Earlier this year, The Action Lab partnered with NYU's Urban Democracy Lab to co-host Real Utopias: Decommodifying Housing, a three-day convening that brought together organizers, researchers, movement leaders, policy advocates, and scholars from across the United States and around the world.
At a time when housing affordability, displacement, and speculation continue to shape the lives of millions, the convening created space for participants to explore transformative approaches to housing that prioritize people over profit. Through presentations, dialogue, and collaborative learning, attendees examined how democratic institutions, public investment, and community power can help build more equitable housing systems.
The gathering was anchored by a new proposal, Decommodifying Housing: The Social Housing Development Authority, co-authored by The Action Lab Senior Housing Fellow Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Ryan Carlson. The proposal outlines a vision for expanding permanently affordable social housing at scale while strengthening democratic participation and public stewardship.
Across three thematic tracks—Ideology & Housing Tenure, Resourcing & Stewarding, and Movement Power & Democracy—participants engaged questions about how housing systems are structured, how alternative models can be financed and governed, and what it will take to build the political power necessary to achieve lasting change.
Real Utopias reflects The Action Lab's ongoing commitment to connecting research, policy innovation, and grassroots organizing in pursuit of bold solutions to the housing crisis. By bringing together diverse perspectives and movement experiences, the convening helped deepen conversations about what a more just, democratic, and affordable housing future could look like.
To learn more about The Action Lab's housing justice work and related research initiatives, contact us at info@actionlabny.org.
