Ruthy Gourevitch
banner
ruthygourevitch.bsky.social
Ruthy Gourevitch
@ruthygourevitch.bsky.social
tenant and climate research and such with @cplusc.bsky.social
New research out today with my colleague Jacob Udell on financial distress in the multifamily market. We focus on the impact on tenants, who have little say over their landlords’ financial decisions but bear the brunt of the consequences of this escalating crisis.

Check it out!
Financial distress in the multifamily market is on the rise in the United States: Multifamily loan delinquencies are at their highest rate in 10 years, having nearly doubled in the last year alone.
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
This is far worse than anyone expected.

Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.

All as mass internment camps are being built.
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Think federal government housing aid is focused on low-income families & largely funded by the Department of Housing & Urban Development?

Think again.

In new work @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, we provide a comprehensive account of the US government's many housing supports, which go far beyond HUD 🏘️
How Does the Federal Government Support Housing?
The federal government supports the US housing market through dozens of initiatives administered by several agencies—in total, spending hundreds of billions …
www.urban.org
October 29, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
As insurance prices balloon & companies refuse renewals, state “insurers of last resort” (FAIR plans) are often the only coverage option left for many homeowners. Our new report explains how they often prioritize cost savings for companies, not affordability for families.
October 2, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Check out @cplusc.bsky.social ’s new research on insurers of last resort and follow the brilliant @ipenaranda.bsky.social for more!
Insurers of last resort are state-enabled programs meant to provide insurance to properties that insurers refuse to cover. And yet in our @cplusc.bsky.social report, we find these plans are ill designed to meet their policy objectives, and are instead run by and for the private insurance sector 🧵
As insurance prices balloon & companies refuse renewals, state “insurers of last resort” (FAIR plans) are often the only coverage option left for many homeowners. Our new report explains how they often prioritize cost savings for companies, not affordability for families.
October 3, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
In the last six weeks, the Tenant Union Federation launched seven (7) majority tenant unions, across five (5) states, representing 1000 units of housing owned by Capital Realty Group, a New York-based corporate landlord. The first portfolio organizing of its kind...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Tenants Seek to Unionize One Private Equity Firm's Entire Housing Portfolio
By organizing renters across Capital Realty Group’s affordable housing complexes, the Tenant Union Federation hopes to bring sectoral bargaining to negotiations with large landlords.
www.bloomberg.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Excellent read by @rebeccaburns.bsky.social , from the history of union pension investments to the growing number of union members “calling for investment in social goods, like green energy and affordable housing.”
"As some of the world’s largest institutional investors, pension funds are especially exposed to the risks posed by climate change. They’re also uniquely positioned to address them."

@rebeccaburns.bsky.social on how to reclaim pensions for the common good.

inthesetimes.com/article/fina...
Financing Our Own Destruction
How workers’ pensions fuel attacks on the working class—and how to reclaim them for the common good.
inthesetimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Applications are due next Sunday October 5th for the @cplusc.bsky.social Housing Policy Manager role, spread the word!
‼️ Join my team ‼️ @cplusc.bsky.social is hiring a Housing Policy Manager to help advance progressive housing and climate solutions alongside some of the best tenant unions, labor unions, policymakers, and researchers in the field.

Apply here by Oct 5! climateandcommunity.org/careers/
Work With Us - Climate and Community Institute
Job opportunities at the Climate and Community Institute
climateandcommunity.org
September 25, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Many American politicians are learning from Vienna, which is combatting housing scarcity+climate change-- all at the same time.

This group from Portland is another example.

To go on a podcast jaunt and read more about Vienna's green social housing, check out our feature from June on @npr.org 📻🎧🌍
September 15, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
[email protected] is hiring! We're looking for a Housing & Communities Policy Manager who brings expertise in greening the housing stock and industrial policy for climate-safe homes. Lots more info on the webpage, but we're 100% remote and treat our people well. Apply by October 5!
Work With Us - Climate and Community Institute
Job opportunities at the Climate and Community Institute
climateandcommunity.org
September 9, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
EXTRACTION is hitting the road this fall. Thrilled to be in conversation with @dharna.bsky.social @bentarnoff.com @dwallacewells.bsky.social @earthworks.bsky.social and others.

Stay tuned for more events in the winter and spring! @wwnorton.com
September 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
‼️ Join my team ‼️ @cplusc.bsky.social is hiring a Housing Policy Manager to help advance progressive housing and climate solutions alongside some of the best tenant unions, labor unions, policymakers, and researchers in the field.

Apply here by Oct 5! climateandcommunity.org/careers/
Work With Us - Climate and Community Institute
Job opportunities at the Climate and Community Institute
climateandcommunity.org
September 8, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
The idea that insurance premiums are a good way to mitigate climate risk to housing is a common misconception that, unfortunately, can obscure real solutions to the risks of climate change and perpetuate existing inequities.

