Previous Events

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COVID, Race, and Housing Insecurity

Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
The economic impacts of the pandemic have been most acutely felt by Black, Hispanic, and Asian households in the United States. In this talk, Sharon Cornelissen, a Center Postdoctoral Fellow and Alexander Hermann, a Senior Research Analyst at the Center, will report on new research that uses data to measure and better understand racial and ethnic differences in the economic impacts of COVID.

Housing and Economic Mobility: Closing the Gap Between Research and Practice

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021
Join the Harvard Kennedy School Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy for a discussion of the connection between asset poverty, stable housing, and economic mobility. Stone PhD scholar Jamie Gracie will moderate a discussion featuring two speakers actively engaged in efforts to ameliorate the causes and consequences of asset poverty in Greater Boston.

How Have Renters Responded to Financial Stress in the Pandemic?

Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
Renters have been hit particularly hard by the economic impact of COVID. In this presentation, Sophia Wedeen, a Center Research Assistant, will discuss a forthcoming paper that uses data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey to see how these impacts and responses vary by race, ethnicity, income, and household composition.

Zoning and Equity

Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
Historically, zoning laws have restricted affordable housing and perpetuated the racial wealth gap. This event will explore innovative approaches by state and local governments to achieve greater housing equity across communities. Is zoning the most effective solution to remedy lack of access to affordable housing? What is the best approach to remedy years of discriminatory impact?

Do Older Homeowners with Mortgages Spend Less on Pharmaceuticals?

Date: Friday, October 15, 2021
A growing number of older homeowners are still paying off mortgages, leading to concerns that these obligations are constraining their spending on healthcare. In this presentation, Samara Scheckler, a Center postdoctoral fellow, will discuss a forthcoming paper assessing the size and extent of these tradeoffs.

Building Equity into Federal Investments for Housing Resilience

Date: Friday, October 1, 2021
Growing federal efforts to make housing and communities more resilient to disasters, especially climate-related hazards, often devalue people and undervalue and/or overlook the possessions of people of low wealth and communities of color. In this talk, Carlos Martín, the new Project Director of the Center’s Remodeling Futures Program, will examine this issue and how it might be addressed.

Hack-A-House 2021

Date: Friday, September 24, 2021
Hack-A-House is a 24-hour live, online, “hackathon”-style competition, hosted by Ivory Innovations. Students will be given a prompt on September 24th and will have 24 hours to complete and submit their project. The contestants must provide the judges with an innovative solution to a problem that directly affects housing affordability.

Is Rent Control a Good Way to Protect and Stabilize Renters?

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2021
With evictions looming in a post-COVID world, can rent control stabilize affordable housing and protect renters? Are there other rent regulations that can bring equity to our neighborhoods while still allowing landlords to keep current tenants in their housing stock?

The State of the Nation’s Housing

Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
During the pandemic, households that weathered the crisis have been snapping up the limited supply of homes for sale while millions who lost income are behind on housing payments and on the brink of eviction or foreclosure. Daniel McCue, a senior research associate at the Center, will discuss The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021, our latest report documenting and analyzing these trends.