Brief Federal Tools to Create Places of Opportunity for All
Margery Austin Turner, Xavier de Souza Briggs, Ashleigh Gardere, Solomon Greene
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The Opportunity for All series offers bold ideas for federal action to reverse the legacy of segregation and disinvestment in communities of color and ensure that every family can live in a neighborhood that supports their well-being and their children’s ability to thrive. But progress on these and other promising ideas could inadvertently be undermined by other federal policy choices that fail to consider place, race, and access to opportunity. Therefore, this essay advances three overarching tools to expand access to opportunity through federal policies and investments while leveraging local and state innovation: 1) vigorously enforce the long-neglected statutory mandate to affirmatively further fair housing; 2) implement a place-conscious equity review process for all major discretionary spending and new federal policies; and 3) launch a “race-to-the-top” competition that rewards the boldest regional and state equitable development strategies.

Research Areas Crime, justice, and safety Wealth and financial well-being Neighborhoods, cities, and metros Race and equity Housing
Tags Federal urban policies Racial segregation Multifamily housing Housing affordability Wealth inequality Mobility Racial barriers to housing Racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice
Policy Centers Research to Action Lab