In the media

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Our research is regularly cited in national and local news outlets; below is some of our recent press coverage.

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US News & World Report

Cities Must do More to Protect Older Homeless Americans From COVID-19

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found that in 2019 in California, 35% of renters ages 65 to 79, and 42% of renters 80 or older, were rent-burdened, meaning that more than half of their incomes went to housing. The job losses and economic strains resulting from the coronavirus crisis are placing many more at risk of losing their homes.

The New York Times

On the Streets of Los Angeles

A 2019 report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing studies found that California has the highest share of households spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, while 42 percent of Californians are struggling to make ends meet.

Minnesota Public Radio

State housing help likely on the way as part of pandemic response

Nearly half of Twin cities renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing, and more than half of area households earning less than $30,000 a year pay more than half their income for rent, according to a report in January from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Boston Review

Should There Be a COVID-19 Rent Strike?

Millions of workers in the United States live paycheck to paycheck. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, 18.2 million U.S. families pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing.

The New York Times

Racing to Head Off Evictions and Foreclosures

About 44 million American households rent their homes, and many were struggling long before the new coronavirus emerged. In 2018, close to half of renters spent more than a third of their income on rent, while a quarter spent more than half, according to a report released in January by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The Chronicle of Higher Education

As Coronavirus Spreads, Universities Stall Their Research to Keep Human Subjects Safe

“As fieldworkers, sometimes we can delude ourselves into thinking that we are truly members of the community,” Joint Center for Housing Studies postdoctoral researcher Sharon Cornelissen said. “This crisis really puts into focus that ultimately we are researchers” who represent universities. “That comes with different responsibilities.”

The Washington Post

Preserving communities, preventing displacement

According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, 75 percent of the 12 million affordable rental units in America’s major cities remain unsubsidized. But left unprotected, Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) doesn’t tend to stay affordable, leaving occupants priced out. When their units finally see improvement, tenants often have no choice but to leave.

Harvard Political Review

A Call for Intersectional YIMBYism

At least on the issue of a housing shortage, YIMBYs are right. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that current levels of population growth would support the construction of 300,000 more units than are currently built each year.