Shane Phillips, Author of ‘The Affordable City’ – May 10, 2022 Presentation

SPAAR’s Professionalism Committee and Housing Affordability Task Force recently partnered to offer a book club to SPAAR members and read The Affordable City by Shane Phillips; the book dives into policy proposals for making housing more affordable.

Over the months of April and May, a group of SPAAR members and staff members read the book and met weekly to discuss, resulting in several interesting, insightful and eye-opening conversations about housing and how to make it more affordable.

The book club concluded with the author, Shane Phillips, speaking to members virtually about his work on these important issues. He manages the UCLA Lewis Center Housing Initiative, where he develops research, policy analysis, and educational materials to improve the public's understanding of housing markets and policies. His book, The Affordable City, argues for a multipronged approach to housing that addresses housing supply, stability and subsidies. Shane has written for the Los Angeles Times, Atlantic, and other local and national outlets, and occasionally publishes on his blog, Better Institutions.

Thanks to Shane Phillips for joining the group for a discussion and sharing his knowledge on these issues. Also a special thanks to Paige Kahle who served as book club moderator as well as the rest of the participants for taking part in these discussions. The video of the presentation with Shane Phillips can be found here.

SPAAR members in 2021 participated in a book club discussion of The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein about redlining and racist housing practices in our nation’s history. SPAAR looks forward to future book club offerings.