Racial bias concerns prompt lawmakers to ask HUD to ban biometric surveillance, including facial recognition

Two members of the U.S. House of Representative have asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development to end the use of biometric technology, including facial recognition, for surveillance purposes in public housing.

Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Ayanna Pressley say that the technology could inaccurately identify residents of color leading to wrongful penalties. The effect could be to harass or punish residents for minor rule infractions, they asserted.

“These policies run directly counter to the goal of increasing housing stability and fairness through HUD-provided housing, which is all the more critical in light of the devastating housing crisis facing our nation,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your agency must act in this critical moment to ensure public housing and HUD-assisted housing residents are not targeted by these discriminatory surveillance systems.”

Multiple studies of facial recognition technology have pointed to divergent error rates across demographic groups, with women of color the least likely to be accurately identified. A 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that three commercially released facial analysis programs had a margin of error of between 20% and 34% when identifying dark skinned women, compared to 0.8% or lower for light-skinned men.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to cut red tape to make it easier and less costly to build housing projects in the city. Adams would exempt projects with fewer than 175 units in low-density residential areas and those with fewer than 250 units in commercial, manufacturing, and medium- and high-density residential areas from environmental review.

MFPRO+ News | Dec 22, 2023

Document offers guidance on heat pump deployment for multifamily housing

ICAST (International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology) has released a resource guide to help multifamily owners and managers, policymakers, utilities, energy efficiency program implementers, and others advance the deployment of VHE heat pump HVAC and water heaters in multifamily housing.

Urban Planning | Dec 18, 2023

The impacts of affordability, remote work, and personal safety on urban life

Data from Gensler's City Pulse Survey shows that although people are satisfied with their city's experience, it may not be enough.

Berkeley, Calif., raises height limits in downtown area - Photo: Wikipedia

MFPRO+ News | Dec 18, 2023

Berkeley, Calif., raises building height limits in downtown area

Facing a severe housing shortage, the City of Berkeley, Calif., increased the height limits on residential buildings to 12 stories in the area close to the University of California campus.

Cincinnati affordable historic development street view

Affordable Housing | Dec 14, 2023

What's next for affordable housing in 2024?

As 2023 draws to a close, GBBN’s Mary Jo Minerich and Amanda Markovic, AIA sat down to talk about the future. What’s next in terms of trends, technology, and construction of affordable housing?

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay - U.S. poorly prepared to house growing number of older people

MFPRO+ News | Dec 11, 2023

U.S. poorly prepared to house growing number of older adults

The U.S. is ill-prepared to provide adequate housing for the growing ranks of older people, according to a report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Over the next decade, the U.S. population older than 75 will increase by 45%, growing from 17 million to nearly 25 million, with many expected to struggle financially.

Austin, Texas, has devised a toolkit for creating 'equitable transit-oriented developments,' or ETODs.

Transit Facilities | Dec 4, 2023

6 guideposts for cities to create equitable transit-oriented developments

Austin, Texas, has developed an ETOD Policy Toolkit Study to make transit-oriented developments more equitable for current and future residents and businesses.

Mary’s Place Family Center for families experiencing homelessness

Office Buildings | Dec 1, 2023

Amazon office building doubles as emergency housing for Seattle families

The unusual location for services of this kind serves over 300 people per day. Mary's Place spreads across eight of the office's floors—all designed by Graphite—testing the status quo for its experimental approach to homelessness support.