The Fair Housing Act at 50

In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act (FHA), prohibiting discrimination in the housing market in a significant reversal from federal and local policies of the past. More recently, in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the scope of the law, ruling that the FHA also applies to policies that have a disparate impact on members of protected classes. Although illegal, discrimination and segregation persist half a century later, along with their resulting long-term economic impacts.

In recognition of this important anniversary, Penn IUR Faculty Fellows Vincent Reina and Susan Wachter guest co-edited Cityscape Volume 21, Number 1 entitled “Symposium: The Fair Housing Act at 50.” The series of articles gathered for this special publication cumulatively show the importance of the FHA and the many challenges that remain to truly achieve its original mandate. In addition to the Cityscape issue itself, Wachter and Reina also commissioned "Race and Policy: 50 Years After the Fair Housing Act," a series of commentaries, authored by prominent scholars and housing experts, in response to the specific articles included in the issue. The commentaries aim to further explore and debate this important topic.

Below are some highlights from each of the Cityscape articles.

In Endowments and Minority Homeownership Arthur Acolin of the University of Washington, and Desen Lin and Susan Wachter of the University of Pennsylvania, examine changes in homeownership rates by race since 1970, quantifying the persistent gap in homeownership between Blacks and Whites and finding that homeownership rates for Blacks and Hispanics in 2018 are similar to what they were in 1970. The authors further point to the important implications of homeownership for wealth and human capital creation.

In Black-White and Hispanic Segregation Magnitudes and Trends from the 2016 American Community Survey, John Landis of the University of Pennsylvania implements a range of methods to quantify and analyze segregation trends over time. Using a dissimilarity index, he finds a slight reduction in Black-White segregation but also notes that segregation today remains high. These quantifiable realities raise the question: how can we take action to ameliorate these observable disparities?

In The Potential of the Fair Housing Act’s Affirmative Mandate and HUD’s AFFH Rule, Katherine M. O’Regan of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University and Ken Zimmerman Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy, New York University provide an overview of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule and its importance and limitations. Their article underscores the complexity of policies aimed at addressing discrimination and segregation.

In Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence: A Preliminary Investigation, Edward Goetz, Anthony Damiano, and Rashad Williams of the University of Minnesota study racially concentrated poverty and racially concentrated affluence in the largest 50 metropolitan areas in the United States. While many of our policies have targeted deconcentrating the poor and desegregating people of color, the authors note that few emphasize the converse – reducing racially concentrated areas of affluence that perpetuate separatism and exclusion. This article furthers the fair housing debate by questioning the underlying assumptions in many of our existing policies.

In Are Location Affordability and Fair Housing on a Collision Course? Race, Transportation Costs, and the Siting of Subsidized Housing, Vincent Reina and Erick Guerra of the University of Pennsylvania and Jake Wegmann of the University of Texas at Austin analyze potential tensions between location affordability and fair housing, asking whether incorporating transportation costs in the siting of new subsidized housing could actually further racial and economic segregation. The authors offer recommendations for how location affordability can be used as one of several factors considered in the siting of affordable housing.

"Race and Policy: 50 Years After the Fair Housing Act" is a compilation of response papers to the Cityscape articles described above, and serves as a way to continue the debate about how best to pursue the goals of equity, inclusion, and eliminating discrimination. The publication includes the following response articles:

• "Changing Dynamics of Urban Development and Threats to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule" by Justin Steil 
• "The Fair Housing Act’s Affirmative Mandate at 50: Power, Promise, and Potential Unrealized" by Elizabeth K. Julian
• "The Fair Housing Act and Persistence of Low Minority Homeownership, Indeed" by Kevin Chavers 
• "Commentary: Endowments and Minority Homeownership" by Gary Dean Painter
• "Consider Segregated Affluence" by Olatunde Johnson
• "Promoting Equity and Inclusion through Problematizing Concentrated White Affluence" by Amy T. Khare and Mark L. Joseph
• "Commentary: Are Location Affordability and Fair Housing on a Collision Course?" by Casey Dawkins
• "Timing is Everything—Commentary: Are Location Affordability and Fair Housing on a Collision Course?" by Lisa T. Alexander

Combined, the articles in this Cityscape issue and the response paper show that many of the challenges our society faced when the Fair Housing Act passed 50 years ago are unfortunately still present. Thoughtful policies that pay attention to the importance of history, local context and market dynamics, and institutional barriers when these policies are implemented will be essential to addressing our fair housing goals going forward to ensure that the intent of the Fair Housing Act is realized.

Vincent Reina is a Penn IUR Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Susan Wachter is Co-Director of Penn IUR and Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Finance at The Wharton School.