School diversity in the new Poverty & Race: A collection of articles drawn from the recent conference, “21st Century School Integration: Building the Movement for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” sponsored by the National Coalition on School Diversity. Lead article by John Diamond and Amanda Lewis; with additional contributions by Andrew Grant-Thomas, Bill Ferguson and Sara Mclean, Christie Huck, Sara Camiscoli, and Michael Hilton. Read the current issue here – hard copy coming in the mail soon.
HUD expands opportunity in the Treasury Department’s LIHTC program: As promised in 2012, last week HUD followed through on a change to the formula identifying higher cost areas for increased development incentives in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (HUD has statutory authority to define these areas for the program). The change to the formula defining “Difficult to Develop Areas” shifts the focus from the highest cost metro areas in the country to the highest cost zip codes, using HUD’s “Small Area Fair Market Rent” system. The result is a significant increase in the number of higher opportunity areas receiving the development incentive for affordable housing in a wider array of metro areas. See the notice here.
AFFH Action Alert: As the federal budget process intensifies in advance of the December 11 deadline, opponents of fair housing have attached a variety of noxious amendments designed to cut off funding for implementation of HUD’s new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule and for enforcement of the ICP vs Texas“disparate impact” standard. You can help by calling your Senator’s and Representative’s offices via (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to the staffer who handles appropriations. If you are sent to voicemail, please leave a detailed message. (These calls actually help!) For details about the various amendments we are opposing, please see this Action Alert from the National Fair Housing Alliance.
Kudos to Ingrid Ellen and Jessica Yager for a valiant effort to summarize 50 years of HUD’s relationship with the Fair Housing Act in “Race, Poverty and Federal Rental Housing Policy,” their contribution to HUD’s official 50th anniversary publication, HUD at 50: Creating Pathways to Opportunity. Additional informative chapters from Jill Khadduri, Raphael Bostic, Marge Turner, Erika Poethig, Kathy O’Regan and many others. A perfect (free) holiday pdf for the policy wonk in your family…
