Fair Housing
Housing, in particular its location, is the primary mechanism for accessing opportunity in our society. Where you live is more important than what you live in. Housing location determines the quality of local public services, such as schools, the degree of access to employment and transportation, and the degree of public safety. Often this underlying reality is made evident in housing values, so where you live also determines how much wealth you can build through homeownership.
Currently, most affordable housing in our metropolitan regions is disconnected from opportunity. Federal housing programs and exclusionary land use policies have worked to concentrate affordable housing in segregated, opportunity-poor communities. This is most evident in subsidized housing policies. Historically, subsidized housing was deliberately placed in racially segregated communities. Contemporary subsidized housing policies have continued this trend, locating the majority of new units in impoverished and segregated central city neighborhoods. The Kirwan Institute’s housing research focuses on providing fair access to communities of opportunity through affordable housing development and fair housing policy.
