THE HISTORY AND IMPACT OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN NEW CANAA N
October 27, 2020 Erin Boggs, Esq., Executive Director Taniqua K. Huguley, M.A., Outreach Director
OPEN COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE Embracing Diversity to Strengthen Connecticut
Open Communities Alliance is a Connecticut-based civil rights non-profit working with an urban-suburban interracial coalition to advocate for access to opportunity, particularly through promoting balanced affordable housing development, including in thriving communities.
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REDLINING IN DARIEN (1930S-60S) Redlining 1937: Federal officials and local lenders rated mortgage risk on neighborhood race, ethnicity & social class D3
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America, available at https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=5/39.1/-94.58
REDLINING IN NEW CANAAN (1930S-60S) Redlining 1937: Federal officials and local lenders rated mortgage risk on neighborhood race, ethnicity & social class
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America, available at https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=5/39.1/-94.58
REDLINING Darien: Section D3
New Haven: Section D5
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High Ledge Homes in West Hartford (1940). See On the Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs. 6
THE ROLE OF ZONING Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. In 1926 the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed local zoning power to design zoning schemes that designated zones for certain types of buildings and dictated restrictions on lot and building sizes. The court upheld a municipality’s right to use zoning to block multifamily development. 7
ZONING AND RACE
Source: Hall, Eliza, Divide and Sprawl, Decline and Fall: A Comparative Critique of Euclidian Zoning, pg. 923, University of Pittsburg Law Review (2007). Available at http://lawreview.law.pitt.edu/issues/68/68.4/Hall.pdf.
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DISCRIMINATION Consistent findings of unequal treatment of potential renters based on race. Housing discrimination has gotten more subtle and difficult to identify. Seen more as discrimination based on: Use of a government housing subsidy Having children Disability
How to Interpret: 30% of the time, White applicant received more favorable treatment e.g. the advertised unit was available. Source: Cityscape, 2015, Sun Jung Oh and John Yinge, What Have We Learned From Paired Testing in Housing Markets?
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INCOME & WEALTH DISPARITIES ď‚Ą Historically, Blacks and Latinos earned on average half or less of what whites earned and had a 10% or less of the wealth. ď‚Ą This wealth disparity is projected to widen to POC having only 1% of the wealth that whites have. Forbes, September 2017, available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/niall mccarthy/2017/09/14/racial-wealthinequality-in-the-u-s-is-rampant-i nfographic/#1baff41734e8 .
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LINK TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Great income disparities by race, and government policies influencing where affordable units go, mean that CT’s affordable housing crisis is also a segregation crisis. CT has the 9th highest housing wage in the nation – A family would have to work 99 hours a week at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
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CT IS ONE OF THE MOST SEGREGATED STATES IN THE NATION
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IMPACT ON OPPORTUNITY
Education Opportunity Score
Economic Opportunity Score
Housing/Neig hborhood Score
Final Opportunity Score (Map)
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WHERE DO WE LIVE? OPPORTUNITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CT
% of People by Race & Ethnicity Living in Lower Opportunity Areas Blacks: Latinos: Whites: Asians:
73% 73% 26% 36%
OPPORTUNITY DETAIL AND RACE
Very Low
Low
Moderate
High
Very High
White
9%
17%
22%
23%
29%
Black
52%
21%
13%
9%
5%
Asian
14%
2% of the land area of the 21% 19% 20% state.
Hispanic
50%
22%
12%
9%
25% 7%
NEW CANAAN/STAMFORD/DARIEN/NORWALK
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NEW CANAAN AND STAMFORD
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BRIDGEPORT
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IMPACT Largest educational achievement gap by race and income in the nation. Some of the greatest disparities in incarceration rates by race. Deep health disparities by race and ethnicity. Among the highest divides by race and ethnicity in unemployment rates. (The highest in the nation for Latinos.) 21
PRESENT DAY FACTORS
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C HO I CE S A R E L I M I T E D BY T HE L OC A T I O N O F PHY SI CA L UN I T S OF SUBS I DI Z E D H OUSI NG – W H I C H A R E L I M I T E D BY Z O N I N G
The Preservation List is the most comprehensive list of subsidized housing supported with federal and state funding that OCA is aware of. Unfortunately, even thought it includes over 83,000 units of housing, it is incomplete and, to the best of our knowledge, not regularly updated.
