How climate change impacts minority communities

Though outlawed by the Fair Housing Act in 1968, the racist housing practice of redlining perpetuated a wealth gap for Black people and contributed to an intentional disinvestment in minority communities. The effects are still being felt today, says Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president at the National Fair Housing Alliance, as some of these communities become particularly vulnerable to climate-related risk.

“[Climate change] is falling on communities that were already historically burdened by negative environmental impacts because our nation’s public policies relegated families of color to neighborhoods that were more toxic than the neighborhoods that white communities were allowed to live in,” she said. “So we see that climate impacts are now developing, and they are having a disproportionate impact on communities of color.”

As temperatures rise, wildfires erupt and flooding events become more frequent, the burden on historically marginalized communities increases.

Bailey and NFHA are hopeful the Department of Housing and Urban Development passes the final iteration of its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule to mitigate some of the ramifications of prior community disinvestment and redlining.

“We’ve been pushing for the release of HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing final rule, so that there could be the stick in place for insurance funds like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act being administered in a way that actually prioritizes the replacement, rebuilding and strengthening of infrastructure that serves communities of color,” Bailey noted.

In an interview with National Mortgage News, Bailey shares her thoughts on how redlining has contributed to minorities being more susceptible to the negative effects of climate change and how initiatives by the federal government can have a big impact.

This interview has been edited and condensed.