Dallas Housing Policy 2033

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In 2022 the City of Dallas, Texas asked John Gilvar, Christine Campbell, and Michele Williams to help it develop a radically new affordable housing policy framework.  The City wanted the new policy to acknowledge that increasing racial equity is integral to improving affordability for the entire community.  The resulting new framework, known as Dallas Housing Policy 2033, was adopted by the Dallas City Council on April 12, 2023. 

John, Christine, and Michele created a joint venture, Community Equity Strategies, to take on this challenge.  In keeping with our shared belief that housing affordability is fundamentally about choice, we grounded our extensive community engagement and City Council discussions in a commitment to the following objective: ALL Dallas residents, regardless of race, will be able to choose to live in safe, quality housing in a neighborhood with access to high-paying jobs, freedom from airborne toxins, healthy food, health care, protection from flooding, street lighting, and proximity to family, friends, faith, culture, and other community connections tied to wellbeing. 

Dallas Housing Policy 2033 builds on our 2021 racial equity assessment of Dallas’s old housing policy framework and our 11 recommendations for policy change that the City Council formally adopted in the Spring of 2022.  The new policy centers 7 Pillars of Racial Equity and outlines a robust and authentic community engagement process that will be critical to the policy’s ultimate success in achieving our objective. 

Dallas Housing Policy 2033

Other Articles

City of Dallas Equity Assessment of Affordable Housing Policies

Along with colleagues Christine Campbell and Michele Williams, John conducted a racial equity assessment of the City of Dallas’s affordable housing policies.  The assessment relied on extensive community input and culminated in a presentation of 11 recommendations for change to the Dallas City Council.  The findings and recommendations are summarized in this final report.  Recommendations start on page 8, following the executive summary.

Medical Respite Services Panel Discussion

John Gilvar moderates a panel discussion on Medical Respite Care at the 2020 Washington Conference on Ending Homelessness.  He’s joined by Edward Thomas House Medical Respite Medical Director Dr. Leslie Enzian, Washington Health Care Authority Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charissa Fotinos, Ben Miksch of United Health Care.

Reflections on Leading for Racial Equity

Data unmistakably link race with poor health and housing outcomes, and leaders within public health agencies, community health care organizations, and housing and homeless services entities have attempted to develop new strategies to produce more equitable outcomes. In seeking deep and lasting impact, however, these leaders encounter barriers stemming from the persistent influence of unconscious bias and white supremacy that pervades our culture. For instance, researchers found that the most commonly used assessment tool for prioritizing access to scarce housing units for people experiencing homelessness results in statistically significant discrepancies in scores that favor whites over people of color. Genuine dialogue around these issues, which includes both clients and staff of color as well as managers at all levels, regardless of their racial identity, is needed.