May 20, 2021

In the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Lincoln Heights, residents are calling for pollutant testing after developers proposed building housing on a plot of allegedly contaminated land. The area was once the site of an electronic assembly facility and sits adjacent to a former brownfield, and resident Nancy Smith remembers children at the nearby elementary school calling it “the sick land.” “We were all up in arms about it because of the children getting sick,” she said. On top of health concerns, critics worry the development could drive gentrification in the neighborhood.  

In Washington, DC, the Maycroft apartment complex is equipped with solar energy panels that provide electricity to a local power company and credit toward residents’ utilities, helping renters to save up to 50 percent on their bills. This project is part of a nationwide effort toward community solar, or projects where generated electricity is shared by multiple properties, which allows access to clean energy for low- to moderate-income families. Currently, 39 states and DC host solar projects.  

Fourteen months into the eviction moratorium, some New Jersey landlords who usually rely on eviction proceedings to collect lost rent are suing tenants instead. Maura Sanders, chief counsel for housing and government benefits at Legal Services of NJ, says landlords are using civil cases “as a lever” to convince tenants to move. Lawsuits can be costly for tenants like Tanya Ortiz, a mail carrier whose landlord demanded $15,000 in a November lawsuit. She’s been applying for federal assistance programs hoping they can help her pay back rent. 

Recently, a US district court judge ruled that the City of Los Angeles must place $1 billion in escrow, and then, the city and county must offer shelter to everyone living in Skid Row by next October. Homelessness advocates are divided over the decision; some are concerned that part of the funds to be reappropriated for temporary housing would be reallocated from long-term housing, and others worry about the limits and effectiveness of temporary shelters. One part of the ruling many agree on is the need to eliminate exclusionary zoning laws to accommodate more multifamily zoning and create more affordable housing.