Amanda Abrams
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Articles by Amanda Abrams
Can a Private Sector Fund Preserve Affordable Housing in Charlotte?
In Charlotte, North Carolina, as across the United States, investors are gobbling up affordable but unsubsidized apartment complexes, renovating them, and then raising rents. Earlier this year, the Mecklenburg County government in Charlotte estimated that over 77 percent of the area’s low-cost housing was lost between 2015 and 2024, largely through that manner.
For Older Black Homeowners, a Lifetime of Housing Discrimination Adds Up
This article is part of the Under the Lens series Housing in an Aging Society Longer lifespans, evolving household structures, and growing care needs are changing what people need from their homes and communities. In this Under the Lens series, Shelterforce examines what it means to live in an aging society, how families are adapting to the realities of growing older, and the housing policies and solutions that can help support aging safely, affordably, and connected to one another.
A 22,000-Home Community Is Being Built in a 5,000-Person Town
A 22,000-Home Community Is Being Built in a 5,000-Person Town Chatham Park, a master-planned community in Pittsboro, N.C., is expected to expand the town to 60,000 people when completed. The Chatham County Historic Courthouse in downtown Pittsboro, N.C.Credit...Sebastian Siadecki for The New York Times May 4, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET On a recent chilly afternoon, the tiny downtown of Pittsboro, N.C., was full of life.
A 22,000-Home Community Is Being Built in a 5,000-Person Town
(Square Feet) On a recent chilly afternoon, the tiny downtown of Pittsboro, North Carolina, was full of life. The soda shop, wine bar and barbershop were all crowded, and dozens of flyers on bulletin boards advertised upcoming concerts and events. At the counter of a packed restaurant, Virlie's Grill, Robert Parks was eating a rib-eye sandwich while watching a television tuned to Fox News.
Making Money for Housing Go Further
Building affordable housing is notoriously complicated. Funding usually comes from multiple sources—federal, state, and local governments; banks; foundations; and nonprofits—and requires engagement with numerous institutions whose timelines and demands may not match up.
Can you decommodify real estate?
One grassroots group in Philadelphia is trying Thirty years ago, in search of a better life for herself and her four kids, Darlene Burton moved to Kensington, a neighborhood northeast of downtown Philadelphia. Back then, the working class community was thriving, home to clothing stores, a five-and-dime, and a Murry’s grocery store. “It was beautiful,” she said.
It’s a Tough Time To Be a Black Real Estate Developer
Photographer: Ivan Apfel/Getty Images (Bloomberg) -- Real estate developer Diarra McKinney was initially wary of the “racial reckoning” that swept the US after George Floyd was killed in 2020.
Transit-Oriented Development
Physical distancing and restriction of travel were some of the earliest and most effective and widespread strategies enacted worldwide to control the transmission of COVID-19. Roads emptied of typical automobile traffic, and many were used in new ways to support the needs of communities.
The New Head of N.C.’s Prisons Tries to Unwind a Staffing Quagmire
The first few months after prison can be rough, as Richie Sanborn can testify. Sanborn, who was released at the end of August from Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton, North Carolina, after serving six and half years for burglary, came out with little idea of where to go next. Not wanting to burden his mother, he stayed with her for just a few weeks. Then he was on his own, sleeping under bridges in his hometown of Lincolnton with only a blanket to cover him. “I wasn’t cold,” he said.
Denver Land Trust Fights Displacement Whether It Owns the Land or Not
This article is part of the Under the Lens series Innovations in Community Ownership An enduring vision for many people across the country is to collectively own local land and buildings, thus controlling how those properties are used and who benefits from them. It’s a way for people to not only care for their neighborhoods and neighbors, but to also push back against outside influences that are exploiting and extracting value from communities.
Tenant Screening: A Billion-Dollar Industry with Little Oversight. What’s Being Done to Protect Renters?
This article is part of the Under the Lens series Shelterforce's new Under the Lens series explores the growing use of technology in the housing world. Can the proper guardrails be put in place so “innovative” tools don’t make the housing crisis worse? Top Takeaways Tenant screening software has become an industry standard. It sifts through publicly available and proprietary data to gauge the suitability of potential renters.
Kathryn Pollak Is Organizing Against Trump in the Streets and Online
Are “regular people” increasingly drawn to activism under the Trump administration? Durham resident Kathryn Pollak thinks so. After all, she’s one of them. The Duke social psychologist and researcher had always canvassed for the Democratic Party before elections, but that was the extent of her political activism. Then came Trump’s second electoral victory. Six months later, Pollak’s life has radically changed.
Where the Wild Children’s Museums Are
City Museum in St. Louis looks more like an active construction site than a children’s museum. That’s the point, the museum’s leaders say.
