Another Broken Promise?: Possibilities and Perils of City-Based Racial Reparations

Background: There is increased attention to community-centered reparations as a means to address the destruction of Black neighborhoods during Urban Renewal, and the disproportionate displacement of communities of color as a result of gentrification. In 2016, the City of Portland became the first U.S. municipality to implement a housing Preference Policy designed to address historic displacement of many Black businesses and residents. The city provides rental housing opportunities to residents who were displaced in prior eras of urban development. The goals of this study are to understand the effects of the policy on resident’s wellbeing. Though this exact policy intervention has not yet been studied, existing research suggests that the effects of the Preference Policy may be mixed.

Methods: This paper presents findings from the second phase in a longitudinal, mixed-methods, cross-disciplinary study of the Preference Policy. Drawing on survey (N:157), interview (N:38), and focus group (N:6) data, this paper explores the effects of the N/NE Preference Policy on individual and community wellbeing.

Results: Through the construction and analysis of a typology of resident experience, we identify five distinct types of resident experience: Stable (residents who experience positive/improved wellbeing and are content in their housing), Stepping stone (residents who experience mixed wellbeing, and see their housing as a step towards more desirable housing), Struggling (residents who experience mixed wellbeing); Stuck (residents who experience negative well-being and wish they could move); and Insecure (residents who experience high levels of housing precarity). This typology provides insight into how and why different residents are experiencing the preference policy differently, and to areas of unmet needs among residents.

Analysis also illuminated crosscutting contributors and threats to wellbeing. The most significant contributors to resident’s wellbeing were 1) the value of living in a Black community, which supported and/or strengthened many residents' social ties and place attachments; 2) an improved economic situation; and 3) the value of living in a high-opportunity neighborhood. The most significant threats to wellbeing stemmed from 1) building environment concerns (i.e. building insecurity, interpersonal violence); 2) neighborhood environment concerns (i.e. safety risks, racism); and 3) economic concerns (i.e., lack of affordable amenities, ongoing financial precarity).

Conclusions and implications: Preference policies that recreate affordable housing access in gentrifying, historic communities of color can positively contribute to wellbeing. In particular, for Black residents with longstanding ties to the neighborhood, there is value to living in a Black community, and recreating that access can serve as an important form of community reparations.

However, policymakers and housing providers need to better understand--and design for--the range of resident experiences in affordable housing. For those who remain housing-insecure, the policy is not functioning as a meaningful form of reparation. Findings suggest the importance of considering preference policies as part of a holistic plan that includes an accountability framework. Findings are relevant to other municipalities considering housing Preference Policies as a form of community reparations, and to scholars concerned with policy interventions to ameliorate past racial harm.