Tag: racial wealth gap
Appraisal Bias Is the Fair Housing Issue of the Day
Newly released data on home appraisal practices is a step forward in the fight against racially biased appraisals. There’s still a long way to go.
Taking the ADU Model to the Next Level, a Shelterforce and...
How can we get more accessory dwelling units built, keep them affordable, and make them forces for increasing racial equity?
The Financialization of Housing and Its Implications for Community Development
Over the last two decades homeowners and investors have increasingly treated housing as a financial asset, like stocks or bonds. How has this changed the housing market for the worse, and how can we fix it?
Why Wealth Matters to Your Health: A Webinar
How did the racial wealth gap begin? And why has it been so hard to fix? Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute and others discuss these topics in a webinar hosted by County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap: A Webinar with NPQ
Four leaders in the field discuss strategic approaches to closing the racial wealth gap.
Vacant Homes Wither Under Flawed Tax Sale System
Outdated tax sale rules and predatory investment practices keep Baltimore homes in a revolving door of vacancy. But that could soon change.
How Tax Assessments are Racist
Between biased property appraisals that undervalue Black-owned properties and biased tax assessments that levy an unfair burden, homeowners of color are flanked by a double-whammy of racism.
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.
Making Homeownership Work Better
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.
Increased Homeownership Won’t Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Despite the hopes pinned on it, homeownership is currently too affected by racism at every turn to be an equalizer.
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?
The Racial Wealth Gap Begins With Our Tax Code
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 Don’t Reach Many Homeowners of Color
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.
Blaming Redlining Is Too Easy
Expanding access to the housing market is unlikely to do much to close the racial wealth gap. Here’s why.
A Home’s True Worth—Getting Beyond Appraisal Bias
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?
Credit Where Credit Is Due: Expanding Access to Capital for BIPOC...
The dual financial system affects not only Black and Brown consumers, but Black- and Brown-led firms. In the past two years, CDFIs have focused on shifting access to capital for developers.
The Role Student Debt Plays in the Racial Wealth Gap
What explains the large disparity in Black and white student debt, and what can we do to address the student debt crisis and close the racial wealth gap?
The Debt Trap: How Court Debt Widens the Racial Wealth Gap
Debt related to justice-system involvement falls most heavily on overpoliced communities, extracting wealth and preventing the building of more.
Wealth Building Won’t Work While Wealth Extraction Continues
Typical approaches to closing the racial wealth gap focus on ways to help Black households build wealth. But for that to stick, we must also stop siphoning their wealth away.