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

A tree, barn and house are situated near each other

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.

Read more articles on affordable housing initiatives.

More Resources:

From Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma / The Washington Post: Kamikatus, Japan, a town of about 1,500 people, is working to become a zero waste community. It has transformed its waste disposal into a system of buying,...

From Erica Sweeny / Next City: The Denver-based Triple Bottom Line Foundation funds projects to retrofit low-income, multi-family properties that house underserved groups. The projects include energy-efficiency upgrades, solar power installations, and weatherization upgrades among others. Click here to read...

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...

Hannah Rothschild is Lead of Knowledge Uptake and Communications at Bernard van Leer Foundation. Her background is a merged expertise in urban policy, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and strategic communication. Previous diverse roles, ranging from environmental start-ups to international organisations, have deepened...

From Bill Chappell / NPR: Microsoft Japan experimented with a 4-day work week over the summer. Employees enjoyed three-day weekends but received normal paychecks. The company reported a 40% boost in productivity. Read the original story here. Read more work-focused...

Anita Chandra (she/her) is vice president and director of RAND Social and Economic Well-Being and a senior policy researcher at RAND. The division that she leads covers a range of topics at the intersection of social and economic policy and...

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you agree to our use of cookies. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.