News

Homeownership, racial segregation, and policy solutions to racial wealth equity

Rashawn Ray, Andre Perry, David Harshbarger, Samantha Elizondo, and Alexandra Gibbons · Brookings · 1 September 2021

Homeownership is often viewed as the entrée to the American dream and the gateway to intergenerational wealth. The loss of wealth in Black communities hastens a downward socioeconomic spiral.

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Homes for Change: Assemble’s FY21 Impact Report

Emma Telfer and others · Assemble Communities · 27 August 2021

Assemble is an Australian housing development organization dedicated to creating a better, fairer housing system. They have developed the innovative Build to Rent to Own Model – a hybrid build-to-rent model which offers stable rents, certainty of tenure, financial coaching, and community services to support low to moderate income Australians with a pathway to home ownership.

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The Secret Bias Hidden in Mortgage-Approval Algorithms

Emmanuel Martinez and Lauren Kirchner · The Markup · 25 August 2021

Even accounting for factors lenders said would explain disparities, people of color are denied mortgages at significantly higher rates than white people.

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Denser Cities Could Help Curb Carbon Emissions, if the NIMBYs Allow It

Maanvi Singh and Oliver Milman · Mother Jones · 25 August 2021

Even self-described progressives resist lifestyle changes.

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About 89% of Rental Assistance Funds Have Not Been Distributed, Figures Show

Glenn Thrush and Alan Rappeport · New York Times · 25 August 2021

The $46.5 billion rental aid program created to pay rent accrued during the pandemic continues to disburse money at a slow pace, as the White House braces for a Supreme Court order that could strike down a new national moratorium on evictions.

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Edina has a new Tenant Protection Ordinance

· · 20 August 2021

For the first time, Edina has a tenant protection ordinance, to take effect September 1, 2021. It applies to buildings with affordable rental units and its provisions include written notice of the transfer of ownership, notice of rent increases by a new owner, and, in some cases, relocation assistance.

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Opinion: Want to Solve the Housing Crisis? Take Over Hotels.

Jay Caspian Kang · New York Times · 19 August 2021

Each side of the housing debate has a raft of prescriptions, whether mass public housing, upzoning, the unfettered building of market-rate apartments, or the construction of thousands of tiny structures for the unhoused.

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Is There Racism in the Deed to Your Home?

Sara Clemence · New York Times · 17 August 2021

For much of the 20th century, it was common practice to insert racial covenants into deeds. The covenants targeted people who were Asian, Latino and Jewish, but especially those who were Black.

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Housing Discrimination: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver · YouTube · 26 July 2021

In this video, John Oliver outlines the long history of housing discrimination in the U.S., the damage created, and what can be done about it.

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How Twin Cities housing rules keep the metro segregated

MaryJo Webster and Michael Corey · StarTribune · 7 August 2021

At least 73% of residential land in the Twin Cities is governed by local zoning ordinances that only allow single-family detached homes, according to a Star Tribune analysis of 2019 land use regulations from 102 metro communities. Additional regulations — such as the size of the lot or the number of garage stalls — drive up the cost of those homes and are common throughout the metro.

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