The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles

Given the trends presented in this report, it is clear that there is a serious risk to equality of opportunity in this great region. Inequality runs deep, and the diversity of peoples and economies in Lasanti presents a multifaceted and complicated portrait of inequality. If policymakers are interested in preparing the next generation of skilled workers to ensure a healthy and vibrant economy, they must insist that these patterns be changed.

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

Mindful of the potential of statistics to perpetuate myths and misunderstandings about Asian Americans, we are determined in this report to utilize data drawn from the 2000 U.S. Census to paint as accurately as possible a portrait of the often ignored and misrepresented Asian American community in Metro Boston. Our primary focus, consequently, is on description rather than on detailed analysis or even informed speculation.