We Built This: How Federal Policy Segregated America

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | ONLINE ONLY (VIA ZOOM) | REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Hosted by

Center on Poverty and Social Policy

Featuring

JACOB FABER
Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Service
New York University

Followed by a discussion with

ALICIA MAZZARA
Senior Research Analyst
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

About the Event

In 1933, faced with a housing shortage following the Great Depression, the federal government began a program explicitly designed to increase—and segregate—America’s housing stock. Through mechanisms such as redlining, these New Deal policies fueled white suburbanization and black ghettoization, while laying the foundation for the racial wealth gap that persists to this day. In this seminar, New York University sociologist Jacob Faber (bio) will walk us through the findings of his recent study—the first attempt to estimate the effects of early-20th-century housing policies on subsequent segregation patterns. Faber examined a century of U.S. census data for more than 650 cities, along with other archival data documenting government redlining practices. Commenting on the significance of his findings in a recent article, Faber says: “The long-term impact of these policies is a reminder of the intentionality that shaped racial geography in the United States and the scale of intervention that will be required to disrupt the persistence of segregation.” Faber’s presentation will be followed by a discussion with federal housing policy expert Alicia Mazzara (bio). More details here.

Questions?

Email CPSP@columbia.edu with any questions.