Inside America's Trailer Park Boom: the Big, New Real Estate Trend Original
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? . Byron Sellers had wanted to get into real estate investing for years, but the deals he came across were always prohibitively expensive. One day in 2017, he was listening to a real estate podcast while driving for Lyft when he heard about something different: flipping mobile homes. "I was like, 'Wow, she's saying it just takes $3,000 or $5,000 to start?'" Sellers remembers.
Cell-Based Relative Potency of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus mRNA Vaccine Correlates with In Vivo Immunogenicity
All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess.
16,000 structures were destroyed in the L.A. fires. Here’s what the city can learn from Asheville’s Hurricane Helene recovery Original
While the rest of the nation watched in horror, bad weather turned deadly and quickly wreaked havoc. Houses were ravaged, and tens of thousands of residents were displaced. That’s Los Angeles since the historic wildfires struck in January, destroying more than 16,000 structures and leaving thousands of people homeless. It was also western North Carolina in late September after Hurricane Helene created raging rivers that flooded some houses and swept others away.
Can Lake Mattamuskeet Be Saved?
“Here,” says Kelly Davis, handing me a set of binoculars. Without them, it’s clear we’re among a throng of murmuring, honking waterfowl. But they don’t look like much more than distant bumps on the water. The view through the binoculars is a revelation. Thousands of birds are floating and dabbling among vegetation, taking off for short flights, socializing in a way that’s wholly absorbing to watch.
Old prisons in the United States get new lease of life as stylish apartments
UNITED STATES – Ms Diamond Pearson needed a new place to live and was looking for something with an industrial feel. When Liberty Crest Apartments in Fairfax County, Virginia, came up in her online search, she was intrigued. “I checked it out and fell in love – the brick, the concrete floors – it was so beautiful,” said Ms Pearson, 32, who works at Fairfax County Schools. Every unit in the complex is unique and she liked that too.
Renting an apartment in an old prison can be 'a little spooky' but it tells a story
Diamond Pearson needed a new place to live and was looking for something with an industrial feel. When Liberty Crest Apartments in Fairfax County, Va., came up in her online search, she was intrigued. “I checked it out and fell in love — the brick, the concrete floors — it was so beautiful,” said Pearson, 32, who works at Fairfax County Schools. Every unit in the complex is unique, and she liked that, too.
How Old Prisons Are Being Converted Into Stylish Apartments Original
Diamond Pearson needed a new place to live and was looking for something with an industrial feel. When Liberty Crest Apartments in Fairfax County, Va., came up in her online search, she was intrigued. "I checked it out and fell in love - the brick, the concrete floors - it was so beautiful," said Ms. Pearson, 32, who works at Fairfax County Schools. Every unit in the complex is unique, and she liked that, too.
Voices: Who Deserves to Die? Not the 136 People Currently on Death Row in Raleigh.
I’m repeatedly struck by my friend Rodney Taylor’s need to put his voice out into the world. When he and I talk on the phone or exchange messages, he’ll tell me about the novel he’s working on—his third, this time providing social commentary along with the story—and the book of essays that’s gradually coming together. The podcast that started as a blog has been on hiatus for a few months, but he and his collaborators are planning a new set of episodes for 2025.
‘A Win-Win-Win’ for N.C.’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot
In a recent webinar, North Carolina health care leaders were jubilant. “We are changing lives,” said Dr. Becky Tilson, state health director and chief medical officer at North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services. “This is a win-win-win.” NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley agreed: “The wall was hard to scale.
Does Durham Public Schools have an overarching tech policy?
The message from my son’s fifth-grade teacher arrived in February. My 11-year-old wasn’t listening in class. Instead, he was browsing the internet on his Durham Public Schools (DPS)–issued Chromebook, often while his teacher lectured at the front of the room. “Mom, everyone’s doing it!” he said. I must’ve looked skeptical, because he elaborated. “Cooper’s watching Barcelona play Real Madrid. Simon is watching a video of cats playing soccer. Isaac is looking at Useless Websites.
Will This Resident Group Get Full Control of the Complex They Helped Fix?
In the 80s and 90s, the low-income apartment complex was in disrepair, with leaking roofs, sewage issues, and more. Photo courtesy of Jay Cumberland In the mid-1980s, Park Village Apartments could charitably have been viewed as needing some attention. The low-income apartment complex in Stockton, California, was in disrepair, with leaking roofs, sewage issues, abandoned cars, and stretches of dirt where landscaping should have been. Children living there had no place to play.
