Achieving Fair Housing

People of color and other marginalized groups continue to face unequal access to housing. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was a landmark effort to combat housing discrimination, but more than 50 years later it has yet to realize its full promise. This is particularly true of its commitment to “affirmatively further fair housing” (AFFH): to proactively foster more inclusive and less segregated communities, and to reverse the legacies of past racially discriminatory laws, policies, and actions. 

California has incorporated fair housing mandates into its statewide housing planning process, but questions remain about how to encourage cities to allow multifamily housing in their highest opportunity neighborhoods, how to deliver the substantial affordable housing needs in many communities, how to promote equitable access to social and financial capital, and how to engage in planning and community development in ways that allow existing communities to benefit from change. Meeting state and federal fair housing goals depends upon effective policy design, implementation, and enforcement.

The Randall Lewis Housing Initiative is helping answer these and other AFFH questions in California, studying reform and implementation of state fair housing programs including the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and housing element update process, and their impact on the supply and location of multifamily and deed-restricted affordable housing.