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We're All Enforcing "Separate But Unequal" Schools

Tuesday, February 13, 2018
In this Issue: Why Do We Care About Health Equity? ● What If We Didn’t Have to Beg for Community Benefits? ● The "Who Put That There?" Test ● We're All Enforcing "Separate But Unequal" Schools Also: Jobs ● Shelter Shorts ● Events ● Industry News +
Shelter Shorts

Carson's been warned | Chicago's Section 3 accomplishment | Airbnb's influence on rent prices | PayDay lenders are fans of Trump | A win for community benefits | More...
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Miriam Axel-Lute, Shelterforce
The fight for health equity is similar to the fight for economic justice and the work of community development. As we launch a "Health and Community Development" desk here at Shelterforce, we thought it was important to start the conversation by reminding ourselves of our goals. After all, no one ever wanted to improve their own personal health in order to reduce the cost burden of health care in America, relieve the pressure on their local hospital ER, or even to "reduce health disparities..." Read Full Editor's Note
Miriam Axel-Lute and Keli A. Tianga, Shelterforce
Shelterforce spoke with MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award recipient Nikole Hannah-Jones about her research into the persistence of racial segregation, and how without government intervention, average Americans have done an excellent job of enforcing "separate but unequal" schools. Read Full Article
Michael Spotts, Neighborhood Fundamentals, and Ahmad Abu-Khalaf, Enterprise Community Partners
Are we missing an opportunity to more aggressively address gaps in wealth between communities and households? Perhaps publicly owned land should be developed for the community first—and market-rate developers should be asking us for access to part of it. Read Full Article
Keli A. Tianga, Shelterforce
Architect, urban planner, and MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award recipient Damon Rich on democratizing design, neighborhood change and displacement, and having the freedom to choose collaborators. Read Full Article
Events

Friday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. EST Equitable Development Webinar: Planning for Environmental Justice and Healthy Communities Low-income communities and communities of color often face pollution exposures resulting from local planning or zoning decisions. To address these issues, California Senate Bill 1000 now requires local jurisdictions to adopt environmental justice goals and policies. This webinar—coordinated by the American Planning Association, the Planning Webcast Series Consortium, and the U.S. EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice—will look at the intent and history behind the SB 1000 law, and will discuss how and why communities can integrate environmental justice into local planning efforts. 
Industry News
Ascala Sisk has joined the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Center for Community Investment as director of programs. Previously, Sisk was vice president of Community Initiatives at NeighborWorks America where she led the organization's support for comprehensive community development. Earlier, she was at KaBOOM! and the City of Providence, Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism.
Ethan Handelman has begun work as a senior policy analyst at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Office of Housing and Community Investment. Handelman previously served in leadership roles at the National Housing Conference and Recap Real Estate Advisors.
You Said It!


This is systemic. Capitalism deliberately undervalues community. Gentrification hits hardest in places where local government refuses to recognize that. In my opinion, as a former urban planner, to really begin to change the discourse on gentrification we need to change the discourse on . . . —Michael Thaddeus Doyle, more

The issue I and many other have with anti-gentrification rhetoric is the idea of a static city where the current economic and ethnic makeup of a neighborhood reflects something that always existed. Many struggling neighborhoods were at one time middle class neighborhoods or . . . —Brandon Kovnat, more

At one point, racially discriminatory treatment was a matter of law and not just custom—and it wasn’t really all that long ago. Not long ago I read that Ruby Bridges, who was the first black person to attend previously white-only New Orleans public schools as a small child, is only 63 years old now–she’s still around! Point being, this history is anything but ancient, and therefore . . . —Jake Wegmann, more

Author Reply
Yes, history is a powerful teacher and I agree the history makes sense here. It is often difficult to get public audiences to sit still long enough to absorb the history of how we got ourselves here. For those who will hear it, let us tell that story. For the millions of others . . . —Tiffany A Manuel, more

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Jobs
Regional Property ManagerThe RPM is responsible for the overall management of residential and commercial properties owned and leased by Opportunity Council throughout its regional, three-county, service territory. The person filling this new position will have the opportunity to reorganize and grow the agency’s... Read Full Listing
Executive Vice President of Real Estate CommonBond Communities is seeking a candidate for this senior leadership position—a compelling and visionary leader who will form powerful relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and a strategic thinker who will promote sustainable growth and advancement... Read Full Listing
Housing and Neighborhood Equity Planner/AnalystTexas Housers seeks a planner/analyst committed to racial equity in the provision of housing and public infrastructure, disaster recovery, and environmental justice. The person in this role will work in the Houston metro area with leaders and residents of low-income... Read Full Listing
Post-Disaster Infrastructure Equity Analyst and Housing Project ManagerThe person in this role will assess post-Hurricane Harvey housing and infrastructure rebuilding needs in lower-income communities in Austin, Houston, and south/east Texas, and will develop and advocate for socially and environmentally... Read Full Listing
President and CEO, Elevation Community Land TrustA collaborative of funders have partnered to launch this new community land trust (CLT) that will foster permanently affordable housing across metro Denver and ultimately statewide. As a new organization, the Elevation CLT requires a president & CEO who can build the organization, its board, its staff, and its assets... Read Full Listing
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