Fair housing, equity, and well-being are all interconnected, with housing playing a central role by affecting so many of our life outcomes, including education, health, and wealth. Abt works every day to improve the quality of people’s lives around the world, not least of all through our work promoting safe and affordable housing.
April marks several key observances, from Fair Housing to National Minority Health Month, to Earth Day. We invite you to join us as we mark these observances. See how we’re working with communities and partners to advance fair housing, good health, economic opportunity, and environmental quality.
Years of disinvestment, redlining, and discriminatory practices have created barriers to safe housing, health, and well-being for people due to their different abilities, race, family status, national origin, sex, religion, and color. The federal Fair Housing Act requires communities to undo the harm of these practices by affirmatively furthering fair housing by not just eliminating housing discrimination but also by ensuring that all people, regardless of their personal characteristics, have access to housing in resource-rich neighborhoods, where there are quality schools, good jobs, abundant amenities, and efficient transportation.
The Fair Housing Act was signed into law by President Johnson on April, 11, 1968. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the Obama administration, laid out new rules for communities to comply with their obligation to further fair housing, taking a huge step toward accountability and action to undo local, public and private practices that create and perpetuate housing segregation. President Biden has recommitted to ensuring that “fair and equal access to housing opportunity exists for all.”
Fair and equal access to housing opportunity exists for all.
President Biden
Vulnerable populations suffer daily from inequities in health, wealth, and education. These same people are then disproportionately impacted by catastrophes ranging from hurricanes to COVID-19, underlining the need for equity across race, gender, and income. Learn how Abt’s housing and resilience work is helping.
Equitable development plans ensure that proposed strategies reflect community priorities that safeguard local culture and affordability. This webinar, supported by JPMorgan Chase, features three Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that completed planning processes rooted in equity to ensure capital reaches the most vulnerable communities and achieves the greatest impact.
Fair housing practices can impact the lives of generations of Americans. As we partner with stakeholders at the federal, state and local levels, Abt’s teams are collecting evidence, providing insights, and shaping programs to bring these policy goals to life: to provide access to healthy, safe homes that support opportunities for all.
Are you working in these areas?