Blog Archives

we’re looking for a few good planning ideas (Q&A with L.A. planning director)

Posted on November 22, 2010 by markvallianatos — No Comments ↓

We want you & your best ideas for planning & making Los Angeles a better place. Join UEPI at Occidental College on December 1 for a Q&A session with recently-appointed L.A. City Planning Director Michael LoGrande and L.A. Times architecture…

Edible Landscapes — At the White House, and For Affordable Housing Projects

Posted on December 3, 2008 by Robert Gottlieb — 1 Comment ↓

Barack Obama says he wants to reduce the carbon footprint of the White House. The idea of “Greening the White House” was first initiated by Jimmy Carter and then expanded during the Clinton years. But these greening initiatives have so…

How to Fix the Mortgage Mess 101

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

Friends and Colleagues: Here’s the problem with the nation’s troubled financial system in a nutshell: Americans don’t have enough money to pay their mortgages. In my piece in today’s Huffington Post, I explain why the President’s $700 billion bail-out proposal…

Tagged with: Bailout, Barack Obama, John McCain
Posted in Housing Justice

“John McCain Lives in Subsidized Housing” – Today’s Huffington Post

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

Last week the news media reported that John McCain didn’t know how many homes he and his wife Cindy own. (Answer: 10). So he also probably doesn’t realize that he lives in “subsidized” housing. As I explain in an article…

Tagged with: John McCain
Posted in Housing Justice, Politics & Elections

Abolish HUD?

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

Last Friday, Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh published a provocative op-ed column in the New York Times headlined, “To Fight Poverty, Tear Down HUD“. In this column, he argued that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is…

Tagged with: affordable housing, labor movement, planning, poverty
Posted in Housing Justice

Poverty, Crime, Housing, Race, — What’s the truth?

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Peter Dreier — 1 Comment ↓

Colleagues: When journalists and social scientists write about poverty, crime, race, and housing policy — especially when they stir them together — it is bound to provoke controversy. Journalist Hannah Rosin recently stirred up a hornet’s next with her cover…

Tagged with: affordable housing, hannah rosin, peter dreier, poverty
Posted in Housing Justice

Democrats Challenge GOP on Mortgage Mess

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

The mortgage meltdown has become a hot political issue. The number of foreclosures is spiraling. Last week the Congress passed a bill, sponsored by Cong. Barney Frank, to help troubled homeowners. Every Dem voted for it, and most Republicans voted…

Tagged with: affordable housing
Posted in Housing Justice, Uncategorized

What can we learn from HUD Secretary Jackson’s resignation?

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Peter Dreier — No Comments ↓

This week, another top Bush administration official — HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson — resigned in disgrace under a cloud of corruption. What can we learn from this? Lessons #1: Corruption is only part of the problem. Many newspapers have reported…

Posted in Housing Justice