From San Francisco, California to Flint, Michigan, the nation is facing an escalating housing crisis. Skyrocketing rents, inadequate infrastructure and stagnant wages are some of the barriers that are preventing millions of low-income Americans and communities of color from reaching their full potential. Healthy Communities of Opportunity: An Equity Blueprint to Address America’s Housing Challenges weaves together insights from the fields of healthcare, housing and economic security to outline a case for progressive, equity-focused policy.

Placing the contemporary housing crisis within the context of American Urban History, this report highlights key movements offering countermeasures to concentrated poverty, racial segregation, economic mobility and substandard housing, including:

• Tying preventive health spending to housing interventions
• Addressing housing and health equity in land use and resilience/sustainability planning in the built environment
• Leveraging the new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to address health and equity outcomes
• Building anti-displacement campaigns across local coalitions and national networks to gain increased tenant protections
• Applying new investment tools to increase housing affordability

 

Healthy Communities of Opportunity suggests 10 equity housing policy priorities that together provide a strong platform to improve racial equity, health, climate, and economic opportunity outcomes.

For more information, check out the webinar, held on May 5th, to learn about the findings and recommendations in the report.