The beginning of a new Administration in Washington creates the potential for innovation and bold leadership throughout the Federal government. This is especially true for departments and programs that are usually considered low-profile backwaters of the bureaucracy but which could have a tangible impact on the most urgent issues of social inequity, such as the shortage of affordable housing, barriers to homeownership, the economic consequences of high housing costs on household income and asset building, and homelessness. With the transition from the Trump to the Biden Administration, the role and efficacy of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as federal housing legislation will be crucial in addressing the social inequities that result from California’s shortage of affordable housing. Panelists discussed what Congress and HUD have (and have not) accomplished under the Trump Administration, how this has impacted the housing insecure in Southern California, and what housing policies we can expect under, and should demand from, the Biden Administration.

Panelists were:

• Joan Ling (UCLA, Urban Planning, and former director of the Community Corporation of Santa Monica)
• Kristina Meshelski (CSUN, Philosophy, activist with LA Tenants' Union and Democratic Socialists of America)
• Thomas Safran (Chairman of Thomas Safran & Associates, Real Estate Developer)
• Joe Donlin (Deputy Director, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE))

 The panel was moderated by Professor Anthony Orlando (CPP, Finance, Real Estate, & Law).

This event is part of the series, Securing Justice, a housing insecurity podcast brought to you by the California Center for Ethics & Policy (CCEP) at Cal Poly Pomona, generously supported with a grant from California Humanities. Securing Justice is organized by this year's CCEP Faculty Fellows: Project Director Brady Collins (CPP, Poli Sci), Humanities Adviser Cory Aragon (CPP, Phil), Michael Woo (CPP Dean Emeritus of ENV), and CCEP Director Alex Madva.