💪 Minnesota renters keep our communities going. They raise families, care for neighbors, go to work, run businesses, volunteer, build communities, and make homes in every corner of the state. Renting is home, and renters deserve to have clear information about their rights and a place to turn...

I wrote about affirmative action, labor unions, and current attacks on higher education in response to the Atlantic piece about a faculty member resigning apparently because of DEI. I have a number of issues with the arguments and evidence the author presents.

Should we be outraged by Tyler Austin Harper’s experience?

No. There are bigger higher-education fish to fry.

alexkarner.substack.com

CALL FOR PAPERS @Urban Affairs Association 2027, New York City #Socialist #Housing Policy and Practice

For Midnight Books recap with Rae: We're fighting to expand tenant protections, rental assistance, eviction defense, and free city bus systems so that no Angeleno falls through the cracks again.

My book is out in the US today! Get in touch for a 40% discount @desireefields.bsky.social @kentoncard.bsky.social @danimmergluck.bsky.social www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

Beyond Generation Rent: Political Economy, Inequality, and the Private Rental Sector

Beyond Generation Rent: Political Economy, Inequality, and the Private Rental Sector, As societies struggle to respond to the revival of private renting, this book offers the first comprehensive and c...

politybooks.com

Important contribution on the impact of new housing supply on rents coauthored by my @curaumn.bsky.social colleague @tonydamiano.bsky.social 👇🏼

(CURA) Center for Urban & Regional Affairs at UMN@curaumn.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Do luxury apartments lower rents—or raise them? A new study co-authored by CURA’s Tony Damiano examines how high-end development affected nearby rents in Minneapolis during a period of rapid growth. #Housing #Minneapolis www.cura.umn.edu/research/bui...

Do luxury apartments lower rents—or raise them? A new study co-authored by CURA’s Tony Damiano examines how high-end development affected nearby rents in Minneapolis during a period of rapid growth. #Housing #Minneapolis www.cura.umn.edu/research/bui...

CURA is hiring research assistants! Head to the UMN Job Search site and search for student jobs using "CURA." hr.umn.edu/jobs/Find-Jo...

UMN Student Jobs

Apply TodayThe University of Minnesota has thousands of job opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience, hone your professional and personal skills, and contribute to your campus commu...

hr.umn.edu

A report from @shelterforce.bsky.social interviews CURA researcher Kenton Card "Right now, we are seeing the largest volunteer grassroots effort that I’ve ever seen, and I study these things for a living." shelterforce.org/2026/02/27/s...

Safe and Sheltered: How Tenant Organizers Protect Their Neighbors in Minneapolis  — Shelterforce

To protect themselves from ICE, many families are staying home; tenant organizers are pushing for eviction moratoriums to keep them safe.

shelterforce.org

Q: How does new rental construction impact rent prices? A: It depends. New research finds BIG developments: ⬆️ rents of lower-priced units by 4.4%⚠️ ⬇️ rents of higher-priced units by 1.7%. @tonydamiano.bsky.social & Chris Frenier tell us why submarkets matter. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Build baby build? Housing submarkets and the effects of new construction on existing rents

There is vigorous debate among scholars, and activists about the role that new market-rate apartments play in alleviating housing affordability issues at the neighborhood level. This study evaluate...

tandfonline.com

Neighborhoods Now! includes 4 one-day sessions, a follow-up think tank sessions with fellow organizers, a planned field action, and guest speaker programs. Throughout the course, participants will have access to 1-to-1 assistance from CURA staff. www.cura.umn.edu/programs/com...

Join me in calling on the City Council and Mayor to support this effort by testifying at a public hearing of Pause Evictions, Save Lives this Tue 3/3 at 9:30 in the Council Chambers at City Hall (350 S 5th St).

I was interviewed for a new @shelterforce.bsky.social article profiling how tenant organizers have responded to the ICE invasion of Minneapolis, calling for an #EvictionMoratorium. shelterforce.org/2026/02/27/s...

Parents & neighbors have joined forces to defend elementary schools from masked federal agents abducting children in #Minneapolis. Let that sink in. Is that the America you want to live in?