Why is that? Well...
1/8
There is a VERY strong reason to think that moving from private to public insurance will lead to political pressure that keeps premiums artificially low and incentivizes building in the riskiest areas. (See federal flood insurance)
August 29, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Tenant organizers have been saysing for a long while that most homeowners should cast their lot with renters, for this reason.
Definitely! Also, affordable housing providers are canceling projects and considering selling off existing ones cuz they can’t afford their insurance - that will further the housing crisis.
August 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
The climate crisis is a catastrophe we cannot afford to ignore, means-test, or isolate as an ​“add-on” to other problems. Workers and tenants across the country understand that, and are advancing green economic populism at home and at work.

So fun to get to dig into it w/ @batul.bsky.social.
As Dixon Romeo, executive director of Southside Together, told us, ​“The tenant organizing feeds into broader campaigns so tenants not only have a union in their building but are also fighting for better neighborhoods.”
The Growing Fight for Green Economic Populism
In Chicago and across the country, unions and progressive leaders are implementing policies to address the climate crisis while improving working people’s lives.
inthesetimes.com
August 6, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Are you going to Netroots? Join us TOMORROW, 3:45-4:45 PM for “Building Green Economic Populism,” moderated by @maryannaise.bsky.social with
PA State Sen. @nikilsaval.bsky.social, @ctulocal1.bsky.social's Stacy Davis Gates, Tenant Union Federation's Tara Raghuveer, and CCI's @jbozuwa.bsky.social
August 6, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Labor and tenant unions can not only win climate objectives as well as economic ones but also build their bases through them.

Chicago's @ctulocal1.bsky.social and Southside Together show us how, as recounted in this piece by @cplusc.bsky.social's @ruthygourevitch.bsky.social and @batul.bsky.social.
As Dixon Romeo, executive director of Southside Together, told us, ​“The tenant organizing feeds into broader campaigns so tenants not only have a union in their building but are also fighting for better neighborhoods.”
The Growing Fight for Green Economic Populism
In Chicago and across the country, unions and progressive leaders are implementing policies to address the climate crisis while improving working people’s lives.
inthesetimes.com
August 5, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Lots of good housing writing out this week!

🔥 @taraghuveer.bsky.social on tenants organizing for Zohran Mamdani for @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social: bit.ly/3J0TmZn

🔥 @sonalj.bsky.social on greening public housing for @cplusc.bsky.social: bit.ly/3H29skY

🔥 PolicyLink on rent control: bit.ly/4o6NLB2
How New York’s Tenants Won | Tara Raghuveer
The night before the New York City municipal primary, the air was sticky with heat and Ferdousi Begum was too tense to sleep. For the past six months,
shorturl.at
July 24, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Holy-Shit-grade new whitepaper just dropped from @cplusc.bsky.social.

Download this. Use this. It is so good.

I do not work there, I just think it is neat!
climateandcommunity.org
July 23, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Some wild stats we found during research:

1️⃣ 45M rental units need substantial repairs

2️⃣ we need to 2x housing construction + 30x retrofits pace to reach CO2 reduction goals & supply needs

3️⃣ Construction labor is on decline. 500k construction job openings expected in 2025

We need a new approach!
The rent's too high, it's too hot, and no one's getting the glorious green homes we keep hearing about. The market is broken.

In our latest @cplusc.bsky.social report, we show how green industrial policy could deliver affordable, green homes for all.
climateandcommunity.org/research/tra...
July 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
I'm thrilled to share my latest essay, We Need a Green Industrial Policy for Housing. We need abundant green housing security. This is how we get it.

Written w the brilliant Julia Wagner & @ruthygourevitch.bsky.social. Short 🧵
climatecommunityinstitute.substack.com/p/we-need-a-...
We Need a Green Industrial Policy for Housing
By Daniel Aldana Cohen, Julia Wagner, and Ruthy Gourevitch
climatecommunityinstitute.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
A green social housing agenda could drive innovative manufacturing for all of the green home technologies we'll need for healthy + decarbonized homes.

Not just a dream - real examples from NYCHA & Vienna. Great piece by @aldasky.bsky.social, @ruthygourevitch.bsky.social, and @cplusc.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to share my latest essay, We Need a Green Industrial Policy for Housing. We need abundant green housing security. This is how we get it.

Written w the brilliant Julia Wagner & @ruthygourevitch.bsky.social. Short 🧵
climatecommunityinstitute.substack.com/p/we-need-a-...
We Need a Green Industrial Policy for Housing
By Daniel Aldana Cohen, Julia Wagner, and Ruthy Gourevitch
climatecommunityinstitute.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
Zohranomics is an effective form of antifascist economic policy. The crisis of economic security that comes with basic questions of dignity & identity is being used by the far right. An agenda laser-focussed on the needs of ordinary people is the way out.
The Case for Zohranomics
As some Wall Street billionaires melt down over Zohran Mamdani’s policy platform, a prominent progressive economist argues that it meets the moment.
www.newyorker.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Ruthy Gourevitch
It's also a good way to survive a climate disaster
There's a lot to be said about identity, solidarity. But a simple place to start: the people who are willing to fight for their neighbors when their neighbors have different problems have a very, very good chance of having neighbors to fight with when you all share problems
June 30, 2025 at 1:53 AM