In "America's Eviction Badlands," universities are developing web apps to help tenants stay in their homes.
In "legal design labs" at Brigham Young University and the University of Arizona, law students are building software to provide automated legal aid to tenants facing eviction.
Virtually no tenants have legal representation in eviction cases; by contrast, most landlords do. In Utah and Arizona, Kriston Capps reports in CityLab, the process is further weighted by "strict laws" that leave tenants little time to plan a defense after receiving an eviction notice, and the incentive to evict is high: "One-sided laws that favor landlords offer a tempting money-making opportunity for property owners, since even a single day’s stay beyond the terms of a notice can result in triple per-diem rent plus any court costs."
The LawX Lab curriculum is part of a trend toward "legal innovation built on design thinking," Capps writes. In a previous semester, the class at BYU created SoloSuit, an app that helps users respond to debt collection notices; in New York, JustFix.nyc guides tenants through the process of getting repairs for habitability problems.
FULL STORY: Is There a Better Way to Battle Evictions?
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Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service