Access to safe and affordable housing remains a challenge for millions of Americans. Historical and systemic factors, including redlining and discriminatory lending practices, have disproportionately affected minority communities, contributing to disparities in home ownership and exacerbating the housing affordability crisis. Unsafe or inaccessible rental housing, as well as rising rental costs, create additional barriers to housing security nationwide. While progress has been made due to the passage of the Fair Housing Act and other consumer protection laws, the affordable housing crisis and tenant rights’ violations persist. Moreover, the use of artificial intelligence in housing markets and public housing is raising new concerns. Leading scholars will discuss some of these problems and innovative efforts to address them. Participants will also share their predictions for future housing law and policy needs and make recommendations for how to move forward.

Schedule (exact times are subject to change):

8:30 - 9:00 AM Registration and Breakfast

9:00 - 9:10 AM Opening Remarks & Dean’s Welcome

9:10 - 9:50 AM Keynote Richard Rothstein

Author of The Color of Law—A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America (2017); and Just Action—How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law (2023, and co-authored by Leah Rothstein). Book sales will be offered until lunch time.

10:00 - 11:10 AM

Panel 1: A Better Fair Housing Act – Evaluations & Recommendations

Moderator: Professor James Matthews

Panelists:

• Professor Melvin Kelley
• Professor Rigel Olivieri
• Professor Stacy Seicshnaydre

11:20 AM - 12:30 PM

Panel 2: Understanding AI’s Effect on Tenants, Prospective Buyers, and Housing Markets

Moderator: Professor Nadiyah Humber

Panelists:

• Dr. Michael Akinwumi
• Senior Counsel Marc Epstein
• Dr. Erin McElroy

12:35 - 1:20 PM

Lunch, book sales and book signing

1:25 - 2:35 PM

Panel 3: Housing Access & Affordability: Challenges and Proposed Solutions

Moderator:

• Moderator: Professor Jeffrey Gentes

Panelists:

• Professor Rashmi Dyal-Chand
• Professor Julie Gilgoff
• Professor Anika Singh Lemar
• Professor Nicole Summers

2:40 - 2:50 PM Closing Remarks

If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact the Law School at 860-570-5079 or via email at law.studentservices@uconn.edu at least two weeks in advance.

Members of Connecticut’s school counseling community are invited to visit UConn Waterbury on Tuesday, October 22.

Services include:

• Lab testing for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Trichomoniasis
• In office testing for HIV and Hep C
• Information and referral for PrEP.