Solving America’s Housing Crisis: A Q&A with Marcia Fudge, Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT

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image includes a professional headshot of Marcia Fudge smiling, wearing glasses, pearl earrings, and a necklace, with an American flag in the background

On Thursday, April 10 from 1:00-1:30 p.m. ET, the GPL co-hosted a conversation between Howard Koh, chair of the Harvard Chan School’s Initiative on Health and Homelessness, and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge.

At least 40 million American households — including half of all renters — spend more on housing than they can afford. Many lower-income renters are just scraping by, often sacrificing necessities like food and healthcare to pay the rent. And the number of people experiencing homelessness is surging: 770,000 people, according to a 2024 count, many of whom have jobs but still can’t afford housing.

Fudge spoke with Howard Koh about the forces driving the housing crisis and ways to make housing more affordable.

Presented jointly with the Initiative on Health and Homelessness at Harvard Chan School; the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative; and the HKS Government Performance Lab.