This deposit-free apartment plan could be life-changing for Philly renters

Detroit offers a model for providing residents with no-interest loans to perform upkeep on their houses, thereby working to stimulate the local construction economy and improve quality of life.

An ambitious plan for the 69-acre Regent Park neighborhood is disrupting entrenched notions of class, race and religion, at a time when concerns over income inequality and immigration are growing.

Ohio has more than 50 land banks, which are best known for reducing blight by demolishing old buildings, but several land banks are trying creative ways to enhance their land on a budget. Successful projects include a program for locals to redevelop old lots, a pop-up art gallery in a condemned house, and urban forests to make communities more welcoming. The collective effect of these projects is to revitalize cities all across the state.

Over two million baby boomers own their own companies, and with retirement looming, the government stepped in with a solution. A portion of a 2018 federal bill included language that will push the Small Business Administration to help baby boomers transition ownership of their companies to their employees if they wish. This will mitigate job loss often associated with a retiring business owner putting the company up for sale. Employee owners on average make a higher salary and have higher job stability, supporting the idea that employee ownership is beneficial for everyone involved, as well as for the econom

Landed will pay for half a teacher's down payment on a home in exchange for a quarter of profits when the house is sold down the line. The San Francisco-based startup has recently arrived in Bellevue, where the median home price is hovering around $1 million.

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.

Old and neglected housing contributes to climate change because it runs on fossil fuels. In New York, outdated heating systems waste two-thirds of energy. The New York City Housing Authority is not only trying to create better, safer, more livable affordable housing, but also cleaner and more sustainable housing. While the city is just beginning to explore how to do that, other cities, like Paris, have already begun the work of updating old buildings that are used for affordable housing and can offer a model for American cities.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust uses conservation easements to conserve agricultural land in the state. These agreements happen when a landowner sells or donates the development rights to their land to the trust forever. They are allowed to keep farming the land, but it must remain undeveloped.

The Chinese American Service League’s (CASL) Change InSight coalition surveys communities in more Asian languages to allow for more inclusive data collection, particularly among low-income AAPIs. Better data collection increases the visibility of the challenges under-resourced AAPIs face, allowing the CASL to launch social service programs to address challenges in the community, like food insecurity.

Fortify Life takes a holistic approach to addressing homelessness and also provides emergency and long-term stays in a renovated motel for people experiencing homelessness. Long-term guests participate in a micropayment program that teaches them how to budget and become financially self-sufficient. Since 2021, Fortify Life has helped 179 families with emergency or transitional housing.