Eve Devens

Sep 17, 2024 | brookings.edu | Jenny Schuetz |Eve Devens

Real estate markets have complex interactions with climate change. Homes, offices, stores, and other buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), the cause of global warming. At the same time, buildings—and the people inside them—are highly vulnerable to physical damage from floods, wildfires, and high winds. Buildings in high-risk locations also face financial harms, such as rising insurance premiums and a potential decline in .

Aug 21, 2024 | brookings.edu | Jenny Schuetz |Eve Devens

Reporters and policy wonks keeping tabs on the 2024 election have identified housing affordability as a top issue on the minds of voters—especially young voters. Rising prices and rents since the start of the pandemic combined with high interest rates are increasingly pinching household budgets, and nudging elected officials to take notice.

Jun 24, 2024 | brookings.edu | Jenny Schuetz |Eve Devens

Southern California’s housing shortage and resulting affordability crunch have been decades in the making and impose widespread harms on the region’s residents. Over two-thirds of renter households in Los Angeles County spend at least 30% of their income on rent, and 40% of renters live in overcrowded or poor-quality homes. Over 71,000 Angelenos were experiencing homelessness in 2023. Sharp rises in housing prices and mortgage interest rates make first-time homeownership increasingly difficult.

Apr 29, 2024 | brookings.edu | Jenny Schuetz |Eve Devens

Affordable housing policy in the U.S. is not known for rapid innovation. Since the 1980s, two federal programs have accounted for the vast majority of subsidies to low-income households: housing vouchers cover a portion of rental payments to private landlords, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) offers developers subsidies to build income-restricted apartments.

Mar 4, 2024 | brookings.edu | Jenny Schuetz |Eve Devens

Los Angeles’ housing crisis continues to worsen. In 2022, over 65,000 Angelenos were experiencing homelessness, rising to over 71,000 in 2023. Nearly 60% of renter households in Los Angeles County—over 1 million households—are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.