New rules aim to combat subsidized housing divide

‘Important step’ gives local leaders tools to help out

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday unveiled new rules to combat segregation in federally subsidized housing, a piece of President Barack Obama’s effort to address the racial disparities he argues are helping fuel unrest in cities across the country.

The long-awaited regulations, which are to be detailed at a news conference in Chicago by Juliàn Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, are intended to enforce Civil Rights-era fair housing laws whose mandate to desegregate communities and foster integration has long been ignored. The completion of the rules was first reported by the Washington Post.

“Unfortunately, too many Americans find their dreams limited by where they come from, and a ZIP code should never determine a child’s future,” Castro said in a statement Wednesday. “This important step will give local leaders the tools they need to provide all Americans with access to safe, affordable housing in communities that are rich with opportunity.”

The rule will require that cities and localities look at their “fair housing landscape” and periodically submit a publicly available report that takes into account segregation, racially concentrated areas of poverty and disparities in opportunity. They will also be required to set goals for addressing those dynamics, which will be tracked by the government.

The release of the rule comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed a broad interpretation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, allowing suits under a legal theory that civil rights groups say is a crucial tool to fight housing discrimination.

It also coincides with a broader effort by Obama to push forward on an array of domestic policy initiatives that he says are necessary to confront the root causes of the racially charged violence that has erupted over the past year in cities like Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore.