ProPublica – The complex, contradictory and heartbreaking process of American climate migration is underway – “This article is an excerpt from the book “On The Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America,” about climate migration in the U.S. For more, see abrahm.com. “Another great American migration is now underway, this time forced by… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Housing
Mapping America’s access to nature, neighborhood by neighborhood
Washington Post – “A city is a science experiment. What happens when we separate human beings from the environment in which they evolved? Can people be healthy without nature? The results have been bleak. Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and… Continue Reading
Insurers Are Spying on Your Home From the Sky
WS via MSN: “Cindy Picos was dropped by her home insurer last month. The reason: aerial photos of her roof, which her insurer refused to let her see. “I thought they had the wrong house,” said Picos, who lives in northern California. “Our roof is in fine shape.” Her insurer said its images showed her… Continue Reading
Home Insurance Rates to Rise 6% in 2024 After 20% Increase in Last 2 Years
Insurify: “Home insurance rates are rising, influenced by climate catastrophes and inflation, leaving homeowners uncertain about future expenses. The average annual rate increased by 19.8% between 2021 and 2023, from $1,984 to $2,377. Insurify projects a 6% increase in 2024, placing rates at $2,522 by the end of the year. Early weather forecasts predict a… Continue Reading
There Are a Record-High 550 ‘Million-Dollar’ Cities in the US
Zillow: “There are currently 550 U.S. cities where the typical home value is $1 million or more, up from 491 a year ago. California easily boasts the most million-dollar cities, followed by New York and New Jersey. Florida, Texas and Delaware are the only states with a net loss in million-dollar cities over the past… Continue Reading
Historical Settlement Data Compilation for the United States
Harvard Dataverse: “The Historical Settlement Data Compilation for the United States (HISDAC-US) contains historical gridded settlement layers derived from property records compiled in the Zillow Transaction and Assessment Dataset (ZTRAX). HISDAC-US describes the built environment of most of the conterminous United States back to 1810 at fine temporal (5 years) and spatial (250 m) granularity… Continue Reading
Redfin rolls out new AI assistant tool that answers homebuyer questions
GeekWire: “Redfin wants to help answer homebuyer questions in a more efficient way with the assistance of AI. The real estate giant is rolling out a new generative AI-powered virtual assistant called “Ask Redfin” that can quickly answer questions about a particular home listing. The tool combines the latest in large language model technology with… Continue Reading
US Census Bureau purposely fudges location data in census to protect people’s privacy
Via Kottke – The U.S. Census Is Wrong on Purpose: “…Full census data is only made available 72 years after the census takes place, in accordance with the creatively-named “72 year rule.” Until then, it is only available as aggregated data with individual identifiers removed. Still, if the population of a town is small enough,… Continue Reading
The East Coast Is Sinking
The New York Times interactive [read free] – “New satellite-based research reveals how land along the coast is slumping into the ocean, compounding the danger from global sea level rise. A major culprit: overpumping of groundwater. The most vulnerable areas of Boston have been sinking up to 3.8 centimeters per decade, which adds up to… Continue Reading
These States Are Basically Begging You to Get a Heat Pump
Wired [read free]: “You need a heat pump, ASAP. Now nine states are teaming up to accelerate the adoption of this climate superhero. Nine states have signed a memorandum of understanding that says that heat pumps should make up at least 65 percent of residential heating, air conditioning, and water-heating shipments by 2030. (“Shipments” here… Continue Reading
Good AI Legal Help, Bad AI Legal Help: Establishing quality standards for response to people’s legal problem stories
Hagan, Margaret, Good AI Legal Help, Bad AI Legal Help: Establishing quality standards for response to people’s legal problem stories (November 21, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4640596 “Much has been made of generative AI models’ ability to perform legal tasks or pass legal exams, but a more important question for public policy is whether AI… Continue Reading
“We Buy Ugly Houses” Company Overhauls Policies in the Wake of ProPublica Investigation
ProPublica: “HomeVestors of America, the self-described largest home buyer in the country, is continuing to reform some of its business practices in the wake of a ProPublica investigation last year that revealed predatory tactics used by the company’s franchises toward homeowners in vulnerable situations. The company’s 1,100 “We Buy Ugly Houses” franchises will now be… Continue Reading