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PRESERVATION LIST BY OPPORTUNITY Higher opportunity areas make up 58% of the land area of the state.
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SUBSIDIZED HOUSING NEW CANAAN/STAMFORD/DARIEN
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IS CHOICE A FACTOR? WHAT DO FAMILIES WANT? Survey of 300 tenant-based voucher holders revealed:
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POVERTY CONCENTRATION
Town
Opportunity
Total Units
% % Multifamily Affordable % Subsidized % Poverty % Non-Hispanic White Great Schools (Public High School avg.)
Bridgeport
Very Low
57889
50%
20%
31%
21%
20%
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Darien
Very High
6940
5%
3%
1%
3%
89%
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Fairfield
Very High
21359
8%
2%
1%
5%
85%
8.5
Greenwich
Very High
24242
18%
5%
5%
6%
73%
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New Canaan
Very High
7310
12%
3%
1%
3%
87%
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Norwalk
Moderate-High
35800
35%
12%
12%
10%
52%
4
Stamford
High
51165
45%
17%
28%
9%
51%
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Westport
Very High
10611
6%
3%
1%
5%
86%
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Wilton
Very High
6350
10%
4%
1%
3%
85%
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RESULTS REGIONWIDE
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BUSTING MYTHS: CASE STUDY – MT. LAUREL, NJ Mt. Laurel is lower than sample Fairfield County towns. Median income Mt. Laurel = $93,000 Median income Fairfield = $181,000; Westport = $127,000; Darien = $210,511
Ethel Lawrence Homes – 140 units of 100% affordable units completed in 2001. Assessed by Professor Douglas Massey of Princeton who found: “87 percent of…residents reported access to a car and no greater difficulty accessing goods, services, or work sites.” “Welfare use was reduced by 67 percent, employment rose by 22 percent, and income increased by 25 percent.” “We compared trends in home values, crime rates, and tax assessments in Mount Laurel before and after 2001 with a matched set of nearby townships and found no statistical differences. Even neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the development experienced no apparent effects on property values.” The most common source of income for residents in affordable housing is employment, particularly: food service/cook, retail/sales, administrative/clerical, healthcare (nurses, healthcare aides, dental assistants), housekeeping, construction, customer service, and education/teacher. 29
SOLUTIONS: PREVIEW
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LONG TERM ANALYSIS OF MOBILITY: CHETTY ET AL. Outcomes for children who moved before age 13: Greater chance of going to college, and a higher quality college 30% higher income Girls were 26% less likely to become single parents
We estimate that [a move] out of public housing to a low-poverty area when young (at age 8 on average) … will increase the child’s total lifetime earnings by about $302,000.
Second Chetty et al. study showed that the longer a child can be in a lower poverty area the greater the positive outcomes. 31
DOES THIS MEAN EVERYONE MUST MOVE? NO! It means we must work to make every neighborhood an area of opportunity and every school high performing.
BUT… Some low income families want to stay to revitalize struggling communities - and they can do that currently – but must be provided strategically targeted resources. Other low income families want to move to higher-resourced communities and they currently cannot.
ALSO… In poverty-concentrated areas, voluntary decreased poverty concentration = better neighborhood and educational outcomes.
