Poverty and Housing
In the Houston area, there are communities less than 15 miles apart from where higher their eventual income varies by $50,000. This inequality that exists now can be traced back through the region’s history. Years of discriminatory federal, state, and local policies focused on preserving racial segregation have impacted resident wealth, health, and well-being across generations and, by extension, entire neighborhoods (Understanding Houston, 2021). As a result, these communities frequently lack adequate access to healthcare, good foods, equitable transportation, and other basic needs.
The demand for urbanization in some of these underlined areas results in displacing those who settle therein. However, when the community, stakeholders, and government develop a community benefits agreement it offers a solution of availing equitable and sustainable housing (An et al., 2019). A Community Benefits Agreement is an agreement between a developer and society associations that represent the interests of the people of the region.
Proposed Community Benefits Agreement
Developing the regions housing will give the region a new face aimed at minimizing the effect of inequality due to racial segregation. The project is for erecting housing units and business centers to offer affordable housing solutions and a friendly business arena. The community will benefit from affordable housing and business places, creating job opportunities to the residents and mentoring and apprenticeship. The coalition will help the developer by coming up with suggestions that best suit the project and recruiting candidates for jobs.
Regardless, this project will present much benefit that retaining the current state of things for the sake of preserving a dark-sided history. Settling the surplus population with an affordable solution will not only be the success of the developers but also of the whole Houston community. The cultural heritage accumulated overtime will still be intact despite possibilities of biodiversity. Mutual benefits of the CBA will be visible in the first two years into the project.
References
An, B., Orlando, A. W., & Rodnyansky, S. (2019). The physical legacy of racism: How Redlining cemented the modern built environment. SSRN Electronic Journal, 37-39. Web.
Understanding Houston. (2021). Exploring the legacy of Redlining in Houston. Web.