National Housing Law Project Housing Law Bulletin

Publications of Interest to Housing Advocates

Fair Housing Act Offers Protections Against Arbitrary Occupancy Standards, 17 YOUTH LAW NEWS 1 (Jan./Feb. 1996), by Jim Morales, Director of the Fair Housing for Families Project of the National Center for Youth Law. NCYL is located at 114 Sansome Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94104, Tel. (415) 543-3307; FAX (415) 956-9024.

The Lessons of American Apartheid: The Necessity and Means of Promoting Residential Racial Integration, by Prof. Florence Wagman Roisman, 81 IOWA L.REV. (Dec. 1995).

Closed Doors, Opportunities Lost: The Continuing Costs of Housing Discrimination, by John Yinger (1996, 416 pp.). Available from the Russell Sage Foundation, 112 E. 64th Street, New York, NY 10021, Tel. (212) 750-6038 ($32.95).

Poverty and Race, a bimonthly newsletter published by the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC).² It is a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, advocates, students and others working on issues of racism and poverty.

Out of Reach: Can America Pay the Rent? is a new study from the National Low Income Housing Coalition showing that, in every metropolitan area, renters are having a difficult time finding affordable housing. Available from the Coalition, 1012 - 14th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005, Tel. (202) 662-1530, ext. 234 ($25).

Into the 21st Century: The State of the Nation's Housing, published by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies (1996; 36 pp.). A report on population trends, income distribution, spatial patters and housing affordability, including the role of public policy in helping the public and private sectors shape the housing opportunities of Americans over the next 15 years. Analysis supplemented by extensive tables and graphs. Available from the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, Tel. (617) 495-7908; FAX: (617) 496-9957. Please contact the Center directly for ordering details.

Rental Housing Assistance at a Crossroads: A Report to Congress on Worst Case Housing Needs reports that the number of households with worst case housing needs (very low-income renter households that pay at least half of their income for rent or live in severely inadequate housing) is at a record high — 5.3 million in 1993. Available from HUD User, P.O. Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20849, Tel. (800) 245-2691 ($5).³

How to Save and Improve Public Housing: An Action Guide (1994; 88 pp.). A step-by-step guide to organizing or revitalizing public housing resident councils, saving developments threatened with demolition, improving management, getting repairs done, creating needed programs and forming coalitions to increase a council's power. Available from the Center for Community Change (CCC) ($20; $10 for nonprofits).⁴

CDBG Stories: An Organizing Manual (1993; 64 pp.). A useful guide for community groups that want to obtain Community Development Block Grant funding for their low-income neighborhoods. Published by the Coalition for Low-Income Community Development; available from the Center for Community Change, supra note 4 ($25; $8 for low-income community-based organizations).

Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy: A Citizen's Action Guide (1991; 64 pp.). A practical guide to influencing the new CHAS planning process. Available from the Center for Community Change, supra note 4 ($17; $9.50 for nonprofits).

Using the HUD ConPlan Process and Federal Civil Rights Laws on Behalf of Homeless People: A Handbook (1996; 35 pp.). Available from the National Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 918 F Street, N.W., Suite 412, Washington, DC 20004, Tel. (202) 638-2535 ($17).

The HOME Program: A Basic Guide for Community Organizations (1992; 15 pp.). This booklet explains how this $1 billion low-income housing program is supposed to work and how community groups can have an impact. Available from the Center for Community Change, supra note 4 ($10; $3 for nonprofits).

The CRA Reporter. Covers new developments involving the availability and affordability of banking services in low-income and minority neighborhoods. Available from the Center for Community Change, supra note 4 ($30 for 4 issues).

A Voter Registration Packet, available from the Los Angeles Coalition to End Homelessness, 1010 S. Flower, #216, Los Angeles, CA 90015, Tel. (213) 746-6511; HandsNet 1674. Their aim is to register 100,000 homeless people/low-income tenants in California. A similar "You Don't Need a Home to Vote" voting rights/non-partisan registration campaign is gearing up for the 1996 elections via the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1612 K Street, N.W., Suite 1004, Washington, DC 20006-2802, Tel. (202) 775-1322, e-mail: nch@ari.net.

1. See announcement elsewhere in this issue. Note price reductions for combined orders of the Supplement and 1994 HUD and 1995 RHCDS (FmHA) manuals.
2. For more information about PRRAC, its newsletter and other publications, contact PRRAC at 1711 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 207, Washington, DC 20009, Tel. (202) 387-9887; FAX (202) 387-0764; e-mail: PRRAC@AOL.com.
3. This report was summarized in 26 HOUS. L. BULL. 68 (May 1996).
4. To order any of its publications or for more information about the work that it does, contact the Center for Community Change, 1000 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20007, Tel. (202) 342-0567; FAX: (202) 342-1132.