Fair housing, Carson-style: Now that we have seen both of the “Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking” for revision of the 2013 Disparate Impact rule and the 2015 AFFH rule, it is becoming clear that this administration is seeking to severely diminish the Fair Housing Act’s core anti-segregation purpose, creating a weakened version of the 1968 law that ignores the aspirations of low income families seeking desegregated housing choices, and that rejects the broad consensus around a “balanced” federal housing policy supporting both targeted neighborhood reinvestment in high poverty neighborhoods and expansion of low income housing opportunities in high opportunity areas. In addition, the ANPR on the AFFH rule threatens to dismantle key process elements of the rule that have enhanced community participation and helped many communities make commitments to new anti-displacement measures, landlord recruitment for housing voucher families, and community development investments. Our official coalition comment letter on the Disparate Impact ANPR focuses on the continuing importance of the anti-segregation principle. Other excellent comment letters from our sister civil rights organizations are compiled here.
In the new P&R: Ted Shaw on the 150th Anniversary of the 14th Amendment; Erin Boggs, Sam Brill, and Lisa Dobrowsky on housing choices of housing choice voucher families in Hartford, Charlie Dulik and Alexandra Fennell on faith based fair housing organizing in Brooklyn, and Dennis Parker on fair housing intersections. Read the issue here (or wait for it in the mail…)
National Housing Mobility Conference October 16-17: Cosponsored by Mobility Works and the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. Register today!
Other news and resources
LIHTC neighborhood poverty rates by state: the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an interesting report that shows the distribution of Low Income Housing Tax Credits by neighborhood poverty rates, with a separate appendix that includes the ratios during the most recent five years. Some positive changes in LIHTC placements in low poverty neighborhoods are evident in Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey – although there are still disproportionate numbers of family units being placed in high poverty neighborhoods. Compare also the recent PRRAC/Furman Center analysis of LIHTC distribution by local elementary school rankings.
National study of source of income discrimination: The long-awaited HUD/Urban Institute testing survey of discrimination against Housing Choice Voucher families in five metro areas has been released, with some interesting findings, including significantly lower discrimination rates in the two regions with source of income discrimination protections in place. See the executive summary here.
North Side, South Side: As part of the continuing civic energy coming out of the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Cost of Segregation report, artist Tonika Lewis Johnson developed the “Folded Map” project, connecting residents who live at corresponding addresses in the North and South Side neighborhoods of Chicago. At the Loyola University Museum of Art through October 20, with an artist talk on September 4th.
Excellent career opportunities
Executive Director of the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (administrator of about 4000 HCVs and home of the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program) – posted here.
Government Affairs Director for the National Housing Law Project – posted here.
