Social Housing For All: A Vision For Thriving Communities, Renter Power, and Racial Justice

America’s rising rents and increasingly unaffordable housing costs are infamous, epic—and deeply felt by millions of families in every corner of the country. At the root of our housing problems is a corporate stranglehold over all aspects of housing finance, production, and provision—as well as over our nation’s housing policy-making. Now more than ever, all levels of government must step up to produce the deeply and permanently affordable housing that we need.

To create a more equitable housing system, we must massively expand social housing: a public option for housing that is permanently and deeply affordable, protected from the private market, and publicly owned or under democratic community control. This report presents a vision for social housing that is guided by principles of democratic accountability, tenant power, as well as racial, economic, and gender justice.

This report is also available in Spanish • Este informe también se encuentra disponible en español.

Acknowledgements

Published by Popular Democracy in Action and Renters Rising. This report was written and researched by Amee Chew (Popular Democracy in Action). Abby Ang provided research support, and it was reviewed by Katie Goldstein, Emily Gordon, and Jeanette Martin (Popular Democracy in Action). We are deeply grateful to members of our advisory council for their guidance, expertise, and suggestions throughout this project:

• Apryl Lewis, Action NC
• Cynthia Norris, New York Communities for Change
• Deja Rollins, Texas Organizing Project
• Francisco Dueñas, Housing Now! California
• Katie Goldstein, Popular Democracy in Action
• Lalo Montoya, Make the Road Nevada
• Letitia Harmon, Florida Rising
• René Moya, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment
• Trent Leon-Lierman, CASA de Maryland

And we thank the members of the Center for Popular Democracy’s Affiliate Housing Justice Cohort for contributing their vital analysis.