A guiding principle of the housing justice movement is that everyone should have agency over where and how they live. Yet the ability to meaningfully exercise that choice—and to benefit from it—is limited by a long and pervasive history of discrimination and segregation in the US.

Practices like redlining and race-restrictive covenants, and the wholesale exclusion of African Americans from New Deal–era benefits, has shaped and constrained housing choice. These policies have carried radical implications for households of color, limiting wealth accumulation by devaluing properties in Black neighborhoods and curtailing other forms of investment that could support asset-building, such as small business lending. The history of structural racism in housing has also contributed to racial inequities in other policy areas, such as education, that compound the wealth disparities we see today.

Programs aimed at opportunity and wealth-building are helping to advance housing justice. The impact of these programs can be amplified by employing a reparative approach that prioritizes communities of color who have been most harmed by historic and present inequities. By focusing on asset-building and strengthening equitable investment, renters and homeowners alike can reap the rewards of improved community well-being and a deeper sense of empowerment through housing choice and self-determination.

This section profiles four interventions: mobility assistance programs, rent reporting, reparations, and fair and equitable appraisals. When implemented with an eye toward housing justice, these strategies can build household wealth and long-term economic opportunity.

Next intervention: Mobility Assistance Programs