Walk with me through our streets for a minute. You’ll see families who’ve been here for three generations taping up the last box and pulling out of the driveway. You’ll run into young people with solid jobs who still can’t afford a one-bedroom in the town that raised them. The market shrugs and says that’s … Read moreOur Land, Our Future: Why Community Land Trusts Beat Market Housing Every Time
Over the years I’ve spent knocking on doors, sitting in cramped kitchens, and walking the blocks of this neighborhood, I’ve seen too many families box up their lives and leave. Not because they wanted to—because the rent shot up overnight, or a speculator bought the building and handed them a notice. The market treats housing … Read moreWhy I’m Betting on Community Land Trusts Over the Open Market
I have been organizing in neighborhoods for over fifteen years, and I keep seeing the same mistake repeat itself. Well-meaning people show up to a community with a clipboard, a petition, and a cause. They have identified the problem. They have the data. They know which city council member to call. And then they wonder … Read moreWhy Neighborhood Organizing Starts With Relationships Not Issues
Why We Need to Talk About Mutual Aid When the pandemic hit, my neighbor Mrs. Okonkwo didn’t wait for a stimulus check or a hotline. She organized a group chat with forty families on our block and made sure everyone had groceries. No forms. No verification hoops. No six-week wait. That’s mutual aid—people helping people … Read moreHow Mutual Aid Networks Outperform Government Services
The Housing Problem Nobody Talks About at Dinner Parties Here’s what happened in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods between 2017 and 2025: median home prices jumped 62 percent. That’s the kind of number that makes real estate investors pop champagne and longtime residents start packing. What makes this story different is that 300 affordable homes didn’t disappear … Read moreCommunity Land Trusts Are Quietly Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis — Does Your City Have One Yet?
What We Used to Have, and Why We Need It Now There’s something we’ve collectively lost in most American neighborhoods over the past couple decades, and it’s not dramatic enough to make the news but real enough to reshape how cities actually function. It’s the simple fact of neighbors deciding together how to spend money … Read moreGetting Your Neighbors to Actually Show Up for Participatory Budgeting: A Practical Guide
The December Deadline Nobody Talked About (Until It Was Too Late) If you weren’t paying attention in December 2024, the U.S. Treasury was. That’s when the final deadline hit for cities and states to spend or commit the $350 billion that came through the American Rescue Plan Act. It sounds like a lot until you … Read moreThe ARPA Money’s Gone—Now Your City Has to Deal With What It Built (Or Didn’t)
The Numbers Nobody’s Celebrating Your city council probably passed a budget sometime last fall. Maybe you saw a headline. Maybe you didn’t. Either way, there’s a good chance a specific line item about affordable housing got buried on page seven of a document that reads like it was written by someone who learned English from … Read moreWhat Your City Council’s 2025 Budget Actually Says About Affordable Housing (And Why Nobody’s Talking About It)
The Moment We’re In Something shifted in early 2025. After the U.S. Surgeon General issued a direct call for local governments to fund youth mental health infrastructure, something clicked into place at the municipal level. Within six months, at least 200 cities and counties launched or significantly expanded youth mental health task forces. That is … Read moreYour City’s Mental Health Budget for Young People Just Got Real—Here’s How to Actually Understand It
The Numbers Are Real, and They’re Here Let’s start with what the data tells us, because it’s easier to talk about feelings than to sit with actual numbers. The Eviction Lab at Princeton University tracks every eviction filing in America going back to 2000. In 2025, they recorded 3.6 million eviction filings nationally. That’s the … Read moreWhat We’re Losing: How Expiring Tenant Protections Are Reshaping Your Neighborhood in 2025