Why Do We Center Racial Equity?
- Over generations, our cities, towns and land use and development investments were shaped by stolen land, racial exclusion laws, and discrimination.
- The result was the creation and preservation of segregated and unequal spaces that continue to shape the forces of development today.
- In an era of rapid demographic change and migration, our field must be equipped to acknowledge and tackle racial inequity that impact our most marginalized groups.
The Many Forms of Racial Inequity
Racial bias across institutions and society. It’s the cumulative and compounded effects of an array of factors that systematically privilege white people and disadvantage people of color.
Specific policies and practices that create different outcomes for different racial groups – specifically that create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people of color.
Polices and Investments in communities of color are not distributed equally within or between communities. Unequal access to clean air and water, healthy food, good schools, employment opportunities, and health care lead to health and well-being disparities that transcend generations.
Pre-judgment, bias, and stereotypes about an individual or group based on race. It can occur at both an unconscious and conscious level and can be both active and passive. Individual racism can result in illegal discrimination.
The EVIDENCE of Racism in Land Use & Development
- Generational disinvestment that limits public infrastructure investments
- Concentrated, inter-generational poverty that deprives wealth-building
- Environmental racism that degrades public health
- Persistent educational disparities that slows upward mobility and access
- NIMBYism (not in my back yard) that strips people of power
- Inadequate community design
Percentage of adults who say each of the following has been an obstacle in their own life:
- In the average U.S. metropolitan area, homes in neighborhoods where the share of the population is 50 percent Black are valued at roughly half the price as homes in neighborhoods with no Black residents.
- Differences in home and neighborhood quality do not fully explain the devaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods.
- Metropolitan areas with greater devaluation of Black neighborhoods are more segregated and produce less upward mobility for the Black children who grow up in those communities.
- The average home in a majority-black neighborhood is undervalued by $48,000, “amounting to $156 billion in cumulative losses” accruing to black homeowners.
COMMITING TO Racial Equity IN EVERY DECISION
By prioritizing racial equity, we explore how past harm and ongoing trauma inflicted from decades of disinvestment, displacement, eminent domain, and environmental pollution has become the greatest social determinant of health and prosperity. Just Communities asks stakeholders to address the following themes to help put racial equity into practice:
Recognize
The commitment to explicitly take steps to repair the cultural and economic damages inflicted on Black and historically disinvested communities of color by ensuring that Just Community projects, programs, and policies result in a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens across the whole community they serve.
Reconcile
The commitment to explicitly take steps to repair the cultural and economic damages inflicted on Black and historically disinvested communities of color by ensuring that Just Community projects, programs, and policies result in a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens across the whole community they serve.
Repair
The commitment to explicitly take steps to repair the cultural and economic damages inflicted on Black and historically disinvested communities of color by ensuring that Just Community projects, programs, and policies result in a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens across the whole community they serve.
Respect
The commitment to explicitly take steps to repair the cultural and economic damages inflicted on Black and historically disinvested communities of color by ensuring that Just Community projects, programs, and policies result in a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens across the whole community they serve.