Clinical Approaches to Solving the Housing Crisis

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: The Raven Room

Floor: Lobby Level

Research indicates that housing shortages are responsible for the rapidly rising housing costs that have created a national housing crisis. Of course, the housing crisis is nothing new to the most vulnerable tenants, who have struggled to afford decent and safe housing throughout American history. Solving the housing crisis will require a significant expansion of affordable housing opportunities. But there are many legal and political barriers to building housing—especially affordable housing. Lawyers have a central role in reducing these barriers, by representing developers in affordable housing transactions, securing zoning and land use approvals for affordable housing, and advocating for policies that protect tenants and expand housing opportunities. This session will (1) explore how building and operating affordable housing can respond to the housing crisis, and (2) provide examples of clinical work that increases housing opportunity. Several law school clinics are engaged in this work and panelists will include clinical professors teaching both housing clinics and transactional community development clinics that seek to expand affordable housing opportunities.