Asheville and Durham leaders take decisive action to confront and eliminate the damage of systemic race bias while Raleigh leaders have yet to offer more than token gestures. On July 14, 2020, the Asheville City Council marked an historic moment by holding a unanimous...
Some people wouldn’t know what equity looked like if it walked up to them and slapped the mask off their face. Equity is not a word we just toss around in the air because it sounds good. Equity is about ensuring fairness in programming, local policies and outcomes.
A comparison of Durham’s successful $95M Affordable Housing Bond in 2019 with Raleigh’s proposed 2020 Bond reveals stark differences: Unlike Durham’s precise commitments, Raleigh’s bond lacks details required for accountability and for judging if the spending will address Raleigh’s most pressing needs.
The bond proposal is full of holes where the details should be. Still, we haven’t given up hope that we can persuade Council to focus on the real needs and fight gentrification in our historic African-American communities.
Raleigh’s affordable housing bond survey lacks important sampling methods and validation techniques required to produce an unbiased picture of public sentiment. Intentionally or not, the survey ignores low-wealth residents and confuses the public’s true feelings about the affordable housing bond.
At the May 5 City Council meeting, Raleigh resident Wanda Hunter asked Council to replace the flawed affordable housing bond process with one that is inclusive and equitable, and that authentically engages all of our community.
Moonshots are easier when Raleigh’s economy is humming and surpluses can be diverted to social benefits. The true test of the new Council’s commitment to bold, revolutionary and transformative change is at hand now, at this time of recessionary crisis and opportunity.
Sports Stadia and Affordable Housing... ... both share the feature of a taxpayer subsidy. Subsidies from public revenues are needed when a project is not feasible in a 'free market,' i.e. it will not generate income exceeding its costs --- otherwise private capital...