Place, Housing & Opportunity: Fair Housing for

Supporting Thriving Families and Communities KEYNOTE ADDRESS - 2015 FAIR HOUSING BREAKFAST

FAIR HOUSING CENTER OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN

ANN ARBOR, MI MARCH 25TH 2015

JASON REECE

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, THE KIRWAN INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF RACE & ETHNICITY

LECTURER, CITY & REGIONAL PLANNING PROGRAM, KNOWLTON SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Why Fair Housing Matters SUPPORTING THRIVING FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

Housing matters, place matters.

The Significance of Housing to Child Development

Housing stressed families spent 30% less on food, 50%

less on clothing, and 70%

less on health care (Joint Center for Housing Studies)

Children are particularly

vulnerable to housing instability, impacting health

and educational outcomes

(stress, toxin/environmental exposure, classroom/school

instability)

Housing instability can potentially undermine child

development initiatives and

interventions

Place/Community Matters. (Places of Toxic Stress)

Point to a group of toddlers in a low-income neighborhood, and especially if theyre boys

theyre much more likely to end up dropping out of school, struggling in dead-end jobs and

having trouble with the law.

Something is profoundly wrong when we can point to 2-year-olds in this country and make a

plausible bet about their long-term outcomes not based on their brains and capabilities,

but on their ZIP codes.

- Nick Kristof, For Obamas Second Term, Mr. President Start Here. New York Times. January 23, 2012

The Role of Chronic Stress & ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

Toxic Stress: Areas of Youth Gun Violence YOUTH VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE IN COLUMBUS, 2012 (BY RACE)

Thriving Neighborhoods = Thriving Children

Struggling neighborhoods = Struggling Children

Opportunity structures are vital to combating

the impact of poverty, creating strong

neighborhoods and an environment in which

children can become successful adults.

Neighborhood conditions and childhood development are intricately intertwined

Scope of the Challenge SUPPORTING THRIVING FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

Continued Challenges:

Disinvestment & Unhealthy Neighborhoods

Continued Challenges: Exclusion

Washtenaw Co. FHEA Data

Overall Opportunity (quintiles)

Very High [71.3 - 93.4]

High [62.7 - 71.3]

Moderate [54.2 - 62.6]

Low [45.1 - 54.1]

Very Low [16.3 - 45.0]

HUDs FHEA

Opportunity Index:

Relative to Washtenaw

County, Michigan Block

Groups

The Geography of Opportunity

School Quality & Assisted Housing in SE Michigan

Continued Challenges: Dimensions of Affordability

Who isnt served by the housing market?

Population at125% of the poverty in the U.S.

Nearly 1 in 3

children

1 out of 3 African

Americans,

Latinos and

Native Americans

1 in 3 disabled

1 in 4

immigrants

Continued Challenges: The Ghost of History

Baltimore: Passes First Racial Zoning Ordinance

in 1910/1911 (Used Public Health Language as Justification)

"Blacks should be quarantined in isolated

slums in order to reduce the

incidents of civil

disturbance, to prevent the

spread of communicable disease into the nearby

White neighborhoods, and

to protect property values

among the White majority."

Baltimore Mayor Bary Mahool, 1910

Opportunity SUPPORTING THRIVING FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

A New Family Portrait Population Change by Race. Source: Figure from the PolicyLink Equity Atlas

Recognition of the Challenge and the Stakes

Quote from Housing Affordability and Economic Equity

Analysis, Washtenaw County, MI Office of Community and

Economic Development Washtenaw County

Investing in Places & Assuring Housing

Choice in Areas of Opportunity

Where Do We Go From Here?

Raising awareness of the critical need for fair housing to support an

economically vibrant community

Identifying more resources to

support fair housing

Building community will to work

together (leveraging resources and

supportive partnerships) to support

fair housing

Supporting a policy framework

which assures access to opportunity for all

Innovation: Housing as a Health Intervention Public health stakeholders are looking toward housing as a critical social

determinant linked to health problems

We can anticipate more projects involving health practitioners and stakeholders to support housing as a health intervention

Housing rehabilitation as part of the Nationwide Childrens Hospital

Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families Program