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
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.
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
Court rules for colonia residents over FEMA denial of post-disaster home repair help
Our friends at La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) have been waging a multi-yearContinue Reading
Looking for a place to live without “bullets flying through the property”
A University of Texas law professor and community leaders recently spoke with tenants at an apartment complex in Sunnyside, a historicallyContinue Reading
Suit filed to overturn Texas prohibition on source of income protection for voucher holders
In Texas, there is a law formally protecting landlord discrimination against people with housing vouchers, most of whom are African-American. A lawsuit filed Thursday inContinue Reading
Proclaiming defiance of housing desegregation order, Houston mayor takes a small step to end the practice
It is really hard to figure out Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s position on racial housing segregation in government-assisted housing. HeContinue Reading
Houston area representative, pledging to ‘Stop Low-Income Government Housing,’ files bill
Elected on a pledge to “Stop Low-Income Government Housing” (see campaign ad above), Real Estate Broker and State Representative ValoreeContinue Reading
A plan for increasing Austin’s affordable housing, racial and economic diversity
Austin is experiencing a moment of anxiety and introspection unlike any I have seen since I came here 44 yearsContinue Reading
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner rejects compliance with federal order to end segregation of government-subsidized housing
Government-subsidized housing in Houston is among the most racially and economically segregated in the country thanks in large part toContinue Reading
Lincoln Property Company, country’s second largest apartment manager, hit with racial discrimination lawsuit
The Dallas-based Inclusive Communities Project (ICP) has filed suit in federal district court against one of Texas’ largest property managementContinue Reading
Sweeping federal investigation finds City of Houston’s housing segregation violates Civil Rights Act
Racial housing segregation in Houston is no accident. It is not voluntary on the part of Houstonians of color. It isContinue Reading
Video: 10 ways to invest in the forgotten America and rebuild rural communities post-election
I gave this speech at the Housing Assistance Council Rural Housing Conference in Washington, D.C. on November 30. Watch the fullContinue Reading
A post-election question: “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”
I gave this speech before a group of community leaders and academics in Austin on November 15, reflecting on recentContinue Reading
Fair housing case produces lasting changes for Texas and nation
This piece originally ran on Shelterforce Magazine’s Rooflines blog. The Inclusive Communities project has now filed a motion and briefContinue Reading
Houston flooding plan fails to provide needed investment or protect civil rights
On August 18, 2016, I provided testimony at a public hearing over the City of Houston’s draft Action Plan for CommunityContinue Reading
Stirring call for fair housing in Houston Chronicle editorial
The Houston Chronicle editorial board wrote a powerful column in support of fair housing in Sunday’s edition. We would not normally quoteContinue Reading
City of Houston, [bc]Workshop, TOP deserve the national recognition for engaging community and consumers to design better homes
Congratulations to our friends and partners at buildingcommunityWORKSHOP [bc], Texas Organizing Project (TOP) and to the City of Houston Housing andContinue Reading
State interference threatens Galveston’s promise of equitable disaster recovery
Eight years ago, Galveston was devastated by Hurricane Ike. Four years ago, at the urging of the Texas General LandContinue Reading
A call to confront segregation in colonias: Addressing development and civil rights
[The following remarks were delivered on June 22, 2016 at a conference, Southwest Border Colonias: Housing and Sustainable Development inContinue Reading
Austin for everyone: Building an inclusive, diverse city begins in every neighborhood
[The following remarks were delivered before the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects on June 21, 2016.] IContinue Reading
A builder of The Beloved Community passes – who’s gonna fill her shoes?
Photo: Charles Smith, Katherine Poole, Councilwoman Sally Shipman in the midst of fight to save Blackland neighborhood from University of Texas expansion (ca.Continue Reading
Proposed program change would provide voucher holders with greater choice, opportunity
A proposed rule change for the use of federal Housing Choice Vouchers would greatly improve the chance that housing vouchers will do what theyContinue Reading
Advocates: Let’s get the National Housing Trust Fund details right from the beginning
This piece originally ran on Shelterforce Magazine’s Rooflines blog. It’s rare when a major new national housing program comes along.Continue Reading