1	Regional Equity: Camden’s Civil Rights Cause for the 21^st Century john a. powell Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law Executive Director, Kirwan Institute of Race and Ethnicity The Ohio State University
2	Beyond the Post Industrial City: Assessing the Legacy of Decline and the Prospects for Renewal in Camden and the Region Today’s Discussion The Challenge: Racial and Regional Inequity What Causes Camden’s Inequity? What is the Remedy? Maximizing the potential of Mt. Laurel From “fair share” to “opportunity based” housing Addendum Material Tailoring Equitable Policy Solutions for Undercapitalized Cities
3	The Challenge: Inequity and its Impact in the Camden Region
4	National Trends Housing & Education National (historical) trends in housing and education for African Americans are very positive when viewing changes since the Brown era (1950’s) Homeownership has increased for African Americans College admissions and dropout rates have improved for African Americans Although disparities with Whites are still prominent
5	Housing: Home Ownership
6	Education: College Entrance Rate
7	Education: High School Dropout Rate
8	More Recent Concerns Although these historical trends show positive results for African Americans, more recent trends threaten these gains The rapidly increasing housing affordability problem The recent increase in predatory lending and foreclosure for people of color The reversal (and increase) in school segregation (both racial and economic) The recent increase in dropout rates for urban youth
9	The Challenge The Camden region faces many equity challenges Racial and regional inequities Segregation Housing, education, access to jobs, poverty Urban disinvestment Vacancy and abandonment Regional economic decline Are these factors pulling down the region?
10	Segregation and Population Loss Between 1980 and 2000 the City of CamdeCamden lost 75% of its White (Non-Latino) population during this twenty year period In contrast, Camden’s Latino population has doubled and the African American population has declined by only 7% during this time As a result Camden has become incredibly segregated within the past 20 years Between 1990 and 2000, Camden lost almost 9% of its middle class population
11	African American Segregation in the Camden-Philadelphia Area
12	Latino Segregation in the Camden-Philadelphia Area
13	Access to Affordable Housing? Areas in red indicate where affordable housing is lacking in the Camden region Outside of the City of Camden, few municipalities have adequate affordable housing Is this the legacy of the (RCA) Regional Contribution Agreements?
14	Educational Inequity Racial and economic segregation coexist in the Camden school district and are much higher than segregation in Camden County or statewide in New Jersey
15	Inequities in Access to Jobs Jobs are growing outside of the City of Camden in Southern New Jersey (areas in Blue) This trend creates a “spatial mismatch” between inner city workers seeking employment and new job growth
16	High Poverty Neighborhoods Camden is home to most of the area’s high poverty neighborhoods In 2000 the City of Camden’s poverty rate was 36.6% Camden’s poverty rate was more than four times higher than New Jersey’s poverty rate of 8.5% in 2000 In 2000 the average African American or Latino neighborhood in the City of Camden had a 36% poverty rate and unemployment rates greater than 16%
17	Concentrated Poverty Areas are Clustered in Camden and Philadelphia
18	Vacancy and Abandonment Accompanying population loss in the City of Camden is widespread vacancy and abandonment Nearly 1 out of 5 housing units were vacant in the City of Camden in 2000 Vacancy rates increased by 60% in the 1990’s in the City of Camden
19	Regional Economic Decline? Racial and regional inequities have far reaching implications, they not only depress the life chances of urban communities of color but they can be detrimental to the health of the entire region Between 2000 and 2004, Camden County’s population has only grown by 1% Between 2000 and 2003, Camden County has lost nearly 5,000 jobs
20	Solutions for Post-Industrial Cities Post-industrial (or undercapitalized) cities like Camden require a unique set of strategies to address equity These strategies are addressed in full detail in the addendum to this presentation Generally these strategies focus on several themes Using public resources to leverage investment back into the community Opening up regional housing opportunities Treating vacant land as an asset to create redevelopment opportunities Setting up policies to counteract the region’s political and jurisdictional fragmentation Focusing on eliminating educational inequity to build a work force for the future
21	What is Causing Camden’s Inequity? Spatial Racism and the Post Industrial City
22	Spatial Arrangements Are Never Neutral Spatial and institutional arrangements are never neutral, they produce both benefits and burdens Universal policies applied in a racialized and inequitable society will produce racialized and inequitable results Examples: The GI Bill: Primarily benefited white suburbanites at the expense of urban residents of color Mortgage Interest Tax Deductions: The largest government subsidy for housing, which disproportionately benefits wealthy, White homeowners
