Evolving Toward Inclusive Cities: A Series from Caddis Collaborative
Post #1: The Air We Breathe Isn’t “Natural”
American cities have an inclusion and equity problem. While many of us may not stop to think about it every day, housing and amenities (such as shopping and other services) are segregated by race and class. Though it can feel like the world we live is simply the air that we breathe, exclusionary housing and zoning policies aren’t “natural” (as we assume they might be).
The way we live in our cities is actually no accident. There is a well-known, well-documented history of explicitly racist and classist policies that formed our cities through lending and zoning practices. Exclusionary cities and neighborhoods were created by people, organized as government and business, and implemented through policies and practices such as redlining, single-family zoning, and race-restrictive neighborhood covenants.
Richard Rothstein’s 2017 book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, provides an especially useful examination of these exclusionary housing policies. (NPR’s Fresh Air interview with Rothstein is a great way to get a taste of the book.)
Rothstein shows that it was not just de facto segregation (e.g., private practices of real estate developers) but also, very importantly, de jure segregation (i.e., public policies and practices) that forced private individuals, such as those same real estate developers, to segregate neighborhoods and communities. Even supposedly liberal presidents such as FDR promoted these racist policies. Rothstein calls it a “state-sponsored system of segregation.”
This blog series from Caddis Collaborative argues that people made these exclusionary policies – and that people can work together to change these policies. Explore with us ways we can make the needed changes to create inclusive, complete communities.
More from Our Series on Evolving Toward Inclusive Cities
Want to learn more about how the United States might evolve toward more inclusive cities? Join Caddis Collaborative as we explore these issues. Learning about these issues is one step toward a cure. Check out our other posts in this series:
For a list of additional resources, check out the links included at the end of Post #5: American Cities Can Learn and Evolve
