Can we discuss if Greenwich zoning policies are racist?
Connecticut is still struggling to talk about race and racism.
This could not have been clearer during the debate that ensued after New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker unapologetically asserted that “places like Greenwich and Woodbridge and New Canaan and other towns are using zoning to keep out communities of color ... in a way that is more creative” than in the past. The response from local and state officials to Elicker’s statements was swift and defensive, particularly from those in Greenwich, demanding proof of his claim.
Once again, the fear of being labeled racist served as a barrier to examining and changing policies informed by past and even present-day racism created intentionally and unintentionally. When people, especially those with institutional and positional power are unable to consider that racism might be a factor, progress and opportunity are sacrificed. Furthermore, racism becomes more deeply embedded.
Looking at data is often a telling exercise that reveals racial inequities, which may result from racism.
Seventy-three percent of Greenwich residents identify as white, according to the U.S. Census. However, the largest representation of people of color and foreign-born residents living in Greenwich is concentrated in Byram and Chickahominy, two communities in the southwest corner of the town. While 25 percent of the population in Greenwich are Asian, Black, and Latinx, a Greenwich United Way 2020 needs assessment shows these racial and ethnic groups represent approximately 43 percent and 47 percent the residents in Byram and Chickahominy, respectively. Residents in these two communities have an average household income of less than $140,000 annually, and 8-9 percent of residents live below the federal poverty line.
It is no surprise that housing costs are a burden for many in Greenwich, but the weight is greater for Black and Latinx residents. Data from Afford CT shows that about 60 percent of Black and Latinx residents are cost burdened or severely cost burdened because they spend more than 30 percent of their household income on housing and in some cases more than 50 percent. We know this kind of financial burden forces people to forego other necessities like food, clothing, transportation, and medical care.
These racial inequities are not produced overnight, nor do they happen by accident. It is designed over time by a collection of ideas and policies. Author Richard Rothstein reminds us in “The Color of Law” that racial zoning was just one tactic used by the U.S. government to segregate the country. By the early 1900s, local and federal officials pivoted from creating zoning ordinances explicitly designed to keep African Americans out in favor of those that created “middleclass neighborhoods with single-family homes that lower-income families of all races could not afford.” The result was the same, Black Americans were kept out. Racial zoning and redlining
When people, especially those with institutional and positional power are unable to consider that racism might be a factor, progress and opportunity are sacrificed. Furthermore, racism becomes more deeply embedded.
became a powerful combination for sustained segregation across the country. It is no surprise that redlining maps existed for several Connecticut towns, including Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien.
When elected leaders balked at Elicker’s statement and demanded an apology, I was unsurprised but disappointed by what I didn’t hear. No one said: “We recognize there is a long history of racist policymaking in the country, and we expect Greenwich is not exempt from that. Based on our new understanding of the pervasiveness of racism, we need to look at all of our ordinances on zoning and housing to see how they are creating and/or contributing to the racial inequities we are seeing in Greenwich.”
Being explicit about how racism is showing up in our institutions helps decision-makers develop and rethink policies, priorities, and culture through the lens of racial equity. At YWCA Greenwich and YWCAs across the country, we are interrogating our organizational cultures to shine a light on where racism exists to do the work to dismantle it. We know that anything that provides or denies access, safety, resources, and power based on race categories and produces and reproduces racebased inequities must be examined. Zoning and housing are two such domains in our community that we know deserve to be more critically examined through the lens of race and racism. Next Thursday at 7pm, YWCA Greenwich will bring together a panel of experts to explore zoning and housing as tools for past and present-day segregation, and to discuss the impact of the two on health outcomes.
The disparities we see in health, education, and quality of life outcomes between People of Color and Whites demand that everyone, and especially leaders, spend less time fearing the label of racist and more time being antiracist.