Black Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities Part 1: Challenges and Opportunities

Tuesday, August 4, 2020 12:00 pm ET | Register Now

Twenty years ago, most older American cities had many predominantly African-American ‘middle neighborhoods’—solid working- and middle-class, mostly single family, owner-occupied neighborhoods. Since then, large numbers of these neighborhoods have been hit hard by subprime lending and foreclosures, suburban flight, and the effects of the ‘segregation tax’ created by a racially segmented housing market. The session will explore the history of the Black middle neighborhood in America’s legacy cities, the forces impeding their success, and the implications of their unequal recovery on the wealth of Black households and the health of cities.

Presenters: Nedra Sims Fears - Executive Director of Greater Chatham Initiative, Chicago, IL; Alan Mallach - Senior Fellow at the Center for Community Progress, Washington, D.C.