Derek Hyra

In his new book, Slow and Sudden Violence, Hyra connects historic urban renewal policies to modern urban uprisings. Hyra said he wants to give context to the frustration and anger that burst out after police killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and Freddie Gray in West Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood in 2015.

Companies like Amazon can help with the supply of affordable housing, but their money alone won’t do much to move the needle without significant investments from the federal government, according to Hyra.

“Obviously, the city needs to continue to work with Ted Leonsis and Monumental because they own the space and they have an idea of what they want to do,” Hyra said. “But could the city work with them to enhance the programming and also rethink the area, not just where the stadium is but Gallery Place and the commercial space … that could be reprogrammed or rethought and could help the revitalization that’s going on in Chinatown and Penn Quarter?”

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) would feel more urgency to land the NFL team she long has championed to return to the RFK Stadium site because of the public perception that she “lost” the Wizards and Capitals, according to Derek Hyra, a public administration and policy professor at American University.

Derek Hyra, a professor in public administration at American University, said that despite Bowser’s vision to make D.C. a sports capital, “the economy of Washington does not revolve around sports.” He said that the city could rebound with a new mixed-use vision for the area surrounding Capital One.

"Hyra stresses that development doesn’t happen in a vacuum — meaning that just because an owner doesn’t plan to redevelop the property doesn’t mean it’s impervious to redevelopment forever, especially once the area is rezoned."

"In expensive and densely populated areas like Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, land is far more costly than the buildings that sit on it, says Derek Hyra a professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University, who is also a planning commissioner in Falls Church, Va., a Washington suburb. Taking the land cost out of owning a home opens up homeownership to a new group of people who had been shut out of the market, he says."

“Who can provide a lot of capital at a low rate of return or no rate of return? The government,” said Derek Hyra, an urban policy professor at American University. “If the housing crisis is to be solved, I believe it’ll have to be a public sector intervention.”

CNBC interviewed Derek Hyra to discuss his thoughts on real estate investment trusts (REITS). Click the link to watch the full interview.

Derek Hyra was interviewed by CNBC to discuss the apartment boom that is unfolding in cities across the U.S. Click the link to watch the full interview.

"According to Hyra, who is also a researcher in equitable development at American University’s Metropolitan Policy Center, many of these requests could make a tangible difference in fighting displacement. He also says the city can float bonds for tax increment financing to provide funding opportunities for business owners, though it would be a different approach."

“You have minorities who are looking for more affordable housing, so they’re moving out to the suburbs,” said Derek Hyra, a professor of urban policy at American University.

“Some people who stay in place don’t see the dog parks, upscale housing, and posh restaurants as being for them,” says Derek Hyra, SPA professor, MPC founding director, and author of Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City. “They feel excluded from their own communities.”

"Derek Hyra, who directs the Metropolitan Policy Center at American University’s School of Public Affairs, hopes that the redevelopment project in Baltimore is able to not only be an economic success, but offer equity stakes to small and minority-owned businesses, while also ensuring that affordable housing in surrounding neighborhoods remains."

"Derek Hyra, a professor of public administration and policy at American University, said it appears Greenville and other cities have failed to learn lessons from the past."

"Hyra said the COVID-19 pandemic impacted gentrification in two ways. Economically, disparities between low-income and high-income jobs affected people’s ability to sustain households, he said. The other impact was on real estate. Apart from the moratorium on evictions, low-interest rates made developments easier to initiate during the pandemic, according to Hyra."

"What I'm seeing is the assets of the public housing authority are really just seen by the DCHA or the City Council or the mayor as something where maybe we could get some development done … to get mixed-income housing that raises economic revenue for the city tax-base as opposed to thinking about how to use redevelopment to actually maintain the existing public housing stock, according to Hyra, who has served as board chair for the Redevelopment and Housing Authority in nearby Alexandria, Virginia."

“We usually provide tax incentives for public goods. We’d like to have a movie theater, but it’s not a public good,” planning commissioner Derek Hyra said at the Sept. 21 meeting. “It’s not a public high school. You have to pay to go there.”

“It’s a choice between the status quo, which is a more centrist type of Democratic politics, and the progressive wing,” said Derek Hyra, a professor at American University and the author of “Race, Class and Politics in the Cappuccino City.” The District has flourished economically under Bowser’s watch, Hyra noted, but at the same time, “It keeps growing unevenly.”

“He can use the racial equity platform he has built up to run for a citywide seat,” Hyra said. “I think he has an opportunity to potentially be one of the candidates running for mayor the next go-around. He got disqualified, but he didn’t do anything wrong. I think he has a very good future if he still wants to pursue elected office.”