Events

The share of small (one-to-four unit) rental properties owned by corporate entities has grown steadily over the past several decades, rising from around 3 percent in 1990 to approximately 18 percent in 2018. To date, however, there has been little research into key questions about the types of entities that own the properties and where they are located.

The nation’s growing geographic, economic, and demographic divides are reflected in and exacerbated by inequalities in housing markets, argues Jenny Schuetz in her new book, Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems. At this event, Schuetz will discuss the structural problems within US housing systems that contribute to widely disparate outcomes

A screening of the film, The State of Housing – Aspirations, Imaginaries and Realities in India, which examines the housing crisis in India.  (Harvard ID holders only)

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 seemed to reverse a longstanding decline in the share of Americans who move each year. Media narratives painted a picture of a nation on the move, with suburbs, rural areas, and vacation towns inundated with people fleeing dense population centers. But is there evidence of that spike?

In March 2021, the Biden Administration released the American Jobs Plan, earmarking $213B for “quality” and “affordable” housing, yet the bill lacks specificity on how houses are to be built. Here housing’s problem is split into two: a social one of accessibility and equity, and a material one of wood, metal, and rocks. Architects can play a unique role in bridging abstract policy ambitions to real construction as these connections are made every day in practice.

Many Americans who need accessibility features live in homes don’t have them. In this talk, Jennifer Molinsky, project director for the Center’s new Housing an Aging Society Program, will discuss a forthcoming paper that explores the demographic characteristics of residents who have challenges entering, navigating, and using their homes

Application deadlines are fast approaching for our summer fellowships and research grants. We invite Harvard graduate students to join us for a virtual open house to learn more about funding opportunities the Center offers.

Secretary Fudge believes the country’s housing issues do not fit into a one-size-fits-all approach. We need policies and programs that can adapt to meet a community’s unique housing challenges. She is committed to making the dream of homeownership - and the security and wealth creation that comes with it - a reality for more Americans.

Design approaches that better reflect the community desires as well as more effective ways to fund and provide high-quality services for residents will be the focus of presentations by two Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) students who were the Center’s 2021 Gramlich Fellows in Community and Economic Development.

George Galster will discuss his newest book, Making Our Neighborhoods, Making Our Selves.