Insights and Updates

What Growing Up in Public Housing Taught Me About Economic Rights James Carras, June 29, 2026 James Carras, Principal, Carras Community Investment, Inc.; Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School I grew up in the Mission Hill Extension housing projects in Roxbury, Massachusetts. It was the early 1960s. The streets were alive with Greek immigrant families, Black Bostonians who had migrated north during the Great Migration, and working-class Irish households who hadn’t yet made

A national overview of how the lending system treats two-to-four-unit and accessory dwelling housing — and how that treatment has begun to change.

Informed by Research and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Capital Access Summit James Carras November 3, 2025 Preface: The Greater Fort Lauderdale Capital Access Summit was convened to address one of the region’s most pressing economic challenges: ensuring that all entrepreneurs—especially minority, women, and locally owned businesses—have equitable access to the capital, technical assistance, and opportunity needed to grow and thrive. Organized under the leadership of the Greater

In this short avatar video, James Carras shares reflections drawn from his keynote speech and white paper presented at the Community Reinvestment Alliance of Florida’s annual conference.

Adapted from a keynote address delivered at the South Florida Community Reinvestment Alliance Annual Conference on May 15, 2025.