Week Two: The Role of the Real Estate Industry

Welcome to Week Two of the RegionSmart/ULI Memphis 21-Day Equitable Development Challenge

Week Two: The Role of the Real Estate Industry

Complete 7 of the following tasks:

  1. Read How To Convince a White Realtor You’re Middle Class
  2. Learn what a “SunDown” city was and check to see if your city was one.
  3. Watch Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act that made it illegal to discriminate in housing. Gene Demby of NPR’s Code Switch explains why neighborhoods are still so segregated today. 6½ minute Video
  4. Watch Habitat for Humanity for Greater Memphis’ program: “The Racial History of American Housing” with Richard Rothstein author of The Color of Law. Watch the one hour program.
  5. Watch Segregated by Design. Examine the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. Under 18 minute video narrated by Richard Rothstein.
  6. Read COVID-19 Puts Structural Racism On Full Display — Will We Finally Do Something to Correct It? Next City gives action steps under the categories of Economic Development, housing and the Public Domain of how we can dismantle structural racism.
  7. Watch Real Estate & Equity, A two part program put on by the ULI Triangle District Council:
    1. Real Estate & Racial Equity Part I
    2. Real Estate & Racial Equity Part II
  8. Watch Long Island Divided a 40 minute investigative video looking into implicit bias in realty.
  9. Read Whose Streets? Black Streets Planners and urbanists, it’s time to reckon with the racism rampant in city building. Here are four actions to take.
  10. Read A Look at Housing, Inequality, and Racism in America, Forbes 2020
  11. Watch The Black Experience in Real Estate A forum hosted by The Schack Institute of NYU
  12. Read How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law
  13. Experts at Bankrate walk readers through What Homeowners Can Do About Low Appraisals and how the gap can be addressed.
  14. Set aside time to talk to someone about what you are discovering.

Extra Resources (These resources were a little long to recommend in a 21 day challenge but are very important and relevant to our industry.):

  1. Read Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (Available at Novel and online.)
  2. 8 Must Read Books on US Land Use and Housing Policy https://www.shareable.net/8-must-read-books-on-us-land-use-and-housing-policy/

Week Two Questions for Personal Reflection and Discussion Groups:

  • What did you learn about the real estate industry that was surprising? Changed your perspective? Was new information?
  • How have you seen these practices impact the real estate industry?
  • What do you think the impact of these past policies is at the neighborhood level and/or the City level?
  • How prevalent do you think the impact of some of these practices/policies are in our industry today?
  • What do you think it will take to change the impact? What you can you do as an industry professional? Or what can your company or organization do?