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Date: Nov 10, 2008
Forging a New Housing Policy: Opportunity in the Wake of Crisis
The National Center for Suburban Studies and Department of Sociology present a one-day symposium
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – The impact of the economic crisis on the housing market, particularly in communities of color, and the opportunities it presents for changing housing policy will be the focus of a one-day symposium at Hofstra on Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald A. Axinn Library, South Campus.
Presented by the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® (NCSS) and the Department of Sociology and sponsored by the Rauch Foundation, "Forging a New Housing Policy: Opportunity in the Wake of Crisis" will consider the future of housing policy and community organizing and will feature panels that link an analysis of the financial crisis to concrete paths to action. Speakers will include community organizers, non-profit representatives, and academics.
"The current financial and foreclosure crisis is the latest challenge to providing decent, affordable, and stable housing in the United States," said Christopher Niedt, Ph.D., academic director of the NCSS. "The devastating consequences for the communities hardest hit by the crisis, particularly communities of color, are now widely recognized. But recent events also present a moment of opportunity for those who have pioneered alternative housing models. A new administration will come to power next year, and oversee a federal recovery plan that has not yet fully taken shape. The time is ripe to reconsider the way that housing is financed, owned, and controlled, and our speakers are among the most innovative thinkers working in the field today."
Chester Hartman, director of research at the Poverty and Race Research Action Council and co-editor of A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda, will be the keynote speaker at the conference. James H. Carr, chief operating officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and former senior vice president for financial innovation, planning and research for the Fannie Mae Foundation (1996-2007) and co-editor of Segregation: The Rising Costs for America will be the luncheon speaker.
The symposium will include three panels:
• The Evolving Crisis in Context
• Fertile Ground for Innovation?
• New Strategies for Policy and Organizing
A full conference schedule and registration information can be found at www.hofstra.edu/housingcrisis.
The symposium is part of Educate ’08, an unprecedented series of lectures, conferences, artistic performances and exhibitions, town hall meetings and interactive forums focused on the issues, history and politics of presidential elections. Educate '08 provides our students, faculty and the entire surrounding community with access to the newsmakers, scholars and policymakers who have unique insight and knowledge of the American political system. Many programs and events are free and open to the public. Find out more about Educate '08 by visiting www.hofstra.edu/educate08
The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® is a non-partisan research institution dedicated to promoting objective, academically rigorous study of suburbia's problems, as well as its promise. Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island’s diverse and aging suburbs, almost literally in the shadows of the iconic Levittown, the National Center will study a broad range of issues from local and national perspectives and, whenever possible, collaborate with researchers at other respected institutions. The suburbs have emerged as the nexus of dynamic demographic, social, economic and environmental change in New York and throughout the United States. The tasks of identifying, analyzing and solving the problems of suburbia are essential for the health of the country--and central to the National Center’s mission.
Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students’ interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.
Presented by the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® (NCSS) and the Department of Sociology and sponsored by the Rauch Foundation, "Forging a New Housing Policy: Opportunity in the Wake of Crisis" will consider the future of housing policy and community organizing and will feature panels that link an analysis of the financial crisis to concrete paths to action. Speakers will include community organizers, non-profit representatives, and academics.
"The current financial and foreclosure crisis is the latest challenge to providing decent, affordable, and stable housing in the United States," said Christopher Niedt, Ph.D., academic director of the NCSS. "The devastating consequences for the communities hardest hit by the crisis, particularly communities of color, are now widely recognized. But recent events also present a moment of opportunity for those who have pioneered alternative housing models. A new administration will come to power next year, and oversee a federal recovery plan that has not yet fully taken shape. The time is ripe to reconsider the way that housing is financed, owned, and controlled, and our speakers are among the most innovative thinkers working in the field today."
Chester Hartman, director of research at the Poverty and Race Research Action Council and co-editor of A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda, will be the keynote speaker at the conference. James H. Carr, chief operating officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and former senior vice president for financial innovation, planning and research for the Fannie Mae Foundation (1996-2007) and co-editor of Segregation: The Rising Costs for America will be the luncheon speaker.
The symposium will include three panels:
• The Evolving Crisis in Context
• Fertile Ground for Innovation?
• New Strategies for Policy and Organizing
A full conference schedule and registration information can be found at www.hofstra.edu/housingcrisis.
The symposium is part of Educate ’08, an unprecedented series of lectures, conferences, artistic performances and exhibitions, town hall meetings and interactive forums focused on the issues, history and politics of presidential elections. Educate '08 provides our students, faculty and the entire surrounding community with access to the newsmakers, scholars and policymakers who have unique insight and knowledge of the American political system. Many programs and events are free and open to the public. Find out more about Educate '08 by visiting www.hofstra.edu/educate08
The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® is a non-partisan research institution dedicated to promoting objective, academically rigorous study of suburbia's problems, as well as its promise. Rooted in the laboratory of Long Island’s diverse and aging suburbs, almost literally in the shadows of the iconic Levittown, the National Center will study a broad range of issues from local and national perspectives and, whenever possible, collaborate with researchers at other respected institutions. The suburbs have emerged as the nexus of dynamic demographic, social, economic and environmental change in New York and throughout the United States. The tasks of identifying, analyzing and solving the problems of suburbia are essential for the health of the country--and central to the National Center’s mission.
Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students’ interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.
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