“This is a terrible place to live, and I just don’t know how to get out.” – a resident of…
Category: Local issues
Local issues consist of housing topics faced by city and county governments that are of interest to local organizers and community groups.
When cities do not act, let’s give communities the power to take over abandoned properties
The problem posed by abandoned, derelict housing where cities have failed to follow through on code violations extends beyond multifamily…
Dallas Housing Authority director resigns under pressure – this is one tough job
Ann Lott, executive director of the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) has resigned under pressure from members of the housing authority’s…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 7/30/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver shares with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories from his weekly…
Questions, answers, concerns about the new $4 billion foreclosed homes program in Texas
One of the subprograms of greatest controversy within the major housing legislation passed by Congress on Saturday (HR 3221) is…
Austin housers win funding victory
Austin housers won a major victory Thursday when the Austin City Council reversed city staff recommendations and rejected deep cuts…
Understanding public attitudes toward public housing
Amidst a lot of anger and outrage directed at a proposed development in Northeast Austin proposing to provide transitional housing…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 7/23/2008
My friend and fellow houser Bo McCarver has agreed to share with the Texas housers blog the housing related stories…
Low Income Housing Tax Credit program in Dallas frozen and challanged in lawsuit
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program in Dallas has been effectively shut down for several years and is now…
Houston’s fair housing failure segregates Katrina evacuees in SW slum apartments
Today’s dangerous housing problems in the Southwestern part of Houston have been greatly exacerbated by the actions of Houston city…
Two proposed tools to get aggressive with slum landlords
For the past two days I have been exploring in this blog ways to deal with the massive problem of…
Houston Mayor Bill White tells Houstonians not to worry about substandard apartments
I was proud to present Houston Mayor Bill White an award in 2007 on behalf of the National Low Income…
It is too late for two children but now is the time for Houston to act on slum apartments
It happened again last night. More kids were hurt, this time killed, in the slum apartments the city of Houston…
Recalling the prehistory of public housing in Texas
Watch our interview with Professor Fox on the origins of public housing in Texas. A number of years ago Karen…
The present day saga on one Texas non-border colonia
First Texas had colonias along the border with Mexico. Now “non-border colonias” are an emerging issue. A colonia, in Texas terms,…
Austin housers voice concerns over proposed city housing cuts
Leaders in Austin’s affordable housing community met July 1 the City of Austin’s new Chief of Staff, Anthony Snipes to…
Katrina evacuee’s Habitat success story greeted by cheers and jeers
Reading the story in the Houston Chronicle on July 4 about Andrea Lee who moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina…
The voice of consumers is missing in judging subsidized housing
Low income tenants are seldom consulted about the quality of housing that the government builds for them. I have long…
Unraveling the mystery of 500 unused Dallas Section 8 vouchers
The Dallas Morning News ran a story by Kim Horner on June 23 about 500 Section 8 vouchers that have…
El Cenizo community leader Lupe De Leon fought for property rights, housing, better living conditions
On Saturday, June 28, 2008, Lupe De Leon died at his home in El Cenizo TX. Mr. De Leon was…
Part 2: Housing segregation in Austin – a community blind to the problem
Watch my video blog or read the text below. Austin is a city of intense racial and economic segregation. Despite…
Part 1: Housing segregation in Austin – a product of government policy
Watch the slide show of racial and economic housing segregation and the current housing policy decisions of the City of…
Home builders object and Austin backs away from housing visitability requirements
June 18 was not an auspicious day in Austin housing rights history. Shortly before voting to adopt the anemic affordable…
City of Austin’s affordable housing initiative fizzles out
An Austin City Council affordable housing initiative fizzled out early June 19 as the Council voted to adopt a PUD…
City of Austin staff proposes housing cuts of over $6 million
My colleague, Karen Paup stays up to date on all the Austin housing issues and she has pointed out an…
House flippers and scam artists prey on Houston poor
House flippers and scam artists prey upon low income Texans as they desperately struggle to find a home or try…
Disgraceful indifference to substandard conditions in Houston
In an outstanding piece of investigative journalism Houston Chronicle staff writers Matt Stiles, Mike Snyder and Julio Cortez have exposed…
Inclusionary zoning: background
After yesterday’s posting in which I discussed the use of inclusionary zoning several people asked me what inclusionary zoning is…
Recommendations for state action to prevent displacement of low income people from gentrifying neighborhoods
A group of us have been kicking around ideas to address the problem of the involuntary displacement of low income…
Do Texas cities care about gentrification?
The problem of the displacement of low-income families from long-established inner city neighborhoods has become a major issue in the…