The lab's work is grounded in the understanding that housing is not just about buildings but about people, communities, and the right to a stable and dignified life. Through participatory action research, storytelling, and design strategies, the lab collaborates with communities to expose the damaging aspects produced by the current housing system, such as discrimination, tenure insecurity, displacement, and homelessness.

Key initiatives include the Housing Justice Oral History Project, which intersects oral history, critical cartography, community organizing, and advocacy. This project aims to amplify the efforts of communities, housing coalitions, urban movements, and policy platforms promoting housing justice. By facilitating university-community partnerships, the lab seeks to produce new knowledge, methodologies, and instruments to advance local efforts bringing about social and spatial justice.