Impediments to Fair Housing Study
City of Lorain, OH
Economic Strategy
Lorain, Ohio is a small city positioned along the edge of Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo. As an entitlement community under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the City of Lorain is eligible to receive CDBG funds to assist in furthering HUD’s national objectives.
As part of meeting eligibility requirements to receive CDBG funding, HUD entitlement communities must assess the extent to which Fair Housing is furthered and/or impeded in the community. According to HUD, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, or disability.
Our Approach
The goal of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing is to enable the city to understand the status of Fair Housing in its jurisdiction, and to identify action steps which can be taken to affirmatively further fair housing.
The Results
Our work identified impediments to fair housing that include public transportation and mobility, zoning and land usage, environmental health, fair housing awareness and enforcement, limited city staff capacity, and public resistance to development of supportive housing and transit projects.
Our findings include a background section with data analysis to help to illuminate the status of fair housing in the city; an assessment of fair housing impediments and actions since the last Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing report; and recommendations and action steps to further fair housing in the city of Lorain.
Location
Lorain, OH