Equity, Access and Urban Development

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When Minneapolis’s City Council took the dramatic step of banning single family zoning in 2020 to address long-standing issues of inequity in home ownership, which were driven by years of systemic racism and inequality (McCormick, 2020), we started thinking about how similar problems were evident in our own backyard. As Raleigh’s urban development and population growth skyrockets, the question of who benefits from this development is a consistent and troubling one to raise. In the last local election cycle, one of the most consistent campaign topics was on affordable housing, yet, looking out our window, few of these promises seem to be put into action. This map is part of an ongoing research project initiated by Associate Professors Sara Queen (Architecture) and Tania Allen (Art + Design) that looks at the social, political, economic and historical implications of urban development, and how policies and practices of urban design can foster more equitable and accessible practices.  

 

Works cited:

McCormick, K. Rezoning History: Influential Minneapolis Policy Shift Links Affordability, Equity. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. January 16, 2020.