Envy Apartment

The Oasis Terraces housing complex in Singapore and the original cast of “Rent” How to tell if one has made it in America? See if they own a home. For decades, homeownership has been one of the cornerstones of the American dream, and the U.S. housing market was the envy of the world. But that’s changed. The federal mortgage subsidy complex , which turned (white) America into a nation of homeowners in the postwar decades and helped build the world’s largest middle class , is no longer doing what it’s supposed to. Faced with stagnating wages and ballooning property prices , fewer Americans can afford to buy their own homes. The mortgage interest deduction and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are turning into regressive subsidies, channeling taxpayer money to rich homeowners and driving up housing costs while a growing group of middle-income renters must fend for themselves. Rent-stabilization laws have become weaker over time. And New York is dealing with a crumbling public housing infrast...

There was a time, and it wasn’t long ago, when Mission Valley was farmland. Black and white photos from the 1960s show rows of turnip plants and herds of grazing dairy cows owned by farmers. “I remember the stories of how they would take the cows under the freeway after they built Interstate 8, or 80 back in those days,” said Rob Hutsel, a fourth- generation San Diegan . “The deal with the landowner was he still had to get his cows to the river. And so they left a tunnel under it so they could take their cows down to the river to get their water... I always wonder whatever happened to the tunnel.” The completion of the I-8 freeway around 1960 was the beginning of the end of an era in valley. The Mission Valley mall was built, and the valley became a suburban shopping destination . Now, another shape shift is on the horizon. Hutsel is president of the San Diego River Park Foundation and a member of the city’s Mission Valley Planning Group . He sees opportunity in Mission Valley . “...

Last week, we sponsored the 11th annual Points Summer Book Club , a community discussion of Matthew Desmond's piercing Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City . We debated the causes of eviction, the effect on children, how to view landlords' role, and what this discussion means for a city like Dallas. The book club also included an event with the author, in a partnership with Southern Methodist University 's SMU Reads program . On Thursday, Desmond spoke to a crowd of more than 900 people, laying out his research and his experience with evictions' damaging effect on people's safety, family, jobs and mental health. "When you add all that up, we have to conclude that eviction -- which used to be rare in this country, which used to draw crowds — it's not just a condition of poverty, it's also a cause of it. And it's making it worse. It's leaving a deep and jagged scar on the next generation — which means that we can't fix poverty in A...

DETROIT (CNNMoney) - This is Detroit, not Hobbiton. Just like the tiny homes of the hobbits in the "Lord of The Rings" series, the Cass Community Center Tiny Homes Project looks cute. But its small buildings house big hopes . Four years ago, Detroit became the biggest American city in history to file for bankruptcy, brought down by a snowballing financial crisis that followed huge layoffs at the city's major employers General Motors and Chrysler. Today, Detroit is in a period of economic recovery, yet many of its hardest hit residents still don't have adequate housing . The homeless population is around 2,000 and dwindling, according to city authorities. But uncertainty hangs over low-income earners, who struggle to keep up with the rising cost of living. "Purchase prices and rents are increasing faster than people's incomes," says Earl Poleski, executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority . "That's a manifestatio...

Arapahoe County Foundation fund for Southview Apartment Fire Victims established LITTLETON , CO — A fund has been established through the Arapahoe County Foundation to assist victims of the Southview Place Towers Apartments fire that occurred on April 6 in the 5800 block of S. Windermere St. More than 130 senior citizens have been displaced by the fire and although all are now in housing, the crisis is far from over and many of the current housing solutions are temporary. Residents were informed this week that their leases will be terminated and they will not be able to return to their apartments due to smoke and asbestos damage. Additionally, some residents were told that they must pack and move all of their furnishings and belongings within the next 10 days, and others were told that they could never retrieve their items due to contamination. Many of these seniors have lived here for years and lack the financial resources to cope with this disaster. Arapahoe County Commissione...