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Kirwan Institute > Research > Opportunity Communities/Housing

Opportunity Communities/ Housing

The Kirwan Institute has a number of significant projects, research and collaborations to promote community development, fair housing and social justice through our “Opportunity Communities” model. The “Communities of Opportunity” framework is a model of fair housing and community development based on the premises that everyone should have fair access to the critical opportunity structures needed to succeed in life; and that affirmatively connecting people to opportunity creates positive, transformative change in communities. The Communities of Opportunity model advocates for a fair investment in all of a region’s people and neighborhoods -- to improve the life outcomes of all citizens, and to improve the health of entire regions.

Unfortunately, many citizens are isolated from opportunity by patterns of residential segregation, exclusionary land use policies, sprawl and disinvestment in urban areas. Fifty years of social science research has demonstrated that racially isolated and economically poor neighborhoods restrict employment options for young people, contribute to poor health, expose children to extremely high rates of crime and violence, and house some of the least-performing schools.  Neighborhood racial and economic segregation is segregation from opportunities critical to quality of life, financial stability and social advancement. Isolation and disinvestment threatens not only individuals and their families, but entire communities.

The Communities of Opportunity model has two goals: to bring opportunities to opportunity-deprived areas, and to connect people to existing opportunities throughout the metropolitan region. The model seeks to bring opportunities into distressed neighborhoods by improving education, stimulating investment and expanding employment opportunities in disinvested neighborhoods. The model advocates affirmatively connecting marginalized populations to regional opportunity structures by improving housing mobility options and providing fair and effective public transportation. In addition, the model advocates for managing sprawling growth, in order to reduce the drain of jobs and resources from existing communities. The institute’s projects focus on three primary goals to affirmatively connect people to opportunity: neighborhood revitalization, fair housing and regional equity.

Related Projects

Status or Completion Date Project Description and Links to More Information Research Area
April 2010 Mapping to Promote Equitable Community Development and Fair Housing in King County, WA Opportunity
Active The Future of Fair Housing Opportunity
Active American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Project (www.fairrecovery.org) Opportunity
Active Beyond the Quick Fix: ARRA Contracting, Jobs, and Building a Fair Recovery for Florida Opportunity
Active Affirmative Action Project Opportunity
Active How Fair Is Florida? Recession, Recovery, Equity and Opportunity in Florida Opportunity
Active Connecticut Opportunity Mapping Initiative Opportunity
Active GIS Mapping Research Opportunity
Active Thompson v. HUD in Baltimore (Fair Housing Litigation) Opportunity
Active Columbus Neighborhood Revitalization Assessment Opportunity
Active State of Black Ohio Opportunity
Active Atlanta Opportunity Mapping and Neighborhood Revitalization Study Opportunity
Active Massachusetts Neighborhood Opportunity Mapping Initiative Opportunity
Active Neighborhood Opportunity and African American Males Opportunity, AA Males
Active Ohio Educational Opportunity Mapping Opportunity
Active Low Income Housing Tax Credit Reform Opportunity
Active Race and Regionalism in Cleveland: Growing Together to Expand Opportunity for All Opportunity
Active GIS and Research Assistance to Children’s Defense Fund Opportunity
Active Regional Equity and Neighborhood Revitalization in Ohio Opportunity
Active Working Paper Series: Community of Opportunity Opportunity
October 2007 Collaboration with the Insight Center for Community Development: Eliminating the Wealth Gap Through Housing Opportunity
August 2007 GIS and Research Assistance to Sustainable Pittsburgh and HUD (Affordable Housing and Opportunity) Opportunity
March 2007 Central Texas Opportunity Mapping Initiative Opportunity
March 2007 GIS and Research Assistance to Maryland ACLU (Foreclosures, Housing and Opportunity) Opportunity
January 2007 GIS and Research Assistance to the Fair Housing Justice Center (Mapping Race, Poverty and Inclusionary Housing Sites) Opportunity
December 2006 GIS and Research Assistance to Opportunity Agenda (Investments in Health Care in New York City) Opportunity
December 2006 The National Alliance to Restore Opportunity to the Gulf Coast & Displaced Persons Opportunity
August 2006 Housing in New Orleans One Year after Katrina - Policy Recommendations for Equitable Rebuilding Opportunity
August 2006 Vacant Property Reform and Land Banking in Detroit Opportunity
May 2006 GIS and Research Assistance to the Center for Community Change (Race, Residency and Tenure in Long Beach, CA) Opportunity
October 2005 New Orleans Opportunity Mapping Opportunity
September 2005 Local Advocacy and Community Building in Battle Creek, MI Opportunity
September 2005 Ohio: Regional Disparities in Health Care Investments Opportunity
August 2005 Minority Business Development in the Cleveland Region Opportunity
May 2005 Communities of Opportunity in the Chicago Region Opportunity
May 2005 Race and Regional Equity in Richland County, SC Opportunity
October 2004 Housing Need in Franklin County, OH (For B.R.E.A.D. Columbus) Opportunity
June 2004 LIHTC advising to WHEDA (Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority) Opportunity
June 2009 From Crisis to Opportunity: Knoxville's Marginalized Children Opportunity