Access to affordable, stable, and high-quality housing improves the well-being of individuals and communities and positively affects overall health, educational outcomes, economic mobility, and longevity. Because of historic and ongoing inequities, Black, Latinx, and Hispanic renters and owners face acute barriers that limit their access to such housing.

Renters of color face ongoing discrimination and exclusion in rental markets and are more likely to experience high rental cost burdens and housing instability. Moreover, the lack of affordable supply and limited on-ramps to homeownership further exacerbate racial homeownership and wealth gaps. The combination of supply shortages, affordability pressures, and increasing natural hazards because of climate change exacerbate these inequities and further drive disparities.

Supported by a grant from JPMorgan Chase, the Urban Institute is the initiative manager of the firm’s Housing Innovation Program. Urban is collaborating with JPMorgan Chase to identify, test, and scale housing innovations to address the ongoing housing crisis and advance stability and affordability for Black, Latinx, Hispanic, and other households of color.

Through housing innovation grants, the initiative aims to catalyze models that mitigate structural inequities in the housing market and ensure that households of color can access, secure, and maintain safe and affordable homes connected to economic opportunities in thriving neighborhoods. Urban Institute experts

• provide evidence to inform the scope of the Housing Innovation Program;
• support grantees to achieve their goals, measure their impact, and learn from one another;
• elevate lessons learned from the grantees for policymakers and practitioners; and
• conduct aligned research to inform the broader field and equip policymakers to address the ongoing housing crisis for households of color.