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February 2025: housing justice in a warming world

Each month, we break down our topic into four weekly modules. Catch up on previous editions here.​

This week's module: LEARN

• ✅ CONNECT | Conversation prompts to guide your visions of housing justice
• 🎯 LEARN | How does housing intersect with climate justice? (TODAY)
• ACT | What activities and actions can we take towards building equitable housing that benefits people and planet? (2/19/25)
• REFLECT | How do we build more empathy into our justice practices and work across issue areas? (2/26/25)

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Here's what we'll learn today Reader

I have some GREAT FREAKING NEWS TODAY!

Seattle (where I live) has AGAIN said, loud and clear, that we want social housing. What is social housing? you may ask. And you will be answered so very soon.

The main thing you need to know in this moment is that despite all the chaos happening with wannabe dictators and tech bros with terrible bone structure, grassroots power is still alive and well.

If you don't live in Seattle (probably most of you, because there are ~8,000 people around the world reading this), we basically won a special election despite being outspent 2x by tech companies.* More in a minute!

If you take away nothing else from this Changeletter, just remember this:

What you do matters.

Even if it feels like it doesn't.

Especially when it feels like it doesn't, because ✨they✨ want you to believe you have no power.

And THEY are sociopathic toddlers wearing adult clothes and spending daddy's money, except daddy is the exploitation of the working class and the planet. I'd rather be a potato than a billionaire. Literally ew. Bruno Mars was so wrong for that.​

What you do matters, the conversations you're having matter, the sacrifices that you're making for your community and your home matter.

It's not about degrees of carbon dioxide.

It's about protecting the places and the people we love!

Okay motivational speech over. Ready to learn about social housing, what it is, and why it's a climate justice solution? Let's go!

*the votes are still coming in since the election ended yesterday at 8PM, but the lead is strong. so don't be mad at me if something changes pls

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But first, February events

• ​Feb 18 in Seattle: guided advocacy dinner party for housing & climate justice​
• ​Feb 20 in NYC: plant-based supper club: housing x climate edition (only 4 spots left)
• ​Feb 25 in Seattle: art + reflection night on housing & climate solutions​

Your bite-sized action plan Reader

✅ LEARN about social housing and how it's a climate solution

Grist, our fave climate solutions journalism outlet, just wrote about Seattle's push for social housing and why it matters. Today you'll be able to choose between reading the Grist article or watching a video on social housing in Vienna!

• What is social housing?
  ​"Social housing is a new type of publicly-owned affordable housing that accommodates low- and middle-income renters."
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• What makes social housing different from affordable housing?
  ​"The broad goal of social housing is to equitably alleviate that housing crunch by creating apartments and townhouses that aren’t subject to market speculation. Under the new developer’s model, units would be publicly owned and would remain affordable indefinitely. Other forms of affordable housing developed by nonprofits are often built with expiring federal tax credits and revert to market rates after a period of 15 to 30 years." Wow!
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• What makes social housing a climate solution?
  ​Two things.
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  Most obviously, the buildings themselves are held to "passive house" construction standards. "Passive house construction is also better adapted to climate disasters like wildfire, thanks to powerful air filtration systems that help keep embers outside. In one Los Angeles neighborhood that was recently razed by the Palisades Fire, the only house that remained standing was one built to passive house standards." Talk about a life-saving solution!
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  The second thing is that adding more housing = higher density in urban areas = WAY LOWER CARBON EMISSIONS from transportation! Imagine how much CO2 you'd save if you could walk everywhere! Count me in to that lifestyle!
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• Why should the rest of the world outside of Seattle care?
  ​Social housing is a relatively new concept, and every successful experiment matters. If you keep scrolling, you'll get to watch a bit more about how this has worked in Vienna! Also, the way this played out in Seattle shows that grassroots power is alive and well, despite the opposition (wealthy tech companies who don't want to pay taxes) spending HALF A MILLION BUCKS in 20 days to shut down social housing. GOOD JOB, US!
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And/ooorr watch this video about Vienna setting the precedent for social housing! We can do it. We just have to... do it.

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Good things are happening in our fracked up world, and it's up to us to expand the goodness by participating. Thank you for being part of the joyful revolution for a better world by spending your time with me today!

See you next week to take action.

Love,

Nivi

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