Friday, October 23, 2026

From the Experts @ LISC: Sharing recent blogs, op-eds + interviews from their team that HIGHLIGHT DEEP EXPERTISE IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

REFLECTIONS FROM THE FIELD:

LISC is proud to share recent blogs, op-eds, and interviews from our team that highlight our deep expertise in community development

Below are reflections from the field—critical insights for our partners, residents, and anyone who shares our passion for forging resilient neighborhoods across the U.S.

We hope this knowledge sharing will provoke thought, encourage partnership, and spark ideas for collaboration as we continue to work together.

Michael T. Pugh
LISC President & CEO

LISC CEO Discusses Housing Affordability Challenges with Comcast Newsmakers

Michael joins Comcast Newsmakers to discuss how LISC is addressing the U.S. housing affordability challenges through public-private partnerships.

Rising costs for essentials like child care and health care exacerbate the lack of affordable housing due to limited inventory and preservation, he explains. Models like LISC's Financial Opportunity Center^®(FOC) program and other workforce development initiatives can help connect place-based efforts to housing opportunities, building a strong foundation for first-time homeownership.

“This isn’t just an issue impacting one group of people, it’s an issue impacting the broader nation as a whole,” Pugh says.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW

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Mark Kudlowitz
Senior Policy Director

Historic Federal Housing Legislation is Now Law: What’s Needed Next?

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act–the most comprehensive housing supply legislation in decades–was signed into law in July. The law includes many of LISC’s federal affordable housing priorities. In this blog, LISC’s Mark Kudlowitz looks at key provisions of the law and what comes next for implementation.

READ THE BLOG

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Ralphine Caldwell
Senior Executive Director
LISC Charlotte

Knight Foundation Profiles LISC’s Ralphine Caldwell on Connecting Capital & Community

In a Q&A with the Knight Foundation, Ralphine underscores the importance of listening to the residents. “When LISC Charlotte looks at bringing an initiative into the city, the first thing that we do is talk to the community,” she says. As a result, Ralphine and her team have been successful in uplifting major projects in Charlotte, because “partners know that we have their best interests at heart. ”

Since opening to lead the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund (CHOIF), LISC Charlotte has invested over $173 million in the city by establishing trust and credibility with residents, partnering closely with local leaders, and letting neighborhood voices shape the work.

READ THE Q+A

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USA FACTS Data centers and water: Answering your questions

Welcome back to Spotlight, the once-a-month email where we focus on one thing we just had to show you.

This time we’re doing something new: answering your questions about this article on AI data centers and electricity bills.

You overwhelmingly wanted to know about data centers and water.

Particularly: with water-demanding data centers popping up nationwide, does that leave enough available for everyone else?

Trygve, one of the co-authors of the original article, has the answers.

Or, as many answers as he could get, which was tricky.
Here’s what he had to say.
He even threw in key questions to keep in mind at the bottom.

(See his full responses in the article.)

How much federal data is there about data centers and water?

Not much. Why? I’m unsure, but I speculate that it partly has to do with the necessary data being proprietary and/or paywalled for competitive reasons.

It could also be that the AI industry is developing faster than any government system designed to track its requirements and effects.

How much water do data centers use?

Each data center is different. That said, a 2024 study with the most recent government estimates on data center water usage showed that they directly used 5.6 billion gallons of water in 2013 and about 17 billion gallons in 2023. That’s nearly tripled in 10 years,

Some back-of-the-envelope math shows that 17 billion gallons was equivalent to the annual water use of about 389,700 people in 2023. That’s a bit less than the population of Wichita, Kansas, which was the 52nd largest city in the nation that year. (See how we got there with the full equation in the article.)

But that’s 2023 usage. This study doesn’t capture recent AI data center construction.

How much water do large data centers use?

I don’t really know. I often see claims like:

“… a large data center will use up to 5 million gallons of water every day …”

I tried tracing that 5 million figure to the source but ran into a dead end at "researchers say," without finding any additional citations or evidence. It's a number that's often referenced, but never sourced.

So, I dug further and found designations for reserved water and used water. Does that have anything to do with this large number? Maybe! I go into more detail in the piece!

How does a data center use water?

Data center servers, computers, and other equipment generate a lot of heat. They use water to cool everything down. Let’s focus on the two types of liquid-cooled systems: closed- and open-loop.

