Sophie Kasakove
Sophie Kasakove is a freelance reporter and a contributing writer at Pacific Standard.
Amid Its War on Fair Housing Protections, HUD Takes a Rare Aggressive Action Against Los Angeles
HUD reached a deal with Los Angeles to improve disability access, but has left other discrimination cases unaddressed.
Utilities Are Threatening to Deny Service If Pro-Gas Measures Aren't Adopted
National Grid sent many New York customers an email encouraging them to contact state officials in support of pipeline construction or risk shortages.
Red State Governments Ban Blue Cities From Passing Bills to Make Housing Affordable
Conservative statehouses have passed bills blocking cities from enacting inclusionary zoning ordinances, most recently in Florida.
Developers Aren't Reporting How They're Using Tax Incentives Meant for Low-Income Areas
The "opportunity zones" program, established in Trump's 2017 tax bill, might be fueling gentrification and luxury developments.
Big Real Estate Peddles the Myth That New York Rent Control Mainly Targets Small Landlords
Previously unreleased data shows private equity's stranglehold over New York City housing, and its practice of wide-scale eviction.
Can Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and U.S. Cities End Exclusionary Zoning?
Most U.S. cities have a housing crisis and severe racial segregation. Will a spate of new plans work to solve both problems?
Confronting Climate Change, Louisiana Shifts Toward Retreat
As coastal communities succumb to sea-level rise, managing population migration and decline has become a new focus in the state.
Subsidies Meant for Low-Income Communities Are Paying for Luxury Developments
Tax increment financing, originally meant to spur development of "blighted" neighborhoods, is now being redistributed upwards.
Congestion Pricing Passed in New York, but Can It Be a National Solution to Traffic?
The failure of the subway system provided political will for the policy, but it might be harder to rally support for congestion pricing in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Amazon Headquarters Left New York, but Will Other Developers?
In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, residents are challenging a new development, charging it won't create jobs for those who currently live in the neighborhood.
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Break Wall Street's Stranglehold on the Rental Housing Market
The senator is targeting Recession-era private-equity practices.
Rent Control Passed in Oregon. Will It Work as a Housing-Crisis Solution Nationwide?
If rent-control measures pass in all of the states and cities where they're currently on the table, nearly a third of all renter households in the United States could secure relief.
A Major Chicago Public-Housing Lawsuit Is Wrapping Up. The Segregation It Fought Against Lives on.
Over 50 years after the "Gautreaux" case began, the city's neighborhoods remain divided along racial lines.
The Government Shutdown Could Decimate America's Subsidized Housing Programs
The contracts of over 1,000 Section 8 units have already expired, putting in jeopardy the housing of tens of thousands of people enrolled in the subsidy program. Should the shutdown continue, things could get much, much worse.
A Newly Proposed EPA Deregulation Would Quash Any Hope of Protecting What's Left of America's Wetlands
An EPA rollback of Obama-era water protections could be particularly harmful to places like Harris County, which is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey.