Equity

What is equity? Can it be measured? How and when does the issue come up in housing, education, employment, public utilities, and more? How are community organizations, grant-making institutions, and policymakers working to advance equity?

Aerial view of the KeyBank building at night. Windows in it and nearby buildings are lighted.

NCRC Claims KeyBank Broke Promises, Failed Black Homeowners

Who is responsible for evaluating whether groups adhere to promises made in a community benefits agreement (CBA)? Is there any recourse for those who don’t get what they were promised? And what lessons can we take away from the KeyBank CBA?
A row of large gray cylindrical water storage tanks on a roof. Behind them are heat pumps and other technical apparatus.

The Shift to Using More Electricity Will Change How Affordable Housing Is Built

Policymakers and building designers have gone from pushing for energy efficiency to focusing on reducing carbon emissions by using more electrical-based systems. What are some of the benefits and challenges of going all-electric, and how can affordable housers move forward?

The Racists Next Door: Black Homebuyers Face Discrimination After Purchasing, Too

The danger of unwelcoming neighbors should not be underestimated.

Going Home: LGBTQ Renters Find Housing on Facebook

Niche groups on Facebook help the LGBTQ community find affordable housing with folks who share their values.

Corporate Landlords Profit from Segregation, at Cost of Black Homeownership and Wealth

As more and more affordable homes are gobbled up by corporate landlords, prospective Black homebuyers are seeing opportunities for homeownership dry up.

How Tax Assessments in a Supposedly Progressive County Are Reinforcing Racism

Buncombe County in North Carolina was one of the first places in the U.S. to support reparations for Black residents. So why is the county not doing a better job of addressing property tax inequities that directly impact residents of color?

Developing Radical Goals for Black Homeownership: An NCRC Panel Discussion

What can be done to significantly advance Black homeownership and access to affordable housing? Watch the panel discussion.

Considering Geographic Equity

When we talk about equity, we’re typically talking about individuals or neighborhoods. But what about the imbalance in power and access to resources between entire metropolitan areas?

Residents Owning Their Local Economy

In the face of extractive "investments," communities are exploring creative models that let them both exert control and earn returns themselves.

Affordable ADUs: How It’s Being Done

In the face of limited financing options, local governments, nonprofits, and social enterprises are experimenting with ways to make affordable ADUs a reality.

Are Urban Planners Staying Silent on Climate Gentrification?

Holmdel, New Jersey, moved its affordable housing to flood-prone land, raising a question about planners' ethical obligations to speak up against such moves.

Putting in the Labor to Support Affordable Homes

With notoriously high housing costs in San Francisco pushing workers across occupations out of the city and into long commutes, the value of alliances between housing advocates and labor organizers are becoming increasingly clear.

Push Back on the Racial Wealth Gap—A Shelterforce Webinar

Authors from Shelterforce’s recent series about the racial wealth gap and other experts talk wealth building, wealth extraction, and the tools available to help close the gap.

Say It With Your Chest: Race Matters in Lending

The Community Reinvestment Act was created to address racist lending practices, but it doesn’t specify race. Special purpose credit programs could help.
Screenshot from game of a young Black woman holding a glowing key

Dot’s Home, a Computer Game, Addresses History of Housing Discrimination

A new video game aims to educate players on the various housing barriers facing Black Americans through history. How well does it do that?

Rethinking the Racial Wealth Gap With Anne Price

A lot of conversations about the racial wealth gap focuses too much on homeownership as the only solution. It's much more complex. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute talks with Anne Price, president of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.

Maurice Jones on Job Creation, Community Development, and Wealth Building

Seventy-one percent of jobs that pay $40,000 and above require a four-year degree, says Maurice Jones. That requirement is "having a huge, huge adverse impact on Black talent earning their way into the middle class."
Family skating at Akoma market.

‘We-Making’: How Arts and Culture Build Social Cohesion

In Oakland, the Black Cultural Zone ties together art and community ownership to prevent gentrification and heal trauma.

In Defense of Asian American Neighborhoods

How do you address a history of anti-Asian housing discrimination? Not by destroying Asian American communities.
A realtor opening a house for viewing.

Realtors Reckon with Race

A new generation of real estate agents are aiming for meaningful change in an industry most famous for championing and enforcing segregation.