Feature Article: Make Suburbia White Again
M AKE SU BURBI A W HIT E AGA IN: T h e Tr u m p A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ s A t t e m p t t o U n d o F a i r H o u s i n g a n d t h e B i d e n A d m i n i s t rat i o n ’s O p p o rt u n i t y t o Re c t i f y A F F H
RACHEL EBERHARD Rachel Eberhard is the founder and managing principal of Apiary Community Consulting, a
consultancy that offers a special focus on creating plans and strategies that address local needs
and priorities, particularly around housing. Prior to forming Apiary, Ms. Eberhard worked in acquisitions with a national low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) syndication firm and consulted
with mission-driven organizations, local communities, and federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
ABSTR ACT Problem Approach & Findings Until recently, many conversations around the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule have been limited to those involved with fair housing efforts and affordable housing policy. Under the AFFH rule, communities receiving federal assistance are required to take meaningful action to undo decades of federal, state and local discriminatory policies and practices that resulted in segregated communities. In July 2020, the Trump Administration announced it was revoking AFFH and replacing it with the Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice rule. The new rule effectively gutted the only meaningful guidance since the Fair Housing Act of 1968 for how states and localities should examine residential segregation or impacts of local actions on protected classes. Implications Shortly after inauguration in 2021, the Biden Administration ordered HUD to immediately assess the impacts of recent Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) changes to the AFFH and disparate impact rule and to then take actions to combat racially discriminatory impacts. Looking ahead, improvements to any reinstated mandate, such as incentivizing collaboration, supporting state jurisdictions and their rural communities, leveraging effective community engagement, and strengthening enforcement, could help further fair housing. 18
