Business Insider: “I take privacy and surveillance extremely seriously — so seriously that I started one of the leading think tanks on the topic, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. But while I study surveillance threats around the country for a living, I had no idea that my own insurance company was using my premium dollars to spy on me. Travelers not only uses aerial photography and AI to monitor its customers’ roofs, but also wrote patents on the technology — nearly 50 patents actually. And it may not be the only insurer spying from the skies. This didn’t just feel creepy and invasive — it felt wrong. Literally wrong: There was nothing wrong with my roof…”
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Category Archives: Housing
Climate Deniers of the 118th Congress
“The Center for American Progress has periodically analyzed statements by sitting members of Congress to determine whether they deny the existence of human-caused climate change. This analysis of the 118th U.S. Congress found that 123 elected officials are climate deniers—23 percent of 535 total members. These 100 representatives and 23 senators wield significant influence on… Continue Reading
AI in Finance and Banking, July 31, 2024
Via LLRX – AI in Finance and Banking, July 31, 2024 – This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, industry white papers, academic papers and speeches on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and… Continue Reading
Here’s how extreme climate is driving inflation
“TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In today’s Climate Classroom, we will be speaking to William S. Becker, a writer for The Hill, a Nexstar-owned property on climate inflation, better known by its new name “climateflation.” No doubt it’s a new term to most, but it’s very real and it’s already hitting us in the wallet— think… Continue Reading
Commercial Zones
Data is Plural: “Byeonghwa Jeong et al. have constructed a dataset estimating the geographic boundaries of 23,000+ commercial zones in 69 metro areas in the US and Canada. To build it, they used data on retail and office locations from OpenStreetMap, and on job density from the US Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program (DIP… Continue Reading
How a little-known tool is sweeping the real estate industry by giving instant access to vast amounts of homebuyer data
The Record: “…Forewarn is primarily marketed to and used by the real estate industry, and it has been penetrating that market at a rapid clip. Although some real estate agents say the financial information it returns saves time when finding clients most likely to have the budget for the houses they’re looking at, most agents… Continue Reading
Climate Zones
The Pudding – Visualization: How will your city feel in the future – “This project looks at 70 global cities, and tracks their classification from present day to 2070. And with climate change, your city isn’t just getting hotter: it will resemble the distinctive climate of completely different places…A 2018 study, led by climatologist Hylke… Continue Reading
Home Insurance Rates in America Are Wildly Distorted. Here’s Why.
The New York Times [unpaywalled]: “Enid, Okla., surrounded by farms about 90 minutes north of Oklahoma City, has an unwelcome distinction: Home insurance is more expensive, relative to home values, than almost anywhere else in the country. Enid is hardly the American community that is most vulnerable to damaging weather. Yet as a share of… Continue Reading
These cities have the highest share of unaffordable neighborhoods in 2024
creditnews: “Homeownership is one of the key pillars of the American dream. But for many families, the idyllic fantasy of a picket fence and backyard barbecues remains just that—a fantasy. Thanks to elevated mortgage rates, sky-high house prices, and scarce inventory, millions of American families have been locked out of the opportunity to buy a… Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence Is Making The Housing Crisis Worse
The Lever: “…Landlords are increasingly turning to private equity-backed artificial intelligence (AI) screening programs to help them select tenants, and resulting cases like Robinson’s are just the tip of the iceberg. The prevalence of incorrect, outdated, or misleading information in such reports is increasing costs and barriers to housing, according to a recent report from… Continue Reading
Webinar – Environmental Law and the Things We Need to Build
Join the Witkin State Law Library and Professor Dave Owen for a free live webinar on “Environmental Law and the Things We Need to Build” on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 6PM. Is environmental law keeping us from building important things—and from building things that would be good for the environment? Recently, that question has… Continue Reading
Are home prices still rising? See how prices have changed in your area
Washington Post: “Many first time home buyers are struggling to break into the U.S. housing market as prices continue to rise. Since 2019, home prices have surged 54 percent. In the last year, prices increased 5.8 percent — a more steady rise after the volatile years of the early pandemic, according to a Washington Post… Continue Reading