The Little-Known Reason Counties Keep Building Bigger Jails: Architecture Firms
Ian Bazur-Persing was in a good place. Mental illness had dogged him for years, but by 2022, the 41-year-old was stable: settled into a sober living community in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, working for a lawn care company, and meditating regularly. He felt so good, in fact, that he went off his medication. Within weeks, he was in a state of psychosis. He and his parents sought assistance from local emergency rooms and the city’s crisis intervention team, but they couldn’t get any real help.
Unwrapping Stories in Advertising
How did you discover your passion for copywriting and advertising and get started in the field? I was looking at my older brother’s college course catalog and saw a class about sports marketing. The description said, “Find out how Nike came up with ‘Just Do It.’” At that moment, a lightbulb went off for me. In college, I majored in advertising and minored in creative writing. The irony is I went to that same college but never ended up taking the sports marketing class.
How Climate Change Could Sink the US Real Estate Market
4 hours ago As far as humanity is concerned, the transformation of our seas is “effectively permanent.” Even after nearly three months of winter, the oceans of the Northern Hemisphere are disturbingly warm. Last summer’s unprecedented temperatures—remember the “hot tub” waters off the coast of Florida?—have …
A COVID Upside: It Pushed Organizations to Do Better
Even catastrophes can come with lessons. “Sometimes we get in this rut where we do work because that’s how we always have done it. COVID-19 really shook that, in a good way,” says Natalynne Baker. She’s the senior vice president and chief operating officer of St. Mary Development Corporation, which provides housing and services to low-income seniors in Dayton, Ohio.
Has corporate investment in US affordable housing made a difference?
To Kimberly Driggins, executive director of Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC), the late 2020 news that Crystal House apartments had come up for sale signaled a rare opportunity. The 825-unit luxury apartment building had long been an icon in Arlington, Virginia, lending its name to the immediate neighborhood, Crystal City. If the affordable housing organization could buy the property, it could house people with a wider range of incomes.
a history of a term shift
Beverly Graham was sitting in an executive leadership class in Seattle in 2006 when she first recalls using the word “unhoused”. The director of OSL, a non-profit that provides meals to food-insecure Seattle residents, Graham hadn’t planned on speaking up. But her classmates – two dozen regional business leaders – were discussing the number of homeless people in the area, and their perspective felt very different from the one she had gained after years of helping vulnerable Seattleites.
How climate change could sink the US real estate market
By Amanda Abrams Rising seas, fires, and outdated government policies threaten a repeat of the subprime mortgage meltdown. Liz Greene hadn’t originally intended to buy this house. She’d been looking at another one here in the River Haven subdivision, 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It had the same beige siding, the same slab foundation and still-growing-in yard, but it was in a location she liked better.
Six Developments Changing the Landscape for the Carolinas in 2023
At the 2023 ULI Carolinas Meeting in February, six developers working on complex projects in North and South Carolina talked about their work and plans for the future. In varied ways, they’re all taking advantage of current environments: they’re tuning into the natural world, connecting with existing popular amenities, or highlighting the region’s rich history. Here are some of the most interesting developments occurring in the Carolinas this year.
USA - How Climate Change Could Sink the US Real Estate Market
LIZ GREENE HADN'T ORIGINALLY intended to buy this house. She'd been looking at another one here in the River Haven subdivision, 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It had the same beige siding, the same slab foundation and still-growing-in yard, but it was in a location she liked better. At the last minute, though, the developer who built the subdivision slid her into this one.
Popularizing Mass Timber Construction in the Southeast
“I get the question a lot: ‘Oh, mass timber—that’s a West Coast thing, right?’” said Jessica Scarlett, regional director for Woodworks, at the 2023 ULI Carolinas Meeting in February. “But it’s not just a West Coast trend anymore.” Scarlett was discussing the growth in popularity of mass timber, a construction style that uses engineered wood panels to form a building’s structural system.
Leveraging Federal Funds to Reduce Car-Dependency in North Carolina’s Growing Cities
For years, transportation planners throughout the United States calculated the efficiency of roads and highways using a “level of service” concept. Formally introduced in 1965 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, level of service, or LOS, measures congestion, examining the delay experienced by motorists at intersections compared to free-flowing traffic.
2023 Spring
Montana faces two crises. There's the housing for humans crisis. And there's the housing for everything else. By Darby Minow Smith March 14, 2023
How Climate Change Could Sink the US Real Estate Market
LIZ GREENE HADN'T ORIGINALLY intended to buy this house. She'd been looking at another one here in the River Haven subdivision, 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It had the same beige siding, the same slab foundation and still-growing-in yard, but it was in a location she liked better. At the last minute, though, the developer who built the subdivision slid her into this one.