23	Who Benefits, Who is Burdened? When spatial and institutional arrangements burden marginalized racial and ethnic communities, we refer to it as “Spatial Racism” Often these spatial and institutional arrangements not only burden African American and Latino city residents, but also harm Whites and non-Whites who live in the city and inner suburbs
24	What Causes Camden’s Inequality? Spatial Racism Spatial racism is a form of structural racism What is spatial racism? The cumulative impact of policies and structures that work to segregate people of color from opportunity and strip away resources from inner city (and sometimes inner suburban) communities of color
25	Spatial Arrangements Are Often Detrimental to Social Justice Spatial arrangements (regional dynamics) play a critical role in the future of social justice Regional (spatial) forces can have a substantial impact on either the promotion or hindrance of social justice Spatial arrangements are instrumental in either opening or denying access to opportunities
26	Policies Enforcing Inequity: Contemporary Government Role Spatial Racism is not natural or neutral; it results from government policies, such as: Zoning laws which prevent affordable housing in many suburbs Housing policies that concentrate subsidized housing Municipalities that subsidize the relocation of businesses out of the city Transportation spending which favors highways, metropolitan expansion and urban sprawl Court decisions that prevent metropolitan school desegregation School funding which is tied to property taxes
27	The Cumulative Impact of Spatial Racism: Opportunity Segregation The cumulative impact of sprawl, fragmentation and spatial racism is the segregation of low income residents from opportunities such as: Good schools, meaningful employment, safe and stable neighborhoods This is “opportunity segregation”
28	The Post-Industrial City Spatial racism and racial inequity are magnified in older post-industrial (or undercapitalized) cities like Camden (globalization) Why? A weakened economic base that disproportionately impacts people of color Extensive regional fragmentation that creates severe racial segregation (and segregation from opportunity)
29	What is the Remedy? Providing Access to Regional Opportunities and Creating Equity Linked Region/Linked Fate
30	How do we Remedy Inequity? Remedying opportunity segregation is the only way to address severe racial/regional inequity Building on past success The impact and significance of Mt. Laurel Challenges from Mt. Laurel Moving forward Correcting Mt. Laurel’s Deficiencies Opportunity based housing Equity based regionalism
31	Building on Past Success: Mt Laurel The Mt. Laurel decisions are the most important state affordable housing cases in history The “fair share” strategies implemented because of Mt. Laurel informed similar policies in other parts of the nation No other equitable housing policies (except for Montgomery County, Maryland’s inclusionary zoning) have had a long term impact on affordable housing supply like Mt. Laurel
32	Mt. Laurel: Confronting Spatial Racism Mt. Laurel is an example of a successful attempt to tackle spatial racism (exclusionary zoning) directly Exclusionary zoning was extremely widespread in suburban New Jersey by the late 1960s It included: Prohibition on the construction of garden apartments minimum lot size requirements minimum frontage requirements cost-increasing design standards minimum house size requirements At its peak, 98% of the vacant land in suburban New Jersey was restricted by one or more of these types of regulations
33	The Significance of Mt. Laurel The Mt. Laurel decisions and the Fair Housing Act of 1985 have had a tremendous impact on local affordable housing production 271 of 566 municipalities (48%) participating in the voluntary Council on Affordable Housing program Opportunities created for 60,731 affordable units from 1980-2000 Includes 28,555 units that have been built or under construction 13,231 units that are result of realistic zoning in place or approvals 11,249 units that have been rehabilitated
34	The Four Challenges of Mt. Laurel Mt. Laurel is significant success in challenging exclusionary zoning But, challenges have plagued implementing the decision to its maximum potential These include: Regional Compact Agreements Treating housing as a class issue and not a race issue Not tying housing to education Not explicitly linking housing to opportunity
35	Correcting Mt. Laurel’s Deficiencies: Regional Contribution Agreements Under the legislative plan through “regional contribution agreements,” suburbs could pay cities to take 50% of its fair share obligations off their hands. As of 2002, the 57 “sending” communities averaged almost three times the average income level of the “receiving” communities. The percentage of poor children in the wealthy, “sending” suburban school districts averaged just 6 percent; the percentage of poor children in the poverty-impacted, “receiving” city school districts exceeded 71 percent.
