Equity

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.

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.

“Each and every person should have the opportunity to have safe, secure, adequate, and affordable housing. I wasn’t able to have it, but I can help others have it.”

The Community Reinvestment Act was created to address racist lending practices, but it doesn’t specify race. Special purpose credit programs could help.

Programs that help households of color buy homes haven’t made much of a dent in the racial wealth gap. But some strategies could generate better outcomes for buyers.

Despite the hopes pinned on it, homeownership is currently too affected by racism at every turn to be an equalizer.

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

Dorothy A. Brown’s The Whiteness of Wealth breaks down the deleterious effect our tax code has had on Black lives. Crown, 2021, 288 pp., $27 (hardcover); $17 (softcover).

Property tax relief programs can be essential for helping older and lower-income homeowners keep their homes. But access to them isn’t universal, or equitable.

March being Women’s History Month—an ideal time to celebrate the brave, bold, and thoughtful women who are influencing history—Shelterforce and Community Change have decided to continue the video series: Women of Color on the Front Lines.

Expanding access to the housing market is unlikely to do much to close the racial wealth gap. Here’s why.

Homes owned by people of color are appraised for less than identical homes owned by white families. Nationwide, that’s led to more than $150 billion in lost equity. How can we stop appraisal bias?