Arlington has joined a national initiative to help small and midsize cities address equity and opportunity in housing.
The Housing Solutions Lab, based at New York University, will help Arlington plan, develop, implement, monitor and evaluate housing policies as they relate to equity, according to a city press release.
While large coastal cities often receive the majority of policy attention for their housing challenges, the Housing Solutions Lab will focus on serving cities with populations under 500,000.
The opportunity to participate in the lab comes at a time when Arlington is studying how to make housing more equitable for all incomes, races and ethnicities, the city said.
Arlington recently convened a “Unity Council” that produced a report addressing equity in housing, health and wellness, education and workforce training and policing and criminal justice.
Citing data from the National Equity Atlas, the report showed that people of color in Arlington are more likely to be burdened by housing costs than white residents, meaning more than 30% of their income goes toward housing. Among homeowners, 27.9% of people of color are considered burdened, compared to 18.5% of white residents. And for renters, those numbers soar to 55.6% for people of color and 45.3% for white renters.
The 28-member “Unity Council” called for revising ordinances that limit the redevelopment of older neighborhoods, reducing barriers to renters and examining existing ordinances to eliminate obstacles that prevent the development of affordable neighborhoods.
By joining the Housing Solutions Lab, Arlington will share ideas with a peer network that includes Boulder, Colo.; Cleveland, Ohio; Jackson, Miss.; Oakland, Calif.; Pittsburgh, Pa. and Syracuse, N.Y.
The Housing Solutions Lab is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