Amanda Abrams
How Climate Change Could Sink the US Real Estate Market Rising seas, fires, and outdated government policies threaten a repeat of the subprime mortgage meltdown
Few Signs of a Pullback in Life Sciences in North Carolina’s Research Triangle
“It has been a historic run,” said Matthew Gardner, CBRE’s head of life sciences for the Americas, speaking at ULI’s 2023 Carolinas Meeting in February. Gardner was addressing the U.S. market for life sciences real estate. While the field had been hot since around 2015, it began to boom in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the race to create a vaccine. That boom hit a peak in mid-2022, and the market has since cooled. But the contraction has been relatively mild, said Gardner.
The Real Reason Why Babies at a St. Louis Public Housing Complex Weren't Sleeping on Their Own
The visit to the Clinton-Peabody public housing complex in St. Louis was originally designed with a straightforward objective. The neighborhood surrounding the development has a high infant mortality rate and staff members of a local nonprofit called Generate Health wanted to educate residents about safe sleep practices for babies that might save some lives.
Mounting Evidence That Cash Benefits Improve Child Safety
A growing body of research shows that financial assistance reduces stress on parents and lowers child maltreatment rates Ashley Davis was deeply stressed. In 2019, her 3-year-old son was diagnosed withautism, and doctors recommended therapy that could significantly help. They suggested he attend at least 20 hours per week. Insurance paid for the therapy, but Davis had to accompany her son to the sessions.
A Radical Way To Think About Health
Regina Goddard is an open, affable woman, given to cackling when she’s amused. But she wasn’t laughing last summer. The house she and her 13-year-old daughter were renting in Aurora, North Carolina, had become increasingly dilapidated, but despite two electrical fires, a caved-in septic tank, and a leaking roof, the landlord refused to fix it up. “The health department could’ve condemned the place, and we’d have been homeless,” said Goddard, 55. Goddard has hernias, many of them.
How The Rising Sea Is Threatening A Tiny North Carolina Community
Credits Amanda Abrams is a writer based in Durham, North Carolina. Photography by Chris Facey for Noema Magazine. ALLIGATOR, N.C. — The water has always been here. Bounded by giant estuaries, cut through by rivers and creeks, the peninsula poking out toward the state’s barrier islands was originally covered by sprawling wetlands known as the Great Alligator Swamp, a patchwork of pocosin, peatland, hardwood forest and saltwater marsh.
How Tax Assessments in a Supposedly Progressive County Are Reinforcing Racism
When Buncombe County, North Carolina, released its property value reassessments in 2021, employees at the local consulting firm, Urban3, were intrigued. Familiar with reporting by national news outlets about inconsistencies in property tax valuations within counties around the country, homeowners on staff began comparing notes. “One person’s values increased dramatically.
How Climate Change Is Affecting Soil Microbiomes
Most creatures used to illustrate the tragedy of climate change are the familiar variety: Polar bears. Monarch butterflies. Sea turtles. Our soil, however, is often overlooked—it’s teeming with billions of microscopic organisms that comprise the most biodiverse environment on Earth. Like all living things, they’re affected by climate change, too.
A New ‘Normal’: Nonprofits and the Next Phase of COVID
Chris Kreymeyer is frustrated. The president and CEO of Beyond Housing points to his window where, every day in this St. Louis neighborhood, he watches children walk to and from school. They’re low-income children, mostly Black, coming from families that often face multiple challenges. The view is killing Kreymeyer. “I’m tired of seeing another generation of kids that won’t live up to their full potential,” he says.
Medicaid Expansion Would Be a Boon for Community Health Centers
Lincoln Community Health Center in Durham always seems to be bustling. The patients drifting in and out of the clinic’s main location on Fayetteville Street offer a snapshot of the city’s lower-income population: a mix of Black, white, and Latino residents who are there for low-cost medical, dental, mental health, or pharmacy services. Heidi Flores is just leaving the facility. With her T-shirt, cutoffs, and shy smile, she looks like the young woman on the precipice of adulthood that she is.
CalCPA Daily Clips: June 2, 2022
Explore CalCPA's magazine "CalCPA Daily Clips: June 2, 2022", followed by 111 people on Flipboard. See more stories about Personal Finance, Marketing, Pandemics.
Is it time to rethink your firm’s physical footprint?
With the pandemic demonstrating that employees can work from home and communicate virtually while maintaining high productivity, remote work appears to be here to stay. For individual workers, the benefits are obvious: They can potentially live anywhere in the country and still have interesting, challenging jobs. But businesses also stand to gain.
Climate-Change Risks Get the Attention of Real Estate Investors
Business|Climate-Change Risks Get the Attention of Real Estate Investors https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/business/climate-change-flooding-developers.html Square Feet They are thinking more seriously about flooding, but a lack of established standards for assessing development projects is challenging their efforts.
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