Substandard colonias are an enduring result of housing segregation that we can fix
The challenge of substandard colonias are not unique to the border or even our era, but are actually an ageContinue Reading
Author: John Henneberger
I started my commitment to housing justice for people and communities with low incomes in 1975 in Austin's Clarksville community.
These years of working side-by-side with dedicated community leaders to find solutions to housing and community development challenges have taught me some things and I’m learning new things every day.
Lawsuit by four Texas renters says State of Texas, HUD discriminate on race in Hurricane Harvey aid
Four South Texas renters filed a civil rights lawsuit last week in federal court alleging HUD and the State ofContinue Reading
RAPIDO is now a proven solution for disaster home rebuilding that is rapid, efficient, and just – let’s use it!
On June 12, 2019 at an open house for the final RAPIDO test home in Houston, Texas Housers co-director JohnContinue Reading
What “equity” in Hurricane Harvey drainage recovery means
The Houston Bayou Initiative invited me to present my views on what equity would look like in the allocation ofContinue Reading
The 8 things I’ve learned in my 40+ years in housing and community development
I’m often asked to summarize what I have learned in my 40+ years of activism in the field of housingContinue Reading
Secretary Carson asks anybody to offer examples of housing discrimination HUD has ignored and pledges to be on it “like white on rice.” Here you go Mr. Secretary
HUD Secretary Ben Carson assured members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee three weeks ago that he and HUDContinue Reading
The goal of disaster recovery should be more than returning to normal
I was honored to give the keynote at the 43rd Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop on July 9 inContinue Reading
Job announcement: Texas Houser Planner Analyst / Research Associate in Houston
Texas Housers has a immediate job opening for a Planner Analyst / Research Associate in our Houston office. DESCRIPTION This policyContinue Reading
Lenwood Johnson, passionate, disruptive warrior for justice, dies
Lenwood Johnson, legendary Houston displacement opponent, community preservationist, good neighbor, public housing activist and a Texas Houser board member forContinue Reading
NYT editorial on federal government’s failure to prevent states and cities from using federal dollars to perpetuate segregation
An editorial appears in Sunday’s New York Times on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act.Continue Reading
Sweeping new fair and affordable housing proposed by three Austin City Council members
Austin City Council members Garza, Renteria, and Casar have announced a sweeping progressive fair and affordable housing agenda. Here isContinue Reading
Clarksville’s story teaches lessons about Jim Crow, government racism and gentrification
Clarksville is a fading west Austin freedman’s community that can teach valuable lessons of the community struggle against the threeContinue Reading
A friendly city where the problems of race and equity go unacknowledged and unresolved
Lubbock proudly bills itself as “The Friendliest City in America.” The people of Lubbock are indeed friendly. Yet, like mostContinue Reading
President’s budget proposes massive cuts for Texas housing and community development
Douglas Rice has posted a blog that estimates the impact President Trump’s budget on affordable housing in each state. InContinue Reading
A big first step, yet questions remain as HUD announces $5 billion in federal disaster funds for Texas
(Editor’s note — This statement has been altered to incorporate the voice of our partner, Texas Appleseed) Meanwhile the WhiteContinue Reading
We demand HUD address City of Houston and Housing Authority violations of civil rights laws
The Texas Low Income Housing Information Service (TxLIHIS) has told the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that itContinue Reading
Published in Shelterforce: Rules for Radicals to Demand a Fair and Transformative Disaster Recovery
This piece was published in Shelterforce on Nov. 2, 2017. At Texas Housers, we’ve confronted a series of natural disastersContinue Reading
We are looking for four people who want to work with us for a just and equitable disaster recovery
Texas Housers is looking for four talented and dedicated people to work for housing justice with our team. The jobContinue Reading
Hurricane Harvey recovery: latest updates and intelligence
Texas Housers is tracking, reporting and blogging about Hurricane Harvey recovery. Let us know if there is something we shouldContinue Reading
A better way to speed recovery from Harvey, by Texas A&M Prof. Shannon Van Zandt
Pictured above, Professors Walt Peacock and Shannon Van Zandt of the Texas A&M Hazard Reduction and Recover Center at aContinue Reading
Videos of TRLA attorneys offer advice for recovering from Hurricane Harvey
Texas Housers is teaming up with attorneys from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid to produce a series of short videos providingContinue Reading
We have a job opening to steer our new Northwest Texas office
We are excited to announce that Texas Housers is setting up a new Northwest Texas office in Fort Worth toContinue Reading
Recommendations for getting the most out of Austin’s proposed CodeNEXT density bonus program
The CodeNEXT Density Bonus is a remarkable opportunity to achieve greater ethnic, racial and economic diversity and integration in Austin. IfContinue Reading
Sen. Elizabeth Warren questions former Houston housing director on his support for unprecedented federal budget cuts
Sen. Elizabeth Warren closely questioned Neal Rackleff, the former housing director in Houston and President Trump’s nominee for HUD AssistantContinue Reading
49 years after Dr. King’s death, Austin leaders offer a sweeping blueprint to racially integrate neighborhoods
Forty-nine years ago today Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Today Austin is proclaiming, in a manner thatContinue Reading
SAD FAKE NEWS: OMB Director vows “Nobody’s going to be kicked out of their houses”
A reporter asked President Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney a question at a press conference at theContinue Reading
Estimates of housing voucher cuts for each Texas city under President’s budget
Thanks to research by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, we can now see the effects that President Trump’s proposedContinue Reading
Health inequalities are strongly reflected in Houston’s residential racial segregation
Neighborhood inequality is most often measured by an area’s physical and economic characteristics. Yet health inequalities between neighborhoods receive less attentionContinue Reading
Texas 7th, Houston 3rd worst nationally among states, cities in housing affordability for poor
For many years Texans have consoled ourselves that while our state had a disproportionate number of families with extremely low incomes, at leastContinue Reading
Video: Texas Housers board member Dr. Shannon Van Zandt on colonia social vulnerability and disaster recovery
Our board member Dr. Shannon Van Zandt, a professor and interim head of Texas A&M University’s Landscape Architecture and UrbanContinue Reading