Anchoring Equitable Development: Anchor Institute-Led Models of Housing and Community Development to Strengthen Institutions and Communities

In April 2014, a convening of national housing equity experts was hosted in Jacksonville, Florida by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. The convening's purpose was to gain insight from national stakeholders on affordable housing and equitable development challenges and opportunities in Jacksonville. From this two-day engagement, a number of major challenges and opportunities facing Jacksonville's housing development were clearly identified. Two of these findings directly inform this research effort.First, to meet the needs of Jacksonville's marginalized communities, an intentional focus on equity must stay at the forefront of community housing and development strategies. Second, if equity-focused development efforts are better aligned with health and/or educational stakeholders, affordable housing and equitable development could blossom in Jacksonville.Stable and affordable housing is essential to educational success and positive health outcomes for families and for communities. While the linkage between housing and educational and health outcomes is clear, educational and health stakeholders have not traditionally been deeply engaged in meeting housing need. Emerging initiatives across the country are countering this disengagement, demonstrating the important role that anchor institutions can play in supporting local housing needs. Community anchor institutions, such as educational entities (particularly higher education) and health care organizations can be powerful institutional resources to support equitable housing and community development. Throughout the nation, successful anchor institute-led housing interventions have been transformational in addressing community housing needs and community revitalization. These efforts have been most effective when equity goals are integrated into the design and implementation of anchor institute-led housing efforts.The following report provides select case studies with a strong social equity focus and comparability to Jacksonville. We identify lessons learned and summarize models which can be equally transformative in Jacksonville from these case studies. We also draw upon recent research and scholarship, and our own interviews with experts and practitioners. The goal of providing these lessons learned and model practices is to help inform, and potentially engage, various anchor institutes in Jacksonville -- organizations with resources that could help meet community housing needs and support equitable community development. This could help strengthen social, educational, economic and health outcomes for all of Jacksonville, including its most vulnerable residents

2015 Champion of Children: Boys of Color, Boys at Risk Report

This report documents the many challenges facing young boys of color, challenges that if left unaddressed, imperil their successful entry into adulthood and their ability to be flourishing, productive members of our community. In this report we also highlight what is essential for creating an environment where boys of color can thrive

The Future of Fair Housing and Fair Credit: From Crisis to Opportunity, Symposium: New Strategies in Fair Housing

The following paper provides an assessment of the current housing and credit crisis from a racial justice lens. The paper explores how race was interwoven into the current crisis and demonstrates the racialized impacts of the housing and credit crisis. We also explore some of the current challenges facing fair housing in our society, presenting concepts and models of reform to promote true integration with opportunity. We close with a new paradigm for addressing fair housing in the future and utilizing the opportunities presented by this crisis to produce a fair housing opportunity and a just society for all

Inclusive and Equitable Neighborhood Revitalization on Columbus's Southside: A University and Community Partnership to Ensure Diversity and Inclusion in the Neighborhood's Renaissance

IMPACT. 1: In our first year, we engaged with over 400 Southside residents--from High School students to young mothers-- in order to identify and map assets within the community. Many of the assets that we gathered were places, people, and institutions that were able to draw the community together to build upon their shared resources. Here, we present the findings.OSU PARTNERS: The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & EthnicityCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Community Development for All People -Reverend John Edgar, Pastor & Executive Director -David Cofer, Managing DirePRIMARY CONTACT: Jason Reece ([email protected]); Jillian Olinger ([email protected]); Kip Holley kipholley ([email protected])The energy building on the Southside is palpable. Already, more than $20 million in housing redevelopment alone has occurred in the neighborhood. Investments in health, safety, and education have also occurred. With all of the redevelopment activity on the Southside, Kirwan and our partners began to ask some key questions: How can we ensure that everyone in the community benefits from these renewed investments? How can we do redevelopment in a way that bridges people from different walks of life together? And how can our organizations help in that effort? Our broad goal through all of this work is to support the creation of an opportunity-rich and diverse community in the Southside. Through the Office of Outreach and Engagement, the Kirwan Institute and Community Development for All People received a 2-year grant to look deeper at those questions through a series of activities centered around inclusive community planning and engagement. These activities include asset mapping, developing and leveraging existing "third places", and developing programming around food, children, and housing

Black bears (Ursus americanus) as a novel potential predator of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a California wind energy facility

Black bears (Ursus americanus) and Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) rarely interact due to substantial differences in their preferred habitats. In this paper we report a mother and cub black bear investigating an occupied tortoise burrow in a wind energy generation facility in the San Bernardino Mountains northwest of Palm Springs, California. While predation was not observed, bears are known to eat various turtle species around the world on an opportunistic basis. Given the proclivity of black bears to adopt specialized dietary opportunities on a learned, individual basis, the potential exists for predation on desert tortoises. Since black bears were not native to southern California prior to 1933, tortoises would have little experience avoiding black bear predation if it occurred. We review the literature on bears eating turtles worldwide and discuss an example of another novel mammalian carnivore negatively affecting a population of desert tortoises

Equity: The Silent “E” in Sustainability: Social Justice and Smart Growth Must Work Together for a Sustainable Future

Though social equity is a critical part of sustainable development, local municipalities often focus more on environmental protection and economic prosperity than on equity when making land use decisions. The authors of this article examine land use decisions in Richland County, South Carolina that appeared to address growth pressures without taking equity issues into account. The authors also present a conceptual framework for addressing the tension between the three fundamental principles, and then conclude by discussing ways to apply this framework to help bridge the gap between smart growth and social equity

Structural Racism in the United States: A Report to the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the occasion of its review of the Periodic Report of the United States of America

As a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), 1 the United States is under an obligation to condemn and pursue a policy of eliminating racial discrimination, in all its forms (art. 2, ¶1). The U.S. has not taken seriously the duty under Article 2 of CERD to affirmatively address racial discrimination. Instead, the U.S. has rationalized racial discriminatory effects as not covered by U.S. law. Sometimes these effects are caused by explicit government polices. At other times they are caused by private actors. Frequently, it is a combination of both. The Convention defines racial discrimination (art. 1, ¶1) to mean distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences based on race which have “the purpose or effect” of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any field of public life. CERD’s definition of discrimination is unequivocal: effects and racially disparate outcomes caused by individual action or government practices or policies, singularly or collectively, are of primary concern. Contrary to CERD, U.S. law defines racial discrimination more narrowly in at least two critical respects. First, with few exceptions U.S. law narrowly defines cognizable racial discrimination by requiring evidence of intent to discriminate. Section II demonstrates that such a requirement is contrary to the framework of CERD and does not reflect the real-world operation of discriminatory behavior in contemporary American society

A CBPR Partnership Increases HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM): Outcome Findings From a Pilot Test of the CyBER/testing Internet Intervention

The Internet has emerged as an important tool for the delivery of health promotion and disease prevention interventions. Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership developed and piloted CyBER/testing, a culturally congruent intervention designed to promote HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) within existing Internet chat rooms. Using a quasi-experimental, single-group study design, cross-sectional data were collected from chat room participants, known as “chatters,” at pretest (n=346) and post-test (n=315). Extant profile data also were collected to describe the demographics of the online population. The intervention significantly increased self-reported HIV testing among chatters overall, increasing rates from 44.5% at pretest to nearly 60% at post-test (p<.001). Furthermore, chatters who reported having both male and female sexual partners had nearly 6 times the odds of reporting HIV testing at post-test. Findings suggest that chat room-based HIV testing intervention may increase testing among MSM who may be difficult to reach in traditional physical spaces