36	Fair Share? Movement of Affordable Housing Units Due to the RCA
37	Correcting Mt. Laurel’s Deficiencies: Focusing on Class Instead of Race The Mt. Laurel decision shifted focus from race based discrimination to class based discrimination Housing opportunities have increased for low and moderate income households, but the initiatives did not ameliorate racial segregation or provide housing opportunities in suburbs for poor urban residents Why? Suburbs can focus on providing affordable units that are not as accessible to African American families (elderly units, efficiency or 1-bedroom units) Lenders, landlords, and realtors still discriminate based on race, steering homebuyers into segregated neighborhoods
38	Senior Housing vs. Family Housing Municipalities could reduce their “fair share” obligations by building housing for the elderly Municipalities can build up to 50 percent of their total fair share obligation as senior citizen housing, up from 25% previously permitted As a result, many municipalities avoid having to build housing for poor families by sending half its credits to the inner city and building senior citizen housing for the other half
39	The Racial Impact of Mt. Laurel Without taking account of race directly, minorities have not benefited from the Mount Laurel process in the proportions they should have The lion’s share of affordable housing produced, whenever possible, went to White households. IF YOU FISH FOR TUNA, YOU CAUGHT DOLPHINS
40	Correcting Mt. Laurel’s Deficiencies: Tying Housing to Education New Jersey has some of the most prominent educational funding and housing lawsuits in the nation (Abbot and Mt. Laurel) But these were not tied together to create funding equality while decreasing racial and economic school segregation Why does economic/racial school integration matter? One of the biggest factor predicting success or failure in school is the economic status of the student body Middle class students in poor schools will perform more poorly that poor students in middle class schools Poor children learn best when surrounded by middle-class classmates
41	Correcting Mt. Laurel’s Deficiencies: Tying Housing to Opportunity
42	From “Fair Share” to “Opportunity Based” Housing Need to move beyond thinking of affordable housing/subsidized housing in terms of “fair share” or suburban/urban dichotomy Need to think in terms of opportunity “Opportunity structures” are the resources and services that contribute to stability and advancement Affordable housing must be deliberately and intelligently connected to high performing schools, sustaining employment, necessary transportation infrastructure, childcare, and institutions that facilitate civic and political activity
43	Housing and Opportunity: Where you live is more important than what you live in Housing is Critical in Determining Access to Opportunity
44	Access to Opportunity: The Foundation of Regional Equity Promoting and maintaining access to opportunity is the underlying foundation of all regional equity initiatives For example Preventing sprawl from moving resources (opportunity) away from communities of color Countering regional fragmentation that allows exclusion of others from opportunity Connecting disenfranchised residents to regional opportunity structures Assuring a fair share of fiscal resources needed to promote opportunity
45	Moving Forward We must address the deficiencies of Mt. Laurel Eliminate regional contribution agreements Be more sensitive to race (think of addressing racial segregation not just affordable housing) Link affordable housing to educational opportunity Move from thinking about affordable housing in just “fair share” terms Must link affordable housing to opportunities
46	Moving Forward Although the implementation of Mt. Laurel has had problems, it is a sign of progress in addressing regional inequity New Jersey has some of the best state structures/arrangements in the nation to address inequity Must coordinate and capitalize on these initiatives A daunting task but possible Requires political leadership Is their more opportunity with a new governor?
47	Concluding Thoughts As long as communities remain racially segregated, they will also remain segregated from opportunity We need integration with opportunity to have a truly “just” society IF WE FREE THE TUNA, WE FREE THE DOLPHINS
48	Questions or Comments? For More Information Visit Us On-Line: www.KirwanInstitute.org
49	Addendum Designing Solutions for Camden: Tailoring Equity Solutions for the Post-Industrial (Undercapitalized) City
50	Regional Equity in a Camden Context: An equity-based regional agenda in an undercapitalized city Camden (like many Midwestern and Northeastern Cities) is an undercapitalized city with significant urban decline and limited new investment Other large “undercapitalized cities” include: Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Newark…. As an undercapitalized city Camden requires an unique approach to promoting regional equity Strategies that may work in hot market cities such as Seattle, Austin or San Francisco may not work in Camden….need for a more strategic approach
51	Regional Equity in a Camden Context: What are Undercapitalized Cities? Undercapitalized cities are traditionally older regions that have experienced profound changes (and loss of investment) due to macro level economic trends (manufacturing decline, movement to the sunbelt) These regions often will exhibit Extreme racial/regional inequities High political and jurisdictional fragmentation A traditional manufacturing based economy that has weakened significantly in recent decades Significant central city abandonment and suburban sprawl
52	Regionalism in a Camden Context: Threats to an Undercapitalized Cities
53	Regionalism in a Camden Context: Strategies for an Undercapitalized City Strategies Strongly encourage reinvestment Stimulate private sector (subsidies, market analysis) Leverage private investment with public investment Strengthen existing market Make area more competitive for investment Incentives for infill development Need for assembly of underutilized land for redevelopment Land bank programs Remove legal/administrative barriers to reusing vacant properties Housing programs targeted for increasing home ownership Programs to eliminate barriers to homeownership
54	Regionalism in a Camden Context: Strategies for an Undercapitalized City Strategies (Continued) Target neighborhood planning and use of funds for redevelopment activities Promote access to suburban opportunity structures for impoverished residents Opportunity based regional affordable housing strategies Need to avoid over-concentration of subsidized housing Regional inclusionary zoning policies Build regional coalitions Encourage regional strategies for sharing resources, regional planning Build coalitions with community based organizations, local governments, business community, CDC’s, philanthropic institutions and large urban institutions (Universities)
55	Regionalism in a Camden Context: Strategies for an Undercapitalized City Strategies (Continued) Support and strengthen anchor institutions Support key institutions that can draw people from the region into Camden and provide stability in distressed neighborhoods Address regional fragmentation through regional policies Regional tax revenue sharing, regional economic development, regional housing strategies, regional transportation policies, regional education policies Invest in education and address educational inequities (build a workforce for the future)
56	Regionalism in a Camden Context: Strategies for an Undercapitalized City In short initiatives must… Explicitly target creating equity Be more strategic and transformative Promote infill development to counteract sprawl Facilitate economic change Address educational inequity Work to overcome the barriers produced by fragmentation and segregation Work to improve access to the region’s opportunity structures for the disenfranchised “Grow” the middle class in the central city