The Fair Housing Battleground Returns to Texas

All eyes are on Texas to see whether fair housing policies enacted by the Obama Administration will have any chance to stick.

2 minute read

February 4, 2017, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent a letter to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner declaring that a city decision to table a mixed-income housing project in a wealthy neighborhood violates civil rights," reports Janine White.

Not only did HUD find that opposition to the development, located in the Galleria area of the city, "was motivated either in whole or in part by the race, color or national origin of the likely tenants," the federal agency also found that the decision reflects a common trend in the city. That is, "the way the city handles approvals of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit applications is 'influenced by racially motivated opposition to affordable housing and perpetuate[s] segregation.'"

Houston Public Media (HPM) reported on the controversy over the Galleria project earlier in January, noting that Mayor Sylvester Turner argued that the project was too expensive in a statement releases in response to the HUD letter. The HPM article includes both HUD's letter and Mayor Turner's response in full.

To add context to the debate about fair housing practices in Houston, Leah Binkovitz recently published an article for The Urban Edge that talks about the looming challenges to fair housing in Texas—with a new administration in power at HUD and examples like Houston's as evidence. According to Binkovitz, "a new report from the advocacy group Texas Low Income Housing Information Service shows that recent changes at the state level to better comply with federal fair housing standards were effective in locating new developments in less racially segregated, poor neighborhoods." At risk with the new regime in Washington, D.C. is progress, as evidenced by the Houston case study, on the controversial issue of fair housing.

Much of the fair housing actions of the Obama Administration's eight years and office have some connection to Texas, due to the Supreme Court ruling on the issue of disparate impact in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. That decision was followed closely by HUD's announcement of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.


Monday, January 30, 2017 in Next City

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Line of RVs being used as homes parked on street in Mountain View, California.

Seattle Safe Parking Site to Close, Relocate

A nonprofit leases lots during permitting stages to erect tiny homes and RV safe parking sites for unhoused residents. But the model means constant uncertainty and displacement.

7 hours ago - The Seattle Times

Orange Los Angeles Metro bus passing on blurred street at night.

LA ‘Mobility Wallet’ Increased Quality of Life for Participants

The city distributed a monthly $150 transportation subsidy to 1,000 low-income Angelenos. It dramatically improved their lives.

May 25 - KTLA

White Shinkansen high-speed rail train passing on bridge over pond in Japan.

Texas, California Rail Projects Seek Out Private Funding

In the wake of Trump’s cuts to high-speed rail projects, rail authorities are looking to private-public partnerships to supplement their budgets.

May 25 - Smart Cities Dive