Symposium on Housing for Vulnerable Populations and the Middle Class

This year the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the breadth of the Fair Housing Act, and HUD is taking a new approach to affirmatively further fair housing. The California Supreme Court recently upheld inclusionary zoning. States and cities are newly considering rent control and other progressive housing policies. Micro-housing developments are challenging longstanding housing standards. Meanwhile, the miserable consequences of the mortgage and foreclosure crises still plague many communities.

The time is ripe to revisit the state of legal rights to housing and progressive housing policies: What is in place? How is it working? And what more can be done? Does the widely-recognized expansion of the housing crisis to the middle class change the debate about housing rights and policies? If so, how? Should we refine and add to existing housing rights? Are there creative new laws and policies worth considering?

The University of San Francisco Law Review will hold a symposium on January 29, 2016, to engage this current moment. The event will gather legal and housing scholars, practicing attorneys, policymakers and other stakeholders from around the nation to examine the problem, critically evaluate current laws and propose new solutions.