A new study finds projected energy upgrades on a sampling of homes across the Chicago area produced significant savings in energy costs, as well as major cuts in carbon emissions.

The analysis, by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the nonprofit environmental group Elevate, shows that appliance retrofits and insulation would make older homes affordable for the people who own them.

The study looked at 20 neighborhoods across the metro area that have historically seen less investment. Study co-author Rachel Scheu, principal director of research and innovation with Elevate, said these improvements are possible in all parts of the city.

"We looked at five housing types that represent 93% of Chicago's residential building stock," said Sheau. "We found that those upgrades - deep energy efficiency, and electrification - can achieve 60% energy savings, on average."

She said the report shows that energy upgrades can achieve over $220 million in annual utility bill savings for Chicago families - and keep more than 2.5 million metric tons of carbon out of the atmosphere.

Scheu said they analyzed the effects of minimum, moderate and full levels of appliance retrofits. The resulting energy savings ranged from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000 a year.

She noted that many neighborhoods were built in the 1940s or earlier.

"Chicago has a rich, historic architecture," said Scheu. "Its housing is older and smaller, and more energy-intensive. So, there's a huge potential within the existing housing stock."

One of the suggested improvements in the report is to replace oil or gas heating units with heat exchangers. Scheu said they're much more efficient, and provide both heat - and, more importantly - air conditioning.

"As much as 77% of Chicago buildings don't have central air conditioning," said Scheu. "And that's going to be essential as climate and extreme heat events become more frequent and intense."

In the past two years, homelessness in America has risen only 1%, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - which nonetheless reports a divide between urban and rural areas. In New Mexico, homelessness declined by one-third in the past decade, according to a summary delivered to state lawmakers by the Legislative Finance Committee.

Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said having enough rent to stay housed requires finding a job that pays a decent wage - often harder in rural areas - where even a 10-mile distance can be a huge barrier.

"To get from a place that's affordable to live to a job that pays a living wage - if you don't have a vehicle - there's just not the public transportation infrastructure or any way to get there," he said.

New Mexico's emergency homeless shelter capacity has more than doubled since 2016, with progress especially noted in Albuquerque. The report to the Legislature showed that on any given night, New Mexico has about 2,600 people who are homeless.

Like many other states, the supply of affordable housing in New Mexico has declined - by 50% over a recent 20 year period, according to the recent report. That makes finding housing especially tough for individuals struggling with mental health and substance-abuse issues, and in those cases treatment is often only available in larger cities such as like Albuquerque or Santa Fe, according to Olivet.

"In many rural parts of the country, rural New Mexico for example - where's there's just massive distance, even if they're wanting to get treatment, ready to go into treatment - there's no place available within 100-miles, 200 miles," he said.

The HUD report showed during the pandemic, economic stressors and the dramatic increase in rental costs drove homelessness upward, but large investments by states and the federal government through the American Rescue Plan reduced the overall numbers nationwide.

The Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, tenants, lawmakers and community leaders gathered at a news conference outside the Capitol in Carson City this week to rally for legislation to expand legal protections for renters and increase rent control.

According to lawmakers, Nevada rent prices soared above the rest of the country last year. They said access to affordable housing is a top issue facing families.

Assmeblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong, D-Las Vegas, said her bill, Assembly Bill 340, intends to change the summary eviction process. Currently in order to challenge an eviction in Nevada, tenants must make the first court filing. She said changing this would allow renters a chance to defend themselves.

"Something must be done," she said. "We cannot move forward another legislative session pretending like we don't have a crisis. We have a crisis."

Summers-Armstrong said her bill aims to change the procedure so that landlords would first have to go to court to have a tenant evicted, and provide them with plenty of notice to answer the complaint. She said it creates a more "fair legal process."

There are a number of bills that aim to provide solutions to what some see as an afforable housing crisis. Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, said her bill, Senate Bill 363, prioritizes housing for women veterans, women who were formerly incarcerated, those recovering from domestic violence - and senior women who are housing insecure.

"They are four times more likely to not have a place to stay than their peers," she said. "As a matter of fact, those four groups are the highest, the fastest-growing, homeless groups in the United States."

Spearman and other lawmakers are pushing for legislation to keep some of the state's lowest-income residents housed, while also aiming to prevent an eviction crisis as federal dollars distributed for rental assistance during the pandemic are set to expire.

A recent report examines Connecticut's eviction crisis and addresses some solutions to it. The report from Connecticut Voices for Children finds 39% of renters in the state who were not current on rent payments felt they would be evicted in the next two months. That rate was higher for Black and Latino renters, reaching 54% and 56% respectively. The report also finds high absenteeism rates correlate to some kids facing housing insecurity. But, the report takes a look at some short-term policy recommendations to help renters in the state.

Samaila Adelaiye, research and policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, said one of the primary areas of focus was income support.

"When it comes to income and income equivalent supports, we make recommendations for making the Connecticut property tax credit fully refundable and available to renters. Because while renters indirectly pay property taxes, they do not have access to relief through Connecticut's property tax credit," Adelaiye said.

He added they support different pieces of legislation addressing tenant protections. Other recommendations in the report include increasing funding for rental assistance, making a state child tax credit permanent, and sustaining funding for the state's Right to Counsel program. This report is one of a two-part series; the second report will address more long-term solutions.

Although the report provides avenues for alleviating Connecticut's eviction crisis, there are additional questions it raises. Adelaiye noted most of these revolve around renters in the state having enough money for other necessities outside of rent. He said there are numerous issues coming out of the state's housing crisis.

"We know that evictions particularly are the product of the housing affordability crisis is causing more socio-economic harm, increasing financial strain leading in some cases to homelessness."

From here, Adelaiye said the high cost of housing must be addressed, with rent caps being one way to do that. Currently, Connecticut Senate Bill 4 would have included a rent cap, but that was eliminated while the bill was in committee. However, should the bill pass, it will allow for a series of tenant protections including a winter eviction moratorium, making it illegal to evict anyone from December through March.