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'Shared equity' model for U.S. housing boosts home ownership for poorer families

Gregory Scruggs

January 21, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

A community land trust in North Carolina uses a "shared equity" model to help minority and low income people obtain access to affordable housing. The trust owns the land underneath the house, therefore holding onto the majority of the wealth of the property and allowing homes to be sold below market value.

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Rent-a-sister: Coaxing Japan's young men out of their rooms

Amelia Martyn-Hemphill

January 18, 2019 |

BBC |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Tokyo

In Japan, an organization called New Start employs women that help men who are withdrawn from society. These men, called hikikomori, are often experiencing mental health issues, and cannot leave their homes. That’s where New Start’s rent-a-sister program comes in. These women spend months, sometimes years, with these men, building trust, giving advice, and adjust to society. The organization also provide halfway houses for these men, with 80% successfully re-entering society as independent individuals.

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How This Southern City Is Making Tech Work for People

Audrey F. Henderson

January 09, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Birmingham, Alabama

Successful public private collaborations promote civic innovations that add value to communities. Programs that bring together nonprofits, tech start-ups, universities, and city leaders are helping Birmingham, Alabama, emerge as a model city for tech innovation in the region. Initiatives such as Innovate Brigham and the NHabitBham housing database use grants from the city and federal government, and donations from other partners to fund collaborations. While empowering residents by gathering and providing access to data on the wellbeing of Birmingham’s communities, these programs also add value to the city.

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U.S. Faith Communities Are Tackling the Housing Crisis

Charlotte West

January 08, 2019 |

Medium |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In cities like Denver, Seattle, and Chicago, faith-based communities use their land to aid in the affordable housing crisis. Because many communities of faith sit on large expanses of valuable land within city limits, they've begun using their land to offer housing for low-income families and other underserved community members.

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Dutch eco initiative halves energy bills in first UK homes

Adam Vaughan

January 07, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Nottingham, England

By piloting a Dutch initiative to make homes more energy efficient with new windows and solar panels in the United Kingdom, tenants are seeing their monthly energy bills decrease by almost half. More than 150 social housing homes in Nottingham are testing the “Energiesprong” approach, which has already seen success in the Netherlands.

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Athens' Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Addresses Resident Needs

Kristen Adaway

January 06, 2019 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

In Athens, Georgia, an ombudsman program for long-term care residents at senior and nursing homes is holding institutions accountable and ensuring that residents' complaints are heard. The program comes from a requirement in the amended Older Americans Act and encompasses anything from complaints about food to hygiene to being treated with dignity.

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The Fight to Keep Teachers in Tech Hubs From Being Priced Out

Dana Goldstein

January 04, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Jose, California

In an attempt to retain teacher talent, the Santa Clara Unified School District has begun renting out apartments to teachers at subsidized rates so they can afford to stay and teach. While several cities across the country have attempted ways to offer more affordable housing to teachers, they are up against residents who are worried about the value of the their homes decreasing, even as tech companies move in. To keep teachers and families and good schools, something will need to change.

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Why Co-op City Confounds Stereotypes About Big Housing Projects

Adam Tanaka

January 03, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

A racially integrated middle-income housing unit in the Bronx serves both as an inspiration and an enigma in the New York City housing market. Co-op City, which just celebrated its 50th birthday, accepts tenants of all income brackets and ethnicities, serving as a model in an otherwise quickly gentrifying neighborhood.

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To Fight Blight, One City Turned to Courts

J. Brian Charles

December 21, 2018 |

Governing |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Petersburg, Florida

An initiative in St. Petersburg has reduced the number of vacant houses while increasing access to affordable housing. The city takes ownership of vacant lots and abandoned homes, then sells the properties to affordable housing developers or auctions them off. The initiative helps make land cheap enough to build affordable housing.

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How a Consultant Said He Gamed HUD Inspections: Sweep Problems Behind a Wall

Molly Parker Patrick Johnson

December 21, 2018 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Springfield, Massachusetts

Consultants have helped public housing pass safety and health inspections by covering up serious issues with temporary walls and cosmetic fixes. “The biggest reason why most properties don’t pass,” says one consultant, is “they just don’t understand how to play the game with the points.”

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