Abstract: In “Changing the Narrative and Playbook on Racially Concentrated Areas of Poverty”, authors Edward Goetz, Anthony Damiano, and Rashad Williams, challenge pervasive deficit-based narratives in public policy and research that posit low-income, racially concentrated areas, or Racially Concentrated Areas of Poverty (RECAPs) as the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development has termed them, as essentially deficient and requiring strategies that would disperse and transform their economic and racial composition. The authors examine traditional approaches to community development and identify the flaws inherent in so-called mobility strategies. They use the case…

People Serving People, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), Research in Action, and Hennepin County, are pursuing a pilot program to grow family stability by demonstrating sustainable alternatives to self-pay for families experiencing homelessness. We are further pursuing the goal to build family financial power and make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Families directly impacted by homelessness and self-pay know what is best for themselves, and we must center their experience, voices, and choices. As people impacted by system decisions, they should inform and influence them.

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We are again sharing a statement from CURA Director Ed Goetz on the murder of George Floyd at the top of this message. The fundamental issues of justice that Mr. Floyd’s murder surfaces for our community and for the entire nation dominate our conversations about what is next for CURA. 

Following that statement, we share a message about CURA’s work in a COVID-19 world.

Statement from the Director of CURA

Our community witnesses again the violence of police brutality ending in the death of a Black man. It is well past the time for people in power, those who can impose…

CURA Senior Research Associate Dr. Brittany Lewis is a 2020 Bush Fellow. She is one of 24 Fellows and will be given up to $100,000 over 12 to 24 months to pursue formal and informal learning experiences. Dr. Lewis will use her Fellowship to help elected leaders, government officials and community members better understand how to use data as a tool for positive change. Specifically, she will seek coaching skills and study new ways to use data visualization to demystify complex ideas. Also, Dr. Lewis was recently honored with the “History Makers at Home Award” by the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department and named one of the “Top 100+ Leading Black Women” by the Minnesota Black…

In the past 20 years, after decades of disinvestment and decline, central cities have seen a reversal of fortune and are experiencing rapid growth, particularly in the urban core. Many large cities are now struggling with housing shortages and affordability problems. There is vigorous debate amongst policy makers, scholars, and activists about the role that new market-rate apartments play in alleviating housing affordability issues. Prior research suggests that new market-rate construction may result in more affordable housing in the long-run, but much less is known about how this type of new…