by Jonathan Hiskes. On Tuesday, the Obama administration is holding a large summit on how to reshape federal housing policy and eventually offload mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the government bailed out in 2008. It’ll be a Very Serious event in which the health of the economy gets top billing and the health of the planet will be lucky to get even a passing mention. But the type of housing the government promotes has a big impact on climate change and other ecological challenges. Should mortgage policy encourage sprawl instead of walkable urbanism? Should it treat drafty, energy-hogging houses the same as well-sealed, efficient ones? There’s a lot of interesting work being done to promote climate solutions within housing policy, though it’s barely surfaced in economic circles. The Obama administration is taking baby steps to move the nation away from car-dependant sprawl, even if those aren’t likely to get much attention at the summit.

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