The Impact Newsfeed

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

To Make Effective Rural Infrastructure Investments, Give Local Institutions a Seat at the Table

Policymakers deploying federal resources must understand and respect the landscape of local actors that shape rural power structures.

What Free Community College Means for Students Who Already Have It

The first-dollar design ensures all students receive similar benefits and that any existing grant aid can be preserved to cover students’ living expenses.

School Boundaries Can Cause Unnecessary Segregation: A Case Study in Illinois

Often, school boundary lines align with residential segregation previously enforced by redlining or restrictive covenants.

State and Local Antidiscrimination Laws Could Help Renters Access Emergency Rental Assistance and Keep Their Homes

Where are people protected by source-of-income discrimination laws?

Three Ways to Promote Equitable Rural Investments

State and local policymakers can combine a new typology and dashboard with local data sources to ensure investments are targeted to changing rural realities.

Equitable Research Requires Questioning the Status Quo

Creating equitable research requires a shift in researchers’ mentality on the values and practices of research and deep questioning of the status quo.

It’s Difficult for Manufactured Home Borrowers to Reap the Benefits of Historically Low Interest Rates

Manufactured home borrowers face the greatest obstacles in refinancing are have been unable to take advantage of the low interest rates.

When AI and ESG collide

The corporate world’s embrace of AI will strain ESG strategies far more deeply than most of us think.

A sea change for seafloor mapping

One of the biggest challenges in drawing ocean maps at any depth has been the relative lack of standardization in how data is shared.

The climate crisis must be priority for financial regulators

Risk is a baseline responsibility of financial institutions, yet they are falling short as irreversible climate damage accelerates.

Congress needs to accelerate water reuse and recycling

The Infrastructure and Jobs Act is a good start but more federal infrastructure is needed to adequately address climate change

The entire financial system must support the net-zero transition

And that requires investments of over $100 trillion in the next three decades.

Pondering the trajectory of scooter and bike adoption

Urban transportation is being reshaped by a new generation of electric scooters and bicycles, the large majority of them being used by men.

What it really means to integrate ESG across the business

ESG has become the new black of corporate business. But many executives and boards are grappling with how to anchor strategic thinking on climate change and sustainable business into existing governance.

Capturing carbon one cooling tower at a time

The startup Noya is turning already-built infrastructure into new carbon capture plants.