The Impact Newsfeed

Daily news digest from the world of affordable housing and impact investing

How Place-Based Special Purpose Credit Programs Can Reduce the Racial Homeownership Gap

By targeting areas based on racial composition, mortgage financing programs could unwind the impacts of decades of racial and spatial disinvestment.

In Chicago, Neighborhoods Have Stark Differences in Economic Opportunity

New Urban research shows that, at the local level, neighborhoods in northeast Chicago hold more wealth than neighborhoods in the south and west, which hold little or negative wealth.

The Housing Market Needs More Condos. Why Are So Few Being Built?

Condos can present a key path to homeownership, but federal financing issues and local defect laws have contributed to a lack of multifamily units for sale.

How Traceability Enables Circularity: Lessons from the Leaders

One key to a circular economy is the ability to track and trace materials, components and finished products throughout their life-cycle, and into their second and subsequent lives. But how to do that? It's not merely a technology fix, though there are a host of technologies that can help. It also requires a more systemic

Will California’s New Zoning Promote Racial and Economic Equity in Los Angeles?

There’s a great need for more housing and homeownership in Los Angeles. Increasing the supply of low-density infill housing through zoning reform is an important step, but the city requires additional policies to ensure racial and economic inequities don’t widen.

To Prevent Pedestrian Fatalities, We Need Better Data

Without accurate data, interventions to protect pedestrians may be ineffective.

To Ensure the Homeowner Assistance Fund Offers Relief to Struggling Native Homeowners, Center Their Needs and Voices

Federal assistance is critical but is not a one-shot solution for Native homeowners.

Three Obstacles Federally Assisted Housing Programs Need to Overcome to Better Serve Residents with Disabilities

Advancing disability equity in federally assisted housing requires adequate resources and an inclusive approach.

Here's an overlooked option for long-term energy storage for renewables

Batteries get all the hype, but they are not the only way to provide continuous electricity.

Combining offshore wind with carbon removal

Offshore wind farms could help capture carbon from air and store it long-term — using energy that would otherwise go to waste

How to finance Scope 3 emissions reductions on farms

A new report from Field to Market outlines how to open up funding for farmers switching to sustainable agriculture techniques.

Community solar’s star is on the rise

The community solar market had a record year in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of annual non-residential solar capacity — up from just 13 percent in 2016.

Carbon markets: how to realize climate and ESG goals

Sponsored: Carbon credits advance regenerative ag and help companies offset Scope 3 emissions but are confusing, requiring tools to inform investment decisions.

Washington state could lead the nation on building electrification codes

New proposals for heat pumps for space and water heating could eliminate 8.1 million tons of CO2 by 2050.

Cue the qubits: Where quantum computing intersects ESG

From an ESG standpoint, quantum computing technology has the potential to affect pretty much all of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.