The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles

CRP's LASANTI Project explores many dimensions of social and economic change and inequality across the huge bi-national urbanized complex, stretching from the northern Los Angeles suburbs down through San Diego to the Tijuana metropolitan area.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

The nation’s largest low income housing production program, the awkwardly named Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), is providing billions of dollars for building homes across the country. It has been the only significant source of funds for building housing for poor families since the l980s. Yet few people know of its existence, fewer understand its complex mechanisms, and there has been virtually no information to answer critical questions about it. What we do know is that LIHTC is a costly program producing much needed affordable housing in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, where millions of people cannot afford to pay the cost of adequate housing. Who is it helping? Is it giving the children in these homes a better chance in life? Is it serving all groups in our society fairly? Is it opening up housing across the region’s color lines or is it investing in segregation? These are vital questions to ask, especially now with the collapse of the housing market and the financing freeze stalling new projects. Broadly speaking, is the public investment paying off for those it is supposed to help?

Foreward by Gary Orfield

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

If desegregation plans were still in effect we would expect that as the share of whites in a state declined, white students would tend to be in schools that, on average, had an increased share of black students. In several states, however, even though the percentage of white students has declined significantly, the level of white contact with blacks actually fell.

Also avaialble at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

Racial discrimination is an ongoing reality in the lives of African Americans and Hispanics in Metro Boston. Although the region has experienced significant growth in racial and ethnic diversity over the past several decades, racial minority groups continue to struggle for full acceptance and equal opportunity. African Americans and Hispanics report persistent discrimination in the workplace, in seeking housing, and in their day-to-day encounters with other metro area residents.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

If we truly desire to keep integration on the upswing and to hasten segregation’s descent, we must continue to effectively harness and improve the resources and tools at our disposal—including social science research.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, three of the most important socioeconomic and demographic factors contributing to the decline in residential segregation were the suburbanization of people and jobs, the economic prosperity of the 1990s, and the surge in the number of multiethnic metropolitan areas. These trends started slowly in the 1960s and 1970s, gained momentum in the 1980s, and surpassed most expectations in the 1990s (Frey & Farley 1996; Glaeser & Vigdor 2002; U.S. Bureau of the Census 2003). Still, residential segregation is demonstrably complex and resistant to change. Many cities surely will remain highly segregated (and, in the case of a select few, hypersegregated) for decades to come. Despite the progress that has been made to date, residential segregation remains one of the most vexing social and policy problems facing American society.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

The Metro Boston Equity Initiative is devoted to analyzing race relations and racial equity issues not simply in the city of Boston, but across the entire metropolitan region. Although greater Boston still has a large white majority and suburban sectors with very little diversity, immigration of Latinos and Asians is driving the region’s growth, and much of this population increase is taking place well outside of the city limits. Changing patterns of school enrollment provide a good sense of the region’s near-term future.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

People of color make up a vital and growing part of Metro Boston’s workforce. They face substantial challenges, however, in obtaining employment (especially in faster-growing and higher-paying sectors), in accessing locations of rapid job growth, and in earning a livable income. Latinos and blacks face the greatest hurdles, yet certain Asian populations struggle as well—especially those with less education and those working in the shrinking manufacturing sector or low-paying service jobs. Previous work by the Metro Boston Equity Initiative of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University has examined the related challenges of segregated housing patterns and unequal educational opportunities faced by racial and ethnic minorities in Metro Boston.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

Boston’s disastrous failure to achieve peaceful desegregation of its schools three decades ago, particularly the mob violence at South Boston High School, and the transition of the Boston schools to overwhelmingly white enrollment, are commonly seen as areas why the region need not think about patterns of school segregation--nothing can be done about it. This thinking ignores the better experiences of many other cities and also the METCO program that is intact and still in high demand.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

The findings of this paper underline the need for “modernization” of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which now applies only to banks and covers only lending in areas where the banks have branches. In the Boston NECTA during the 2000-2002 period, 70% of home-purchase lending was done by out-of-state banks or by mortgage companies not affiliated with Massachusetts banks. These lenders, not covered by CRA, perform significantly worse than covered lenders in lending to borrowers and neighborhoods of color. Pending Massachusetts legislation would bring the state’s CRA into line with the transformed nature of the mortgage lending industry by imposing CRA-type obligations and evaluations on all types of mortgage lenders. This could make a significant contribution to reducing the current racial/ethnic disparities in mortgage lending that are documented in this paper.

Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

Few people argue that segregation is purely a result of market forces, or that it is due entirely to discrimination. Most recognize that the answer must lie somewhere in between. Policy efforts must focus on removing any remnants of discriminatory practices, and must also find ways to attract and retain populations of color in communities that are affordable to but devoid of households of color.

Also avaialble at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu