Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local politicians to sell the land for almost nothing and provide subsidies for community members and raise money that could be used for loans. The program has built 6,500 homes and created an estimated $1.5 billion of wealth for first time Black and Latino homeowners.

Click here to read the original story.

Issue Areas:

Housing, Land Use, Sustainable Development

Impact Areas:

Distributed Trust and Power, Equity

Actors:

BIPOC Communities, Lending, Banking, and Financial Institutions

Communities Served:

BIPOC Communities, Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship

Strategies:

Collective Action, Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Redefining Land / Land Ownership

Success Factors:

Building Distribution Systems, Eliminating Barriers, Embracing the Power of Relationships, Leveling the Playing Field, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

North America

Countries:

United Kingdom

Date:

September 11, 2022

More Resources:

Conversation with Steve King

Steve King is the Executive Director of the Oakland Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing land, housing, and other community-serving real estate assets from the speculative market and stewarding them with, and for the permanent benefit of,...

Conversation with Dr. Neil Vora

Neil Vora, MD, is the senior advisor for One Health at Conservation International. He has also served for nearly a decade with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and a...

The Women Leading a Social Revolution in Syria’s Rojava

From Lucy Clarke-Billings / Newsweek: The Committee of Diplomacy of Kongreya Star is a women’s organization in Rojava Syria that aims to liberate women in the region by adding women into all sectors of local life including education, the economy,...

Conversation with Alfredo Jose Brillembourg

Alfredo Jose Brillembourg is the founder of Urban–Think Tank Design Group, with offices in New York, São Paulo, Caracas, Oslo, Geneva, and Cape Town. Through his leadership at Urban–Think Tank, he has spearheaded innovative architecture and urban design projects globally,...

Climate disasters hit poor people hardest. There’s an obvious solution to that

From Sigal Samuel / Vox: An effective way to help those most vulnerable to climate disasters is by providing just-in-time cash transfers right before a disaster hits for them to use as they see fit for resilience and climate change...

Conversation with Sarah Baird

Sarah M. Baird is an advocate for sustainable energy solutions as a means to reduce global energy poverty and mitigate climate change. As the founder and Executive Director of Let There Be Light International (LTBLI), she partners with local community...