A new one-pager from the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) explores how to bring a racial equity lens to the issues raised in the D.C. Policy Center’s recent report, “Taking Stock of the District’s Housing Market: Capacity, Affordability and Pressures on Family Housing”:
The study by the D.C. Policy Center suggests that some families will need to shift their preference to smaller housing units and that education on the benefits of density may be helpful in influencing preferences and behavior. However, preference for smaller units may not be a choice that families of color can make, if for social and economic reasons these families are structured in different ways, necessitating larger units. A racial equity analysis assumes that race is operating to inform every aspect of our society and accounts for it. In this case, disaggregating data by race and involving those with lived experience in the study design and analysis could produce richer insights and recommendations that advance racial equity. We have partnered with the D.C. Policy Center to explore these questions.