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 Lais Fleury

Laís Fleury has twenty years of experience as a social entrepreneur and has been a Fellow of Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs since 2003. Over the last decade, Laís has been working for Alana, advocating for the right of every child to...

Car Free Day: Global health leaders join Kigali residents in ‘Africa Walks against Malaria’

From Frank Ntarindwa / The New Times: ‘Kigali’s “Car Free Day” not only boasts an increase in residents’ activity levels, it also creates a space for more knowledge and service sharing for health conditions including Malaria.’ Screenings for non-communicable diseases...

This is what one of the world’s largest experiments in basic income looks like

From Meaghan Tobin and Márvio Dos Anjos / Rest of World: Mumbuca is a digital currency used in Maricà’s basic income program. Residents, with few eligibility requirements, can qualify for a monthly stipend to purchase goods and services using a...

Conversation with Linda Shi

Linda Shi is an assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. Her research concerns how to plan for urban climate adaptation in ways that improve environmental sustainability and social justice. She studies how aspects...

Conversation with Sheeza Shah

Sheeza Shah is Founder and Managing Director of UpEffect, a crowdfunding and social impact consultancy shaping a benevolent economy through equitable finance and strategy. Sheeza has spent the past decade in the tech, non-profit, and social enterprise world project managing...

Conversation with Yuliya Panfil

Yuliya Panfil is a senior fellow and director of New America Future of Land and Housing program. Prior to joining New America, Panfil worked at Omidyar Network, where she sourced and managed property rights investments, and as a land governance...