Our Central Tenets

Welcome to the People's Housing Lab (PHL). Here's what we're all about.

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   For Philadelphians, By Philadelphians

Philadelphia is our focus and our home. This is a platform and publication for Philadelphians, by Philadelphians. We will share stories about Philadelphia tenants, the Philadelphia rental market, and Philadelphia housing policy debates. We will consider how federal housing policy will impact Philadelphia specifically and comparatively study housing-related policies, practices, and experimentation elsewhere, analyzing how such programs might play out here.

2. Housing Is a Human Right

Housing is a fundamental human right. We should evaluate public policy based on whether it expands access to safe, stable, dignified housing for all residents, especially those most at risk of displacement and homelessness. Policy choices should prioritize human stability.

We believe that shelter is a social good before it is an investment vehicle. We support policies that prioritize housing as a place to live first, not primarily as an asset to trade.

3. Evidence Matters and So Do Its Sources

We are committed to evidence-based housing policy. We also believe evidence must be interrogated: Who funded the research? What assumptions underpin the model? What data is missing? What outcomes are being measured, and for whom?

Even data-driven policy is not neutral. Good housing analysis requires methodological rigor, transparency, and an honest accounting of power.

4. Policy Means More Than Law

We believe that “policy” stretches beyond the passage of legislation. Policy includes the allocation of resources, the implementation and enforcement of legislation, and institutional culture. When we talk about policy, we are talking about the long arc from idea to lasting impact.

5. Increasing Supply Alone Will Not Fix the Housing Market

Expanding housing supply is essential to long-term affordability. We agree that zoning reform and growing the pool of available housing are important aspects of addressing rising rents in our city.

However, supply interventions alone cannot completely solve housing instability. Without tenant protections, anti-displacement tools, public investment, and attention to ownership structures and price-gouging, expanding supply can coexist with deepening inequality. A serious housing agenda must address production, affordability, preservation, and power simultaneously.

6. Public Capacity Is a Policy Choice

A budget is a reflection of our shared values, and we can choose to prioritize our spending differently. We endeavor to grapple with real resource constraints (land, labor, materials, administrative capacity, the impacts of federal austerity) while rejecting artificial scarcity narratives that prevent public investment in deeply affordable housing.

7. Residents Must Be the Protagonists

Housing justice is achieved through collective action, including tenant organizing, cooperative ownership, community land trusts, and democratic governance. We believe durable solutions emerge when residents have voice, agency, and shared ownership in shaping our city.

Are you in? Subscribe, send to your friends, and send us a pitch that aligns with these principles.

Pitch submissions at any time via e-mail to [email protected]. Submission emails must include:

• Name of author(s) (or person pitching)

• Topic of submission, including at minimum a short summary of the article, and potential sources (data, primary documents, interview subjects, etc.)

• Any requests for editorial support or collaboration, if applicable.