In #Minneapolis, I’m talking w/ my neighbors about having legal observer patrols at our local elementary school because federal agents have been kidnapping children. Let that sink. #StopKidnappingChildren #abolishICE Then I see 👇

Luke O'Neil@lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 9mo ago

A buddy in MN shared a drawing a classmate of his kid made. They've been making thank you notes for parents who have volunteered to carpool them to school so their own parents don't have to risk waiting out by the bus stop.

Join us for a people-powered night of film and community at Whammy as we watch the silent-era classic Safety Last, on January 26 at 7:30pm! a piece of Los Angeles history that reminds us how storytelling has always shaped this city. Link to register below.

I spoke to the Minneapolis City Council last week about how the academic evidence indicates that an #EvictionMoratorium is an effective & measured tool to maintain community safety — during the #ICE invasion.

I've been living in #Minneapolis over the past year and a half. So I'm going to start sharing some observations that I've made on the ground over the past weeks. Let me know if you'd like me to comment on anything in particular.

I'm very excited to support tenant movement leader @raeforla.bsky.social of @housingnowca.bsky.social launch a powerful campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles!! 💰 support her if you can 💰 Learn more about it below👇👇🔥🔥

Rev. Rae Huang@raeforla.com · 11mo ago

Let’s get on our way, Los Angeles. Follow raeforla.com for more information. #RaeforLA #LosAngeles

Congratulations to Dr. James Sirigotis, who defended his dissertation Resilient Optionality: (Infra)structures of Climate, Feeling, and Finance at UC Santa Cruz. Sirigotis offers a comprehensive account of how capitalism now mirrors the logic of financial options, a truly brilliant work.

Zohran Mamdani went to the White House as a proud — and electorally successful — democratic socialist. And Trump, in one of the most surreal moments in modern US politics, seemed to accept that reality. Here’s the story of the day Trump said, “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.”

A Socialist In the White House

Zohran Mamdani is certainly not the first democratic socialist to meet with a US president. But his visit with Donald Trump shows the renewal of a historic American movement.

thenation.com

Love fest in the White House today btw @realdonaldtrumppar.bsky.social & @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social – a twilight zone experience to watch a sitting president encourage a Democratic Socialist mayor-elect www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptzw...

LIVE: Trump and Mamdani meeting at the White House

YouTube video by Associated Press

youtube.com

Will New Yorkers will settle for a progressive mayor or build the assemblies, cooperatives, and networks needed to support lasting transformation? A radical municipalist take on Mamdani’s victory by @yvonnegraphy Read at nonprofitquarterly.org/will-mamdani...

#Minneapolis community!! Check out #zAmya Theater Project's premiere of "Living in America: The Waiting List is Full." zAmya combines lived experience & artistic expression to inspire communities to work for housing justice for all.

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Great op-ed by my colleagues Tony Damiano & Ed Goetz @curaumn.bsky.social on how "we’re seeing haves & have-nots with #Minneapolis rents." [link below]

Up next at #ACSP2025 I’m speaking about just cause eviction protections from advocacy research developed w/ @rentersunitemd.bsky.social & @curaumn.bsky.social

"Does tenant organizing improve housing quality & health?" 🔥 Fascinating new research by @midwesterly.bsky.social, Drew Dearwood & @alexkarner.bsky.social on the housing-health intersection out of UT Austin working with community org Basta! #ACSP2025 —> Check out their findings👇

Seniors in Cincinnati are forming a #TenantUnions to claim rights & affordable rents. They demand to collectively negotiating w/ out-of-state landlord to prevent new renovations from displacing residents. Video here: www.fox19.com/video/2025/1...

Cincinnati seniors form tenant union to fight potential displacement

Cincinnati seniors form tenant union to fight potential displacement

fox19.com

Great news!! Louisville Metro is finally implementing its Anti-Displacement Commission & Assessment Tool! Well done PUSH Louisville & Jecorey Arthur for keeping pressure on the city, and Louisville Tenants Union for launching the campaign!! www.lpm.org/news/2025-10...

Louisville's Anti-Displacement Commission finally gets off the ground

The Anti-Displacement Commission will track housing developments that receive city resources to protect residents from gentrification.

lpm.org