Nowak Lab Newsletters
Linked below are Nowak Metro Finance Lab newsletters, shared biweekly by Bruce Katz.
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The National Housing Crisis Task Force released the first tranche of tools in its State and Local Housing Action Plan for communities. The introduction to the State and Local Housing Action Plan summarizes all of the expected tools we plan to release in the coming months.
The past 5 weeks have been painful to observe and experience. The Trump Administration has, in rapid fire fashion, moved to pause and condition federal funding, reduce the federal workforce, impose tariffs on trading partners and defy judicial orders. On Tuesday, the House passed a budget resolution that would continue tax policies enacted in 2017 (at a cost of roughly $4 trillion over the next 10 years) while reducing federal spending by $2 trillion over the next decade, with Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) being the primary targets.
The U.S. housing system, long supported by consistent federal policies, faces unprecedented uncertainty due to recent government shifts. While programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Housing Choice Vouchers have historically underpinned affordable housing, new administrative actions threaten to disrupt this stability.
In light of recent federal disruptions, cities and metropolitan areas must unite and take charge to protect their economies and residents. Local leaders need to organize quickly, collaborate across sectors, and adapt to the challenges ahead. This new localism requires agility and coordination to defend against federal changes, leverage opportunities, and ensure long-term prosperity. The time to act is now.
Housing has dominated state and local headlines, the federal campaign trail, and even this newsletter of late. But you wouldn’t know it if you were moving within private capital circles. Rather, the talk of the town in the public markets, amongst lenders, and at private equity conferences is data centers: housing for chips.
Opportunity Zones (OZs) have emerged as a significant tool in driving investment into underdeveloped areas, offering a compelling case for their continuation and expansion. Since their inception in 2017, OZs have attracted nearly $100 billion in private capital, according to the Economic Innovation Group (EIG).
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