July 23, 2020

In Los Angeles, some residents fear the pandemic will accelerate displacement that was already occurring in predominately Black communities, echoing patterns of the Great Recession. This displacement is fueled by racist policies and practices, such as redlining, and other structural inequities that prevent Black Americans from gaining the same generational wealth and financial stability as white households. “We’ve got to find ways to reduce the wealth gap that prohibits Black potential home buyers who simply don’t have the wealth to purchase higher-price properties,” said Andre Perry, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Leaked text of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) proposal states single-sex homeless shelters can choose not to house transgender people by “determin[ing] an individual’s sex” through visual appraisal of physical characteristics. This ruling would prioritize what HUD deems gendered and overturn the Equal Access Rule. Experts say forcing transgender people experiencing homelessness into shelters that correspond with their birth-assigned gender rather than their gender identity exposes them, especially trans women, to potential violence and sexual assault. Advocates say basing intake on biased, physical ideas of gender to determine shelter is discriminatory.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s recent “Out of Reach 2020” report, the average minimum wage worker must clock 97 hours per week to afford a market rate, two-bedroom rental. Considering COVID-19 housing concerns, the report recommends extending the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s eviction moratorium and providing $100 billion in rental assistance to keep people housed. “Many of our essential workers—grocery store employees, home health aides, custodians at hospitals—have risked their lives during the pandemic, but don’t get paid enough to afford housing,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Recently, the Atlanta, Georgia, Planning Department conducted a comprehensive study of the city’s 26 Opportunity Zones to shape development and mitigate displacement in those census tracts. This analysis of public data uses several indicators to determine the level of displacement risk homeowners, renters, and businesses in a tract face. The analysis shows the West End Mall, a major Atlanta Opportunity Zone project, is in a neighborhood with a high proportion of households vulnerable to displacement, further raising concerns about the impact of Opportunity Zone investments in the city.