A closed-loop system fills with water, absorbs the heat, then passes the water through chillers to cool it down so it can be used again. A true closed-loop system requires little additional water once it’s operational because it’s not exposed to the air. They tend to be more water-efficient and more energy-intensive.
An open-loop system also absorbs heat, but it cools the water by exposing it to the air. It requires a continuous water supply to replace what’s lost to evaporation. These tend to be more energy-efficient and more water-intensive.

Here’s a simplified schematic of an open-loop cooling setup.

What’s up with data center wastewater?

Most, but not all, wastewater is generated during data center construction and as it starts to come online. Preparing the cooling equipment for water circulation involves processes that can result in “… short-term, high-volume discharges with higher pollutant concentrations than those generated during operational phase.”

Most often, wastewater is discharged to a collection and treatment system. This requires a permit from the system operator. Another way is to get an EPA permit to discharge wastewater directly into a water body.

Again, there's not a lot of data on this, but the article runs through some of the things to keep in mind about wastewater and where that water comes from to begin with.

Is AI really a big part of the economy?

On August 28, the Congressional Research Service noted that:

“… several large technology companies with significant AI-related activities … account for more than 40% of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization.”

I’m not a finance guy, but here’s what that’s saying: the money invested in AI is a big chunk of the value of the stock market right now.

You might (correctly) argue that “the stock market” is not the same as “the economy,” so here’s another data point: The St. Louis Fed estimates that AI spending — which includes data center construction — accounted for 30% and 11% of GDP growth in the second and third quarters of 2025, respectively.

A final point: the Census Bureau estimates that the private sector invested more than $7.5 billion in data center construction in August 2026.

Key questions to ask:

As you develop an understanding of how data center water use could matter for your community, keep these points in mind:

Data center size. The bigger it is, the more cooling needs it will have.
Data center cooling tech. How is the data center planning to cool its equipment?
Actual use vs. guaranteed access. Is water use data actually describing water use, or describing maximum water use? If the latter, how often will the data center use that maximum?
Reuse potential. Is any of the water that’s withdrawn available for reuse, or is it all used consumptively?
Water source. Where does the water for the data center come from, and will it self-supply or get its water through the local water utility?
Wastewater. How is the data center planning to dispose of wastewater it generates?

See the data

Thank you for writing to us and reading this issue of Spotlight! We'll be back with our usual government data on Monday.

France's Bond Market Mess is a warning for the world

Markets across Europe have been shaken by the upheavals and unrest in the streets of France.

Volatility has surged as the cost-of-living protests that spiraled into violence in France have spread to other parts of Europe in recent day. Stocks, bonds, and currencies across Europe have been impacted as investors assess the political unrest.

This week's has only added to the selling pressure that was sparked weeks prior, when concern over France's growing fiscal deficit hit a boiling point and led fixed-income investors to dump bonds in the nation.

French stocks dropped more than 1% on Tuesday as investors weighed political instability and recent calls from student and activist organizations to resume protests. The CAC 40 index is down 10% from its August peak, indicating that French-listed stocks remain in correction territory.

Here's what you need to know:
First, France unveiled its 2027 budget bill last Thursday, drawing investors' attention to the country's debt, which is expected to rise to an all-time high of 119% of GDP this year.
Second, France said it planned to sell a record amount of bonds next year, stoking fears among fixed-income investors that the nation's borrowing is becoming unsustainable.

BREAKING: France slows down, Germany holds on. Euro falls below 1.12 | XTB

October's preliminary PMI indices showed how much the two largest economies in the eurozone are diverging. The French private sector fell into contraction territory, although in

The Economic Times • 2 days ago

Global Market: European shares struggle for direction as France unrest weighs on sentiment - The Economic Times

European shares remained stagnant amid escalating unrest in France, raising alarms over fiscal health and growth prospects. While some optimism was generated from positive earnings reports by companies like Randstad and EssilorLuxottica, a downgrading of Carrefour's earnings forecast dampened ...

Bloomberg • 2 hours ago

French Crisis Creates a Cheap Contrarian Trade: Taking Stock - Bloomberg

A deepening social and economic crisis has turned France into the most disliked equity market in Europe and a serious bet for a reversal, though not one for the faint-hearted.