Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)

Citation: Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)
Jurisdiction: Arlington (municipal)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57214/637641171662530000 ↗

Related Parts of This Source

Full Text

1,139 chars

Fair Housing in High-Cost Markets
At a regional level, several protected classes are more likely to have lower incomes than the general population,
including seniors, people with disabilities, foreign-born people, and people of color. When housing costs are
high, those high costs are borne disproportionately by those protected classes with lower incomes, despite the
structure of housing costs being neutral on its face. If those lower-income protected classes cannot afford the
available housing and must choose to live elsewhere, then housing costs have effectively limited fair housing
choice in a community.
Assessment: Arlington’s high housing costs are one mechanism for discrimination against certain protected classes.
In order to ensure fair housing choice, Arlington must therefore ensure there is a reasonable supply of housing
that is affordable and accessible to those protected classes. This is especially true in high-cost markets such as the
greater Boston region. Impediments to fair housing choice can include inadequate investment in affordable
housing, as well as regulatory regimes that increase the cost of housing.