The goal is to ensure low income families have choices. 32
TWO WAY STREET SOLUTION: (1) ENSURE CHOICES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOCATION AND (2) INVEST IN STRUGGLING COMMUNITIES 33
TWO WAY STREET SOLUTION: (1) ENSURE CHOICES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOCATION AND (2) INVEST IN STRUGGLING COMMUNITIES 34
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR TOWN Spectrum – Entry level to advanced LEVEL 1: Educate Yourself and Friends Book Club:
Color of Law, Richard Rothstein Race for Profit, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor American Apartheid, Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson Climbing Mt. Laurel, Doug Massey Other reading available at: https://bit.ly/3jE4OI1
Educate Yourself: Check out: https://www.ctoca.org/become_an_advocate. 35
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR TOWN LEVEL 2: Educate Your Community Speaker Series: Identify “trigger” issues in your town through smallscale conversations and develop a speaker series to explore each one that is frequently mentioned. Often, they are based on myths or half-truths that need to be untangled. Examples include: Affordable housing disadvantage. Affordable housing Affordable housing Affordable housing Affordable housing
will ruin our schools and put my child at a is ugly. will destroy our property values. will increase crime rates. will mean my taxes will go up.
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WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR TOWN LEVEL 3: Assess Your Town Learn Your Stats
Ra cial demographics In ternal segregation/school district segregation O pportunity analysis Where is subsidized housing M ore?
Review Your Local Zoning Central Qu estion : Where is m ultifamily housing of 30 units or more allowed in tow n w ith or without a special p erm it? What extra requirements a re imposed on multifam ily (3+ units) h ousing? Where can duplexes go? What are th e rules for subdividing your property ?
Conduct focus groups to assess residents’ attitude towards diversity and affordable housing (the results can be surprising). Explore culturally competent ways to better understand the experiences of people of color (particularly Black and Latinx people in your town) – This must be done sensitively and with a diverse and culturally competent team. 37
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR TOWN LEVEL 3: Assess Your Town, cont. Review your Plan of Conservation and Development Review your town’s performance on police stops of people of color (see resources available through the Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, http://www.ctrp3.org) Assess the accessibility of town services and benefits – is the soccer league open to children from other towns? Are town lakes and swimming pools open to all?
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WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR TOWN Level 4: Take Action Advocate for changes to zoning (to accommodate your town’s fair share!) or the Plan of Conservation and Development Identify land in areas of town that have a dearth of affordable housing (work with Open Communities Trust!). Recruit Housing Choice Voucher families through local housing authorities. Make affordable housing an election issue. Advocate for changes at the state level. Join OCA’s Coalition – Next Meeting – November 9 t h @ 6:00 Look out for our upcoming event: De-Designing Segregation in Hartford County – Date TBD 39
REAL SOLUTIONS FOR ADDRESS HOUSING SEGREGATION S t a r t i n g P o i n t - S u p p o r t a R a c i a l l y C o n s c i o u s C O V I D - 1 9 R e s p o n s e . Prevent an eviction and foreclosure tsunami, ensure appropriate testing and protective equipment, particularly in hard hit Black and Latinx communities, and prioritize the provision of public education in a manner that is equitable, ensuring every district and every student has the resources necessary to meet students’ needs while not endangering students or teachers. (1) CREATE A MEANINGFUL STATE AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING OBLIGATION INCLUDING: F A I R S H A R E O B L I G A T I O N & E V E N P L A Y I N G Z O N I N G P L A Y I N G F I E L D : E n v i s i o n i n g a p l a n f o r every town in the state to take on its fair share of affordable housing and the elimination of exclusionary zoning policies. B A L A N C E : B r i n g i n g b a l a n c e t o t h e l o c a t i o n o f h a r d u n i t s o f g o v e r n m e n t - s u p p o r t e d h o u s i n g (LIHTC, CHAMP, other funding) D A T A : R e q u i r i n g t h e c o l l e c t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s o f a p p r o p r i a t e d a t a t o m e a s u r e p r o g r e s s . (Legislative proposals, data deficits report) E X P A N D A N D E N F O R C E T H E S T A T E A F F H L A W : T h e c u r r e n t A F F H l a w i s n o t v e r y s p e c i f i c a n d applies to only two agencies. This should be expanded and made enforceable.
