Events

In this talk, Don Layton, former CEO of Freddie Mac and a Senior Industry Fellow at the Center, will discuss the history of the homeownership rate, its decades-long stagnation, and his proposals to increase the rate through well-targeted and sizeable subsidies, including the likely impact on longstanding racial homeownership gaps.

Why are retail vacancies increasing in New York City, and what impacts might a proposed vacancy tax have? In this talk, Erica Moszkowski, a PhD candidate in Business Economics and a Meyer Fellow, will discuss research she conducted with Daniel Stackman, a doctoral student in Economics at NYU Stern.

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.