael E. Stone

Michael E. Stone

There is no such thing as “affordable” housing. Affordability is not a characteristic of housing: It is a relationship between housing and people. For some people, all housing is affordable, no matter how expensive. For others, no housing is affordable, no matter how cheap.

Moving Beyond Two-Person-Per-Bedroom: Revitalizing Application Of The Federal Fair Housing Act To Private Residential Occupancy Standards, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

Moving Beyond the Two-Person-Per-Bedroom Standard: Revitalizing Application of the Federal Fair Housing Act to Private Residential Occupancy Standards

Tim Iglesias

Abstract

New empirical evidence demonstrates that the common residential occupancy standard of two-persons-per-bedroom substantially limits the housing choices of many thousands of families, especially Latinos, Asians and extended families. The federal Fair Housing Act makes overly restrictive policies illegal, but the enforcement practices of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have enabled the two-persons-per-bedroom standard to become de facto law. This article urges HUD to use its regulatory authority to remedy the situation and offers several solutions. …