ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor’s population is mostly white, and with high median incomes and housing prices to match, many who can afford to live here are doing pretty well financially.
But city leaders hope to move the needle on increasing diversity of the city’s residents in the coming years, creating more opportunity for people of color to live here. That’s now officially listed among the city’s strategic objectives.
At a City Council work session this past week, the city’s administration laid out a goal of increasing opportunities for all to live in Ann Arbor and, within the next two years, developing a formal plan to increase the diversity of city residents.
“We know we are a segregated community, we’re a segregated county,” said Derek Delacourt, Ann Arbor’s community services administrator.
“This is an opportunity to work with maybe the county and some outside agencies on exactly how and what we can do to increase the diversity in Ann Arbor to start, but in the region as a whole.”
While 12.3% of Washtenaw County’s 367,000-plus residents are Black, only 6.8% of Ann Arbor’s roughly 120,000 residents are Black, according to U.S. census figures.
Meanwhile, 28.2% of Ypsilanti’s population is Black and 32.5% of Ypsilanti Township’s population is Black.
Researchers map Ann Arbor’s racist history of housing discrimination
City Administrator Tom Crawford told council in December a potential target is to have Ann Arbor’s racial composition match that of the county as a whole.
“The city now is underrepresented compared to the county, primarily in the Black and Hispanic populations, and so that would be an outcome that we would try to do,” he said.
A U.S. census chart showing racial diversity in, from left, Ypsilanti Township, Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor.U.S. Census Bureau
There’s no targeted timeframe for meeting that objective because, while it’s something the city can influence, it’s not something it can control, Crawford said.
At the council meeting this past week, Delacourt suggested potentially budgeting $100,000 for outside professional services to help develop the plan to increase diversity of Ann Arbor residents, plus another $100,000 to facilitate a community conversation about single-family zoning, which some argue is linked to a history of racist housing discrimination.
City officials hope a broader community conversation can bring more understanding to the history of zoning policies and racial inequity, and how people of color historically had limited opportunities to purchase homes and build wealth, contributing to segregation still evident today.
History of racism discussed as Ann Arbor OKs single-family zoning for 26 properties
“These are important initiatives,” Mayor Christopher Taylor said. “Ann Arbor is becoming more segregated every single day. We need to understand the laws and practices that got us here and develop tools to make our community more equitable.”
The status quo only benefits a portion of the community and that’s not OK, Taylor said.
“Ann Arbor is for everyone,” he said.
Dozens of references to diversity, equity and inclusion were sprinkled throughout city staff’s budget presentation this past week. Crawford laid out strategic objectives that include making city government a model employer in regard to diversity, equity and inclusion and developing a strategic plan for that.
He also listed goals of having more diversity in types of businesses in the city and making sure diversity and equity are in mind when the city does community outreach.
Ultimately, it will be up to City Council to decide how much money to put behind diversity efforts.
Council will approve the 2021-22 budget in May.
Council Member Linh Song, D-2nd Ward, said she’s glad city staff is proposing a conversation about single-family zoning. She hopes it includes a broader conversation about options for more inclusive zoning, adding more diverse types of housing, more density, and welcoming more neighbors.
“I just don’t want to focus on just single-family housing, because a lot of neighborhoods are already mixed anyway,” she said of diversity of housing types in Ann Arbor.
“Like here in Ward 2, we’ve already got apartments, condos, Section 8, single-family housing, senior living. I think we just don’t really notice that we have an opportunity for density without having to fight for single-family housing only.”
Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, has expressed concerns it’s illegal to build anything but single-family homes in much of Ann Arbor. She said on the campaign trail last year she wants to change zoning codes to allow more diverse forms of housing throughout the city.
Defenders vs. disrupters: The debate over preserving neighborhood character in Ann Arbor
At a recent homeowners association meeting, some residents expressed worries, Song said.
“We have some residents here who were just saying why is there such a strong sentiment against single-family housing when we all live in single-family housing?” she said. “And I just said not everyone had the opportunity to buy in 1962, so we’re trying to plan for the future and meet current needs.”
Citing reports about socioeconomic segregation in Washtenaw County, Song said she sees a clear dividing line between the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas.
“That U.S. 23 line, that’s a barrier for jobs, for homes, and we just need to speak candidly about that,” she said.
“We should talk about racial and economic diversity to right the wrongs that we’ve had with zoning in the past, and then I think really just think more deeply about why our communities are the way they are now,” she added.
“Like, if we look around at our school populations, you’ll see it’s really skewed. There are some very white schools, more schools with kids of color, more schools with Black kids, and it isn’t by chance. There’s history to that.”
What’s good about Ann Arbor is there’s always been people fighting for a better experience for children, Song said.
“So, I hope in those discussions we can talk about, you know, Al Wheeler (Ann Arbor’s first Black mayor) and our local NAACP and the history of just trying to figure out how to desegregate schools, and how it took as long as into the ’80s,” she said. “There was a slow crawl to get to where we are now.”
More change is needed, she said, mentioning allowing more accessory apartments on single-family properties and building more affordable housing, which the city has a new dedicated millage to do, as ways to chip away at the problem.
“Renters are not a threat to single-family homeowners,” Song added.
Modern-day segregation: How vouchers keep the poor out of rich neighborhoods
Ann Arbor officials have talked about doing a comprehensive master plan update, taking a broad look at zoning throughout the city, but that initiative has been on hold. Officials are now proposing the community conversation about single-family zoning as a prelude to a master plan update.
“One of the things that became readily apparent as we tried to work through a contract for the master land-use plan was a really difficult conversation the community as a whole was having surrounding single-family zoning, and a lot of misconceptions and a lot of predeterminations of what the city should or shouldn’t do,” Delacourt said.
“We need to figure out a way to have that conversation, I think, to satisfy and take the edge out of everybody’s nerves when it comes to how the master land-use plan will look at single-family zoning as a land use,” he said. “And I think that starts with some common ground on the history of single-family zoning, what we think as staff regarding single-family zoning, and where it needs to go. We need to hear from our boards and commissions. We need to hear from neighborhood groups.”
The city wants to make sure everybody feels heard and provide some comfort that there is no desire to “drastically alter everything that happens here in the city of Ann Arbor through the master land-use plan,” Delacourt said.
A city master plan update needs to be on the table in the next couple of years, Delacourt said.
City staff proposes having it done by 2025, with a goal of allowing a “compact pattern of diverse development that maintains our unique sense of place, preserves our natural systems, and strengthens our neighborhoods, corridors and downtown.”
MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:
56-home luxury subdivision proposed in wooded area in northeast Ann Arbor
Finding people to fill 2 affordable housing units in Ann Arbor turns out to be a challenge
5 ways Washtenaw County could prevent segregation via housing voucher
Ann Arbor mulls ‘unlimited height’ development zones
New Ann Arbor apartments offer resort-style living, pool deck with views of Michigan Stadium
"want" - Google News
February 14, 2021 at 08:33PM
https://ift.tt/3d98MsR
Ann Arbor officials want to increase diversity of city’s mostly white population - MLive.com
"want" - Google News
https://ift.tt/31yeVa2
https://ift.tt/2YsHiXz
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Ann Arbor officials want to increase diversity of city’s mostly white population - MLive.com"
Post a Comment