Affordable Housing could be more affordable

Last month I began listening to “Renegades,” the new Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen podcast whose first two episodes focus on race. Hearing their discussions inspired me to devote this month’s newsletter to the connection between race and real estate.

In Minnesota, that connection isn’t a good one. In fact, the Twin Cities has the worst rate of Black home ownership in our nation at only 25% compared to 76% for whites. Over the decades, the U.S. has outlawed redlining and racially restrictive covenants, but housing still is systemically discriminatory. That’s hugely problematic for numerous reasons. After all, establishing homeownership often leads to wealth accumulation, higher education, better health, and contentment.  

In Minnesota, a number of organizations are starting to make a difference. Mapping Prejudice, an outstanding research/education program at the U of M, identifies Minnesota housing covenants—now illegal—that prevented people of color from purchasing homes in particular neighborhoods. Its website is fascinating—particularly its time-lapse map that shows the restrictive deeds going into effect between 1910 and 1955 in Hennepin County.

Meanwhile, Just Deeds, whose supporters include the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Associations of Realtors, helps property owners to discharge these racial covenants. Despite these efforts, the history of racial covenants and redlining, plus racist efforts like steering, continue to affect Black housing to this day.

What solutions do we have? Education; anti-racist actions by many groups, including Realtors®; and new laws. Recently, for example, some communities like Minneapolis have begun changing zoning rules to allow duplexes and other multifamily housing within single-family zoning; this change is designed to reduce the threshold for homeownership. It’s controversial for a few reasons, including the question of its efficacy. Obviously, there are no easy or quick fixes, yet a solution is urgent.