Balanced Approach to Fair Housing: Preservation, Mobility, and Community Revitalization

BY MICHAEL BODAKEN, ELLEN LURIE HOFFMANN JANUARY 2016

We applaud Michael Allen's insights on the requirement for local activism, education, and capacity development to ensure that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HUD Affirmatively Furthering Fr Housing AFFH rule is implemented and enforced appropriately. We concur with his stance that community entities should identify obstacles to fr housing and develop strategies ensuring all residents have access to housing best suited for their personal needs and family requirements.

Much like Michael, we welcome the Supreme Court's landmark decision upholding disparate impact as a lawful argument in fr housing cases and HUD's release of the AFFH rule to assist communities in meeting their fr housing obligations. At the National Housing Trust NHT, we partner with civil rights organizations to support and safeguard fr housing legislation. This summer, we joined other advocates in opposing Congressional attempts to halt funding necessary for implementing the AFFH rule and will continue advocating for full implementation funding.

Reflecting on Michael's comments regarding enforcing the AFFH rule, we emphasize careful consideration of what is being enforced. Many fr housing advocates promote mobility policies med at assisting low-income minorities relocating from inner cities to more affluent suburban areas. While these strategies are an indispensable tool in providing opportunity, they alone may not address all residents' needs of distressed urban communities. Not every family can be relocated to affluent communities and many might prefer to stay within their neighborhoods. We favor a mobility plus approach, providing residents the choice to move while also empowering other residents to transform distressed urban neighborhoods into diverse, high-opportunity communities with access to transit and employment.

We advocate for retning affordable housing as an obvious first step in tackling America's affordable rental housing crisis. For every new affordable apartment built, two are lost due to degradation, abandonment or conversion to more costly housing units. Without preserving existing affordable housing stock, we fall behind by two steps for each forward step taken. In distressed neighborhoods, preserving affordable housing can catalyze community revitalization efforts. Saving decent and affordable homes means safeguarding critical community assets while signaling a reversal of years of neglect and disinvestment that can spark public-private investment essential for community growth.

The Supreme Court decision and HUD's AFFH rule uphold a balanced approach to fr housing, embracing both mobility strategies and housing preservation and neighborhood revitalization. Indeed, the rule highlights the value of preserving affordable housing in high poverty areas: HUD’s rule acknowledges the role of place-based strategies including economic development for improving conditions in high poverty neighborhoods as well as preserving existing affordable housing stock, especially HUD-assisted housing to help address the overwhelming demand for affordable housing. The rule also states that a program participant's strategies and actions might include various activities such as targeted investment in neighborhood revitalization or stabilization; preservation or rehabilitation of existing affordable housing units; promoting greater housing choice within or outside areas of concentrated poverty and enhancing access to high-opportunity zones; and improving community assets like quality schools, employment opportunities, transportation infrastructure.

NHT has worked for decades to refurbish and preserve affordable rental homes so that low-income families can live in integrated neighborhoods with access to opportunities. In wealthier suburbs or high-cost cities, we protect affordable housing at risk of losing its affordability due to gentrification. For example, in Washington D.C., we collaborated with low-income tenants in an affluent area to safeguard their dwellings near million-dollar condominium developments.

In other instances, NHT has partnered with residents, local governments and community-based organizations to preserve affordable housing and invest in neighborhoods experiencing disinvestment and neglect. Our investments have helped mntn long-term affordability for properties, improved the energy efficiency and safety of these buildings, and created healthier environments for low-income residents. We developed after-school tutoring programs for resident children, built on-site amenities like parks or playgrounds, and organized community events to foster a sense of belonging.

The National Housing Trust supports distributing federal resources in ways that enable low-income people to make housing choices best suited for their personal needs and family requirements, thereby increasing access to opportunities. Federal, state, and local governments agree with this balanced approach to housing investment.

Let's create effective solutions together.

Michael Bodaken is the President of the National Housing Trust. He tweets @michaelbodaken.

Ellen Lurie Hoffman is the Federal Policy Director of the National Housing Trust.

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