Settegast, a neighborhood in Northeast Houston, is home to a resilient and tight-knit community that has mobilized in response to decades of discriminatory practices and under-resourcing. As a result of systematic neglect, Settegast residents face challenges such as displacement, gentrification, and most notably, poorer health outcomes, including the lowest life expectancy rate in Harris County. To find solutions, ULI Houston partnered with Harris County Public Health, the Houston Land Bank, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and convened community residents and real estate leaders to build trust and chart a more equitable future for the neighborhood.
Over the past 18 months, ULI Toronto and partners forged an understanding of the trends, pressures, and challenges experienced by Toronto’s Black population to shine a light on how history is shaping the present. The team documented Black displacement and Black settlement patterns in the Toronto area, focusing on the Mount Dennis neighborhood, which has faced disinvestment. The perspectives and priorities of Mount Dennis residents were gathered to inform development priorities and future projects.
Sites in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, are home to a painful and complicated history that many neighborhoods in rapidly growing regions are familiar with. To combat the region’s history of racially biased land use and transportation decisions, ULI Northwest joined forces with local leaders to reimagine two sites: one in Tukwila, near Seattle, and the other on the edge of Portland, Oregon.
As a result of discrimination, indigenous populations in British Columbia are facing inequitable access to stable housing. Barriers to housing have led to displacement and a lack of housing opportunities for these groups. To find solutions, ULI British Columbia collaborated with Indigenous businesses, including contractors and developers, to create more housing for Indigenous people. Additionally, ULI British Columbia developed a Health Equity Resource Hub to share tools and best practices and encourage thought leadership and innovation for Indigenous partnerships in housing.
In St. Louis, a pressing home repair crisis is disproportionately affecting Black homeowners who struggle to afford the upkeep of their homes. This issue is deeply rooted in a legacy of racial injustice, including redlining and restrictive covenants. To find solutions, ULI St. Louis collaborated with local organizations to develop strategies aimed at establishing a Home Repair Network, which will create a new centralized umbrella organization to address the city’s home repair dilemma.
There is a 90 percent chance that a home will be destroyed if an ember ignites on the building during a wildfire, according to post-fire investigations conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). IBHS leaders demonstrated how resilient building materials and landscape methods can avert damage, during a live fire demonstration during a ULI webinar hosted for 10 district councils in June.
