Five ways to ensure that rental assistance reaches communities of color with high levels of need.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Black, Latino, and Native American renters faced disproportionately high rent burdens and housing instability. The pandemic has magnified these disparities as workers of color disproportionately work in the industries and occupations that saw the greatest job losses, and communities of color experienced the highest COVID hospitalization rates. While the recently passed coronavirus relief packages promise to provide critical help to many struggling renters, program administrators will need to make explicit efforts to ensure that this assistance reaches communities of color with high levels of need. Without such efforts, some groups will fall through the cracks as some tenants never get any information about the program, have uncooperative landlords, are hesitant to start or unable to complete complicated applications, or cannot provide the full set of required documentation. Take-up of social programs often falls short of need, and this is especially true for vulnerable groups. Emergency rental assistance is no exception.
Yet as a field, we pay far less attention to take-up and its equity implications than we should.
Drawing on both a survey of 220 “first-generation” COVID emergency rental assistance programs (about one-third of the roughly 530 local programs and 90 state or regional programs funded via the CARES Act and other sources), and interviews with selected program administrators, the NYU Furman Center, the Housing Initiative at Penn, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition—where we work— recently released a report outlining steps that localities can take to advance racial equity in their programs. Here we highlight five of those key lessons.
Prioritize Vulnerable Groups in Program Guidelines
One key step that programs can take to advance racial equity is to set selection criteria to prioritize vulnerable populations for assistance. Such priorities can help ensure that ...
FULL STORY: Improving Racial Equity via Emergency Rental Assistance

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

DOT Memo Directs Transportation Funding to Communities With Higher Marriage and Birth Rates, Compliance with Immigration Officials and No Mask Mandates
The memo ties immigration enforcement to federal funding and prohibits mask or vaccine mandates.

Housing Measure Wins in Seattle Special Election
Voters approved a new tax that could bring in $50 million per year for social housing.

Resilient Communities, Healthy Ecosystems: A Balanced Approach to Wildfires
Effective wildfire mitigation in California requires a holistic approach that goes beyond large-scale vegetation removal, emphasizing home hardening, defensible space, strategic planning, and reducing human-caused ignitions.

St. Petersburg’s Bike Infrastructure Efforts Pay Off
New bike infrastructure is encouraging more people to take to the streets on two wheels, but advocates say safety challenges remain.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Bakersfield
Standridge Inc.
City of Brookings
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service