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REAL SOLUTIONS FOR ADDRESS HOUSING SEGREGATION (2) INVEST IN LOWER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES: These investments should include supporting proven strategies to Promote economic and community development, Equitable school funding that recognizes disparate needs across communities, Equalize property tax burdens across the state, and Promote small and "minority" businesses to equitably revitalize communities.
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REAL SOLUTIONS FOR ADDRESS HOUSING SEGREGATION (3) PASS A VOUCHER MOBILITY PACKAGE INCLUDING: EXPANDED HOUSING AUTHORITY JURISDICTION: Some of the state’s most respected affordable housing developers, housing authorities, are restricted to their town of origin. Allow housing authorities to operate within 15 miles of their hometown will allow them to contribute to meeting the state’s affordable housing and segregation crises. ADOPT MARKET-BASED VOUCHER VALUES: For decades, the value of housing vouchers have been set in a manner that has no connection to local markets. A two-bedroom in Hartford is valued the same as a two-bedroom in Glastonbury. Now, due to a successful OCA 2018 lawsuit against HUD, vouchers are set at a value that reflects local markets in 24 areas across the country, including Hartford – but not the rest of the state. This needs to be changed. EXPAND THE STATE’S MOBILITY COUNSELING PROGRAM: The state has just relaunched on a pilot basis a counseling program with a proven track record in other states for helping interested voucher families learn about high resource communities they may not have previously considered. This program needs be expanded to the whole state. SUPPORT SPECIALIZED VOUCHERS: To counteract the deep segregation in housing voucher programs, the state should create two programs using vouchers to access higher opportunity communities – one dedicated to families with children already accessing school desegregation programs to commute to suburban schools who would like to move to such communities and one for families facing environmentally triggered health issues in disinvested communities. 42
PROTECTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND SEGREGATION Federal Fair Housing Act Ra c e — b l a c k o r w h i t e C ol o r — s k i n t o n e Na t i o n a l Or i gi n — c o u n t r y of a n i n d i vi d u a l ’ s or i g in o r t h e c o un t r y f r om w h i c h t h e i n d i v id u a l ’ s a n c e s t or s c a m e Re l ig i on — L i m i t a t io n b a s e d o n re l i gi o u s or s pi r i t u a l b e li e f s S ex — ge n d e r ( r ec en t l y b ei n g a p p li e d t o s e xu a l o r ie n t a t i on t o o) H a n d i c a p / d i s a b i li t y F a m i li a l S t a t u s — p r es e n c e of c h il d r e n u n d er 1 8 ; p r e g n a n c y ; p e r s o n s i n t h e p r oc es s o f ge t t i n g l eg al c u s t o d y
CT State Fair Housing Act Additional Protections Gender Identity or Expression Lawful Source of Income Age (except minors)
Types of Claims Intentional discrimination Disparate impact/perpetuation of segregation A failure to affirmatively further fair housing for recipients of certain grant funding (APA claim)
CT Constitution Article First, Sec. 20 No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry or national origin.
SMALL AREA FAIR MARKET RENTS Low caps on allowable rent is a major cause of segregation in the HCV program. The Trump administration froze a increase in higher opportunity areas required by regulation. OCA successfully challenged this in Open Communities Alliance v. Carson. SAFMR are not implemented in the Hartford area. Sample Monthly Rent Increases under SAFMR: • • • •
South Glastonbury: $442 Parts of Farmington: $158 Avon: $248
With advocacy, SAFMRs could be implemented statewide. 44
Maps provided courtesy of Professor Stefanie Deluca of Johns Hopkins University.
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8 years later
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Open Communities Alliance 75 Charter Oak Avenue Suite 1-200 Hartford, CT 06106 Tel. 860.610-6040 Erin Boggs, Esq. Executive Director eboggs@ctoca.org Taniqua K. Huguley, M.A. Outreach Director Thuguley@ctoca.org Check out our website at: http://www.ctoca.org
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