What are community land trusts? And what could they do to address the Twin Cities’ affordable housing crisis?
Why some advocates say the idea could play an important role in easing the area’s housing crunch.
affordable housing
Minneapolis’ newest council member on homelessness, renters’ rights and why he wants to reform — not dismantle — the police
A Q&A with Jamal Osman, who won the Aug. 11 special election for the Minneapolis City Council seat representing Ward 6.
The state is putting $100 million toward rental assistance for low-income Minnesotans. Why did it take so long?
It took four months for the state to put a rental assistance program amid the economic fallout of COVID-19 — even after there was a general agreement on the issue among Republicans and DFLers.
Why the Minnesota Legislature couldn’t get a deal done on rental assistance. Or affordable housing.
And how one proposal — linking the two issues to regulatory reform — may offer a possible preview of a deal to be had when the Legislature convenes for a special session.
Inviting the homeless home: Forest Lake church agrees to host Minnesota’s first tiny house village
Faith Lutheran Church has become the first organization to welcome tiny homes on its property, an option that represents one answer to the state’s ballooning homeless population, supporters say.
Could tiny house ‘villages’ be one solution to homelessness in the Twin Cities?
To address the region’s homeless problem — and deal with Minnesota’s complex land-use rules — one Twin Cities nonprofit is working to establish a framework for building and running communities of tiny homes that would be located on land owned by churches.
Minneapolis council members want to give tenants the chance to purchase rental properties
The proposal is modeled on Washington, D.C.’s, Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, which allows tenants match bonafide offers for rental properties when owners put them up for sale.
One of the state’s largest (and most controversial) apartment complexes is expected to be sold. Why it matters.
For years, residents of Brooklyn Park’s Huntington Place have complained of safety issues, unfair treatment and poor living conditions.
Meet the research outfit behind the city of Minneapolis’ big equity efforts
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, better known as CURA, is not your typical academic operation, content to provide data and agnostic about how the information is used. CURA wants to change things.
Minneapolis’ ‘inclusionary zoning’ policy takes shape, even as developers cry foul
The city is looking to establish “straightforward and consistent” rules requiring developers to include affordable units as part of all new housing projects. Not everyone is on board.
Tenant screening ordinance: There is a path that can lead to better results for both landlords and tenants
How do we come up with a set of fair practices that treat tenants fairly and help landlords accurately determine the risk associated with an applicant for vacant rental housing? By looking at evidence of what is working and what isn’t.
Minneapolis officials get an earful about proposed rules on renter screening, security deposits
City Council President Lisa Bender and Council Member Jeremiah Ellison are writing new language based on feedback from landlords, renters and colleagues that followed the release of draft ordinances.
Minneapolis renters’ input informs new housing-stability proposals
“They have emergency situations, or a family member passes away,” said one renter, and soon people in crisis risk eviction and future denials of housing. Proposals are being developed to address these and other tenant issues, drawing pushback from some landlords.
Minneapolis homeless navigation center closes, even as need remains acute
Twin Cities officials are already anticipating the reappearance of homeless encampments this summer.
Despite some big wins at 2019 Legislature, affordable housing advocates say much more needs to be done
The state of Minnesota is hardly the only funding source for affordable housing projects — but it is often a key source.
How much will Minneapolis’ 2040 plan actually help with housing affordability in the city?
For all the buzz generated by the plan’s call to eliminate single-family zoning, less attention has been paid to the notion of if, or to what extent, the change will alter housing affordability in Minneapolis.
Accessory dwelling units were supposed to help ease the Twin Cities’ housing crunch. How’s that working out?
Four years after allowing the structures, Minneapolis has permitted 137 ADUs.
At the Capitol, the argument over how best to deal with Minnesota’s affordable housing crisis meets the need to get something done
One proposal, which has bipartisan support, would allow those who donate to affordable housing projects to take a dollar-for-dollar credit off of their state income tax bill.
Report highlights growing number of homeless seniors in Minnesota
The Wilder report found other notable trends among Minnesota’s homeless population. Among them: that the number of people sleeping under bridges, alongside roads or in vehicles — anywhere outside — has more than doubled since 2015.
More than 120 people are living at Minneapolis’ ‘navigation center.’ Time is running out to find them permanent housing
Built to address the needs of those who’d been living at the Franklin Hiawatha homeless encampment, the navigation center must close by May 31, when the property owner — the Red Lake Nation — plans to break ground on an affordable housing complex.
