(Credit: Mapping Inequality/Univesity of Richmond Digital Scholarship Lab CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Every now and then, the media highlights issues of housing discrimination and the impact of its deep entrenchment. This article–recently published by Newsday–about current real estate practices in Long Island, NY, is the talk of the industry. The findings from this 3-year investigation are nothing short of alarming. Our commonplace belief that discrimination "just doesn't happen here" is nothing more than feigned.
Yes, discrimination is unpleasant, and yet it remains entrenched due to the benefits it affords those harboring these implicit biases. Our history of discriminatory practices is long and well documented. These practices, institutionalized over time, continue to shape our built environment. Believing that the civil rights act, education, or our “woke-ness” has righted our historic wrongs belies the truth. Discrimination is real, and it is dangerous.
Progress is happening. At the Love Portland Group, we've stepped up our game. We are looking carefully at our own implicit biases. While this work is hard and never-ending, it is necessary if we want to affect real and structural changes. We’ve pledged to state our commitment to fair housing, early and often, and continuously review the impact of our day to day practices in real-time.
Download this fantastic and eye-opening Fair Housing Guide put together by our own Fair Housing Council of Oregon. If you’re interested in learning more about current zoning issues, affordable housing, and gentrification, this guide is a great place to start. I learned so much! Covering aspects beyond the basic definitions of "protected classes" and delving into the complexity and severity of the real and practical effects of discrimination–effects that last for generations.
Feel free to reach out, call, email, or stop by for a cup of coffee–Yana makes a mean espresso–I would love to hear your thoughts on these issues.
Thank you for reading these critical pieces. We will be a better City for our efforts.