The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder asked me to report on the situation in Glendale Townhomes, the oldest public housing in Minnesota. That article — Mpls Public Housing residents fight redevelopment plan — is now published. In it, I present facts and opinions of the people directly involved in the process. I also have blogged extensively about the current dispute between Glendale residents and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, and have been generally critical of the redevelopment option that MPHA initially proposed almost a year ago. You can find the blog posts here. Continue reading
Tag Archives: affordable housing
More on Glendale in Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Filed under housing
Segregating the suburbs
Fotolia File: #21203029 | Author: soleilc1
Is Brooklyn Park the new face of suburbia or the new face of segregation — or maybe both? Twin Cities suburbs Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center have changed from mostly-white to majority-minority cities over the past 30 years. As new immigrants, African-Americans, and Latinos have moved to the suburbs, racial segregation has followed. Even within Brooklyn Park, there’s a north-south racial divide at 85th Avenue. Given the economic realities of race in Minnesota, racial segregation also equates with economic segregation, and with other forms of discrimination. For example, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center officials say that newly-released sex offenders are being steered to their cities (along with Minneapolis and St. Paul), rather than to wealthier, whiter suburbs. Continue reading
Rich renters wanted — the rest of you can leave
Image by 401(k)2012, published under Creative Commons license.
You are where you live — or at least that’s the implication of common U.S. code words like “the wrong side of the tracks” and now the use of “Section 8” as a racial slur. Increasingly, poor people who have been priced out of housing are also being pushed out of rent-subsidized housing. A combination of racism and prejudice against poor people lead many private landlords to refuse to rent to people who use federal rental assistance, commonly known as Section 8 vouchers. At the same time, new federal policies encourage government agencies that own and manage low-income housing to turn it over to private developers. Continue reading
Good news, bad news for dogs, cats and renters
Photo by James G Miller, used under Creative Commons license
Want to rent in downtown Minneapolis? Latitude 45, a 13-story building with 318 apartments, is conveniently located at 313 S Washington. The Strib reported (back in October) that the building was a product of a public/private partnership , with the state of Minnesota contributing $472,000 for site clean up. Monthly rents run $1300 to $1600 for a studio apartment, with two-bedroom units going for $2500 to $3000. Amenities include a direct skyway connection and a heated rooftop dog oasis. Continue reading
Mary Turck
News Day 