Just shy of 60 years old, the Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination in how people sell, buy, or finance their homes. Despite this protection, housing still remains deeply segregated across the country.
Under the current Trump Administration, rollbacks on DEI initiatives and severe cuts in HUD puts the Fair Housing Act further at risk. With these new attacks, advocates in New Orleans and Pennslyvania as well as organizers across the country are relying on local wins to ensure an equitable housing system for everyone.
In Meadville, Pennsylvania, Mayor Jamie Kinder is helpful to build multi-racial solidarity and community power to win common-sense solutions like building new permanently affordable homes through community land trusts. This is her vision for housing justice.
Housing NOW! California continues to use housing justice narratives rooted in arts and culture strategies to center working-class tenants. They also expose the harms of corporate landlords while uplifting community-led solutions like stronger tenant protections, lowering the rent cap, and funding social housing. Here's what housing justice means for communications manager Nathan Cheung.
Leeretta Payne from Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania shares how her community is building community power to advance equitable housing solutions.
Brief: Root Causes of Housing and Land Injustice
In the United States, access to housing and property ownership is deeply rooted in racial inequity. Racist ideologies about land ownership have shaped our housing and land use systems, contributing to today’s housing crisis.
This brief highlights nine root causes and key factors behind these unjust systems. This resource is for community members seeking transformative housing solutions, government partners, and mission-aligned stakeholders in finance and developments.
Brief: Root Solutions for Housing and Land Justice
Local communities are organizing for transformative housing solutions, while racial equity practitioners in local government work to implement these solutions effectively. Through this series of briefs, we highlight wins that can inspire others to build equitable housing and community wealth models. Each brief presents race-informed policies and plans that address root causes of racial disparities in housing and development.