Carolina Reid

Research Bio

Dr. Carolina Reid is a housing scholar whose research investigates housing finance, community development, and inequality in access to housing. She is best known for her studies of racial inequality in mortgage lending, affordable housing, and homelessness. Her most recent research focuses on improving resident outcomes in permanent supportive housing. Dr. Reid’s research integrates quantitative analysis, policy evaluation, and community-based research to assess the effects of housing programs on low-income households and communities of color.  

Dr. Reid is an Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and the Faculty Research Advisor at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation.  Her scholarship has been covered in national and international media, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and local outlets such as the Mercury News, CalMatters, and the San Francisco Chronicle.  At Berkeley, Dr. Reid teaches courses on housing policy, community development, and urban inequality, mentoring students committed to equitable planning.

Research Expertise and Interest

Affordable housing, homelessness, access to credit, community development, the Community Reinvestment Act, neighborhood change, homeownership and mortgage finance (with a focus on low-income and minority households)

In the News

Expand State-Funded Housing Opportunities to Combat Homelessness

Our latest research paper, California’s Homekey Program: Unlocking Housing Opportunities for People Experiencing Homelessness, focuses on the lessons learned from Homekey, one of the most significant programs through which the state has stepped up its investments in addressing homelessness.

Are renters — and the U.S. economy — hurtling toward an ‘eviction cliff’?

Schools and businesses are reopening, diners are returning to restaurants, and fans are returning to sports stadiums, but a new crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic may be just weeks away: the possible eviction of millions of Americans who have fallen behind in their rent. When massive job losses and other pandemic-driven economic pressures left many renters unable to pay and accumulating debt to their landlords, the federal government and some states set moratoria that blocked evictions. Now the U.S. ban is set to expire on June 30, and UC Berkeley housing experts are warning of a potential surge of evictions and homelessness, along with damaging economic shock waves.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
October 26, 2020

Q&A: 10% of California Renters Could Face Eviction Without More Federal Aid

The Mercury News
Jeff Collins
A conversation with UC Berkeley associate professor Carolina Reid, faculty research advisor for the Terner Center for Housing Innovation, author of a new study reporting on coronavirus and housing insecurity. One out of five California households are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. "The data show that Californians are struggling to pay their rent and their mortgage. I do think that without significant intervention by the federal government, we will see heightened evictions and foreclosures next year. I think it will have profound implications not only for the housing market in California but also for the broader economic recovery."
FullStory

April 9, 2020

'Affordable' housing can cost $1 million per unit in California. Coronavirus could make it worse

Los Angeles Times
Liam Dillon, Ben Poston, Julia Barajas
It's more expensive to build government-subsidized apartment complexes for low-income residents in California than anywhere else in the U.S., and yet job losses connected with the coronavirus pandemic will likely send demand for affordable housing soaring. According to associate city and regional planning professor Carolina Reid, faculty research advisor for Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation and the author of a new study on the topic, the economic impact of the crisis is also likely to significantly lower government tax revenue, in turn reducing the amount of money available to fund new construction. It will also increase the need to overhaul how low-income housing is built in the state. "If you look at how we build affordable housing, every single one of the actors in it, from cities to developers to construction workers, is going to face stress from the coronavirus for years," she says. "This public health crisis adds more urgency to making the reforms we had already needed." Link to Professor Reid's study at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation. A story about the data collection for this story also appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
FullStory (*requires registration)


Teaching

Courses taught during the three most recent terms
2026 Spring

  • U.S. Housing, Planning, and Policy  [CYPLAN 130]  

  • Field Studies  [CYPLAN 197]  

  • Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates  [CYPLAN 199]  

  • The Origins and Practice of Community Development  [CYPLAN 260]  

  • Topics in City and Metropolitan Planning  [CYPLAN 290]  

  • Individual Study or Research  [CYPLAN 299]  

  • Individual Study for Doctoral Students  [CYPLAN 602]  

  • Supervised Research: Social Sciences  [UGIS 192B]  

2025 Fall

  • Field Studies  [CYPLAN 197]  

  • Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates  [CYPLAN 199]  

  • Planning Methods Gateway: Part I  [CYPLAN 201A]  

  • Planning Methods Gateway: Part I  [CYPLAN 201A]  

  • Planning Methods Gateway: Part I  [CYPLAN 201A]  

  • Supervised Research in City and Regional Planning  [CYPLAN 295]  

  • Supervised Field Study in City and Regional Planning  [CYPLAN 297]  

  • Individual Study or Research  [CYPLAN 299]  

  • Supervised Teaching  [CYPLAN 399]  

  • Individual Study for Doctoral Students  [CYPLAN 602]  

  • Supervised Research: Social Sciences  [UGIS 192B]  

2025 Spring

  • Field Studies  [CYPLAN 197]  

  • Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates  [CYPLAN 199]  

  • The Origins and Practice of Community Development  [CYPLAN 260]  

  • Doctoral Seminars: Research Design for the Ph.D  [CYPLAN 280A]  

  • Individual Study or Research  [CYPLAN 299]  

  • Individual Study for Doctoral Students  [CYPLAN 602]  

  • Thesis Research and Writing  [ENVDES 195B]  

  • Supervised Research: Social Sciences  [UGIS 192B]