The Housing Problem

LATEST EPISODES

Join Rafael and Kirk as they unravel The Housing Problem and hunt for the solutions that will help build a stronger and more equitable New York City – starting with housing.

Season Four

S4 E2. AMY HOVEY

Amy Hovey is the executive director and CEO of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority – the first woman to serve in that position in the agency’s 58-year history. She has experience in the private and non-profit sectors, having financed and developed housing prior to joining government. Amy has worked for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Michigan, and was chief of staff to Congressman Dan Kildee. And she sits on the National Advisory Council of the National Housing Conference.

S4 E1. PETE HARRISON

Rafael and Kirk talk to Pete Harrison, Connecticut Director of the Regional Plan Association, about the CT Zoning Atlas, transit-oriented development, builders remedies, and the DesegregateCT approach to changing NIMBY hearts and minds.

S4 THP HOT TAKES: HARRIS’ HOUSING PLAN

Rafael and Kirk kick off Season 4 by recapping Vice President Harris’ new housing plan and giving their take on what these policies – including her commitment to creating 3 million new homes by the end of her first term – could mean for the housing crisis.

Season Three

S3 E12. THP LIVE / SEASON 3 FINALE

Rafael and Kirk get together with the Urban Land Institute NY’s Young Leaders Group to discuss the housing deal struck between Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature, recount their own housing journeys, and share some perspective on making it through the housing crisis of the 70s.

S3 E11. ALICIA GLEN

Rafael and Kirk talk to former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen about the de Blasio administration’s housing legacy, the evolution of NYC’s housing policy over the last 30 years, and what the Adams administration is getting right/what it’s getting wrong. The founder and managing principal of M Squared also discusses the Gateway Project, asylum seekers, and why developers are leaving NYC.

S3 E10. SHAUN DONOVAN

Rafael and Kirk talk to former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan about catastrophe as a driver of solutions to the housing problem, touching on Superstorm Sandy, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the decline of public housing. Also, are housing abundance and resilience in conflict or compatible?

S3 E9. VISHAAN CHAKRABARTI

Rafael and Kirk talk to Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder of the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, about supply and demand denialism, the weaponization of Jane Jacobs’ legacy, and how to add housing when a city is “full.”

S3 E8. JAMAR ADAMS

Rafael and Kirk talk to NFL safety turned real estate developer Jamar Adams – founder and managing principal of Essence Development – about his journey from the gridiron to the board room and the challenge of breaking into the development world as a person of color. Also, public-private partnerships as a tool for improving public housing, pragmatism vs. purity tests, and cities that are making housing development easier.

S3 E7. GREGG COLBURN

Rafael and Kirk talk to Gregg Colburn, PhD – author and professor of housing and urban development at the University of Washington – about his book “Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Problems Explain U.S. Patterns,” NYC’s right to shelter, and why homelessness rates are actually lower where poverty rates are higher.

S3 E6. JEFF BLAU

On the eve of a potential long-awaited housing deal between New York’s Governor and Legislature, Rafael and Kirk talk to Jeff Blau, chief executive of Related Companies, about some of the most fiercely debated housing policies, including tax incentives for developers and tenant protections. Also, can market-rate housing and office buildings help address the affordability problem?

S3 E5. ERIC ENDERLIN

It doesn’t add up. Rafael and Kirk talk to Eric Enderlin, president of the NYC Housing Development Corporation, about the brutal math of building affordable housing. Plus, public housing, the lopsided financial benefits of homeownership, single-room occupancy (SRO) units, and the obstacles to filling vacant housing.

S3 E4. SPEAKER ADRIENNE ADAMS

Madam Speaker. Rafael and Kirk have a wide-ranging discussion with New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams about her approach to getting her members to yes on rezonings, her Fair Housing Framework, rental assistance vouchers, homeownership, accessory dwelling units, and Jamaica, Queens as a laboratory for solutions to the housing problem.

S3 E3. M. NOLAN GRAY

The canary in the coalmine. Rafael and Kirk talk to Nolan Gray – author and research director at CA YIMBY – about California’s efforts to tackle the housing problem, the growing YIMBY movement, accessory dwelling units, missing middle housing, and his book Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It.

S3 E2. DAN GARODNICK

Is New York a City of Yes? Rafael and Kirk talk to NYC Director of City Planning Dan Garodnick about saving StuyTown, gentrification, member deference, and the Adams Administration’s plan to address the housing problem.

S3 E1. SECRETARY JULIÁN CASTRO

Rafael and Kirk kick off season 3 by talking to the former Mayor-turned-Cabinet Secretary about his journey from San Antonio, Texas to Washington, DC. Secretary Castro shares his national perspective on the housing problem and lessons learned from cities and towns across the country.