SF’s First Public Defender Faced Murder Charges Jeff Adachi was a true Renaissance man. A fierce deputy public defender, Adachi won election to run the San Francisco Public Defender’s office and completely reshaped it. He made a film, “Defender,” on
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The IAF’s Universal Rules What do we mean when we talk about “community organizing” Is it helping a “community” achieve its goals? Helping communities define their needs? Building a base of people so that the community can effectively assert its
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New Book Offers Common-Sense Solutions I argue in Generation Priced Out that whether cities improve affordability and increase racial and economic diversity is a question of political will. Ending homelessness, overcrowding, and long car commutes is not like a search
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New Book Highlights Vital Affordable Housing Model As demand for affordable housing grows across the United States and the world, the question has emerged: what are the best affordable housing strategies? A new book, On Common Ground: International Perspectives on
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Cities Must End Pedestrian Killings Among the lessons of COVID-19 is  that preventive health measures, and the lack thereof, make a huge difference. Longtime Streetsblog USA columnist turned author Angie Schmitt has long argued this. Her new book, Right of
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Pandemic Increases Value of Small Actions “Since World War II, a thicket of public-sector regulations and private-sector financial requirements have grown up around neighborhood zoning, parking requirements and rehabilitating older structures. Virtually every aspect of these systems that govern urban
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Get Inspired This Holiday Season! Since 2008 I have written four books on winning social change. What led me to write four books in one decade? I owe a tremendous debt to the University of California Press for supporting my
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New Books Highlight Green Transit Strategies From New York City’s 14th Street to San Francisco’s Market Street, cities are finally stopping cars from dominating the urban landscape. But there is much work left to be done.  This makes two new
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