The purpose of the changes to the Unified Housing Policy (UHP) is to focus the UHP to better align with City goals of ending racial disparities in housing, expanding housing choice and opportunity in all areas of the City, and preventing the involuntary displacement of Minneapolis residents.

The Amendments to the Unified Housing Policy will impact housing projects citywide. According to the 2017 – 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the racial demographics of Minneapolis is 18.2% Black, 1% American Indian, 5.6% Asian, 9.8% Hispanic or Latino, 4.7% Two or more races alone, and 60.1% white.

Racial disparities in housing can be measured across data in homeownership, housing cost-burden, homelessness, and are experienced through the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Minneapolis, BIPOC households are more likely to be renters compared to white households. According to the 2012 – 2016 ACS 5-Year Estimates, in Minneapolis about 20% of Black, 20% of American Indian, 25% of Latino, and 34% of Asian households owned their home, whereas 58% of white households owned the home they occupied.

Housing affordability continues to be a growing issue that Minneapolis residents face. Housing costs have risen relative to incomes for renters in Minneapolis, but not for homeowners. The rising cost of rental housing is disproportionately impacting households of color who are paying a large percentage of their income on housing costs. According to the 2015 – 2019 ACS 5-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample, at least 50% of Black and American Indian households, 45% of Hispanic or Latino households, and 38% of Asian households are housing cost burdened, whereas only 28% of white households are housing cost burdened.

Evictions also disproportionately affect BIPOC households compared to white households. While court filings do not collect racially disaggregated data of tenants, according to a 2016 Minneapolis Innovation Team’s report, Evictions in Minneapolis, of the sample of the 174 cases that were reviewed, 93% of the stated reason for eviction filings was because of nonpayment of rent. When looking at the geographic distribution of eviction filings, and for cases that reached judgements, a disproportionate number of filings and judgements occurred in neighborhoods that are racially concentrated areas of poverty – which includes north Minneapolis and areas south of Downtown in the Phillips and Powderhorn Communities.

Data shows that African Americans and American Indians are disproportionately affected by homelessness. According to the 2018 Minnesota Homeless Study by Wilder Research, in Hennepin County 49% of adults (age 18 or older) experiencing homelessness are African American, and 15% are American Indian, compared to being only 9% and 1% of the 7-county metro population of adults, respectively. This is compared to 23% of adults experiencing homelessness are white, compared to being 76% of the county metro population of adults. Similar racial disparities exist for unaccompanied youth aged 24 or younger.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated the racial disparities and housing instability experienced by BIPOC households. The City of Minneapolis established a gap fund for housing programs in April 2020 to respond to the immediate needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program established the Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) program and the expansion of the Stable Homes Stable Schools program. Of the 1,127 approved applications for the ERA program, 40.9% of the applicants were Black, 1.3% American Indian, 34.0% Latinx, 2.4% Asian, 3.3% multi-ethnic, and 9.5% white. Of the 528 approved applications for the SHSS program, 42.2% of applicants were Black, 2.2% American Indian, 34.3% Latinx, 2.1% Asian, 3.4% multi-ethnic, and 6.5% white. These outcomes underscore the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on BIPOC households as it relates to housing stability.

Racially disaggregated data on income, housing, and housing tenure for Minneapolis is generally available. Staff will continue to track outcomes related to programming under the Unified Housing Policy as well as report on citywide housing trends and its impacts on racial equity. Additional work should be done to provide narratives around housing outcomes for BIPOC communities to support future policy changes and its role in addressing racial equity in housing.

The construction and preservation of affordable housing advances racial equity. Access to affordable rental housing is an issue that disproportionately affects BIPOC households, as BIPOC households are more likely to be renters compared to white households. In addition, a larger percentage of BIPOC households that are renting are housing cost-burdened compared to white households.

BIPOC households are disproportionately impacted by the rising cost of rental housing. The cost of housing has increased relative to income for renters, but not for homeowners. While homeownership is a pathway to build wealth and housing stability, it remains a barrier for many BIPOC households due to the history of discriminatory housing practices and lending. As part of the strategy to close these disparities and provide housing stability, more affordable housing must be produced that serves households that are the most cost-burdened by housing.

The Unified Housing Policy is a document that compiles the City’s housing goals and policies and informs the investments in programming and development of residential and mixed-use developments in the city. The proposed amendments to the Unified Housing Policy are part of a targeted approach to serve residents impacted by displacement with an intent to close disparities in housing by increasing access to affordable and quality homes.

The City will continue to monitor the production of affordable units that are subject to the Unified Housing Policy. This includes metrics such as the number of affordable rental housing units that are produced and preserved through City investments and under the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance, and the number of units that are serving households at various levels of affordability.

CPED staff currently reports on their work through various public reports and data dashboards. CPED continuously strives to identify more consistent and accessible ways of tracking the state of housing in Minneapolis as well as outcomes for residents disaggregated by race and other important factors.