Stopping Violence: What Fair Housing and Public Health Have in Common
Among the many calls to action that the Newtown, CT school shootings prompts is a fresh look at social isolation.
Newtown is virtually all white and affluent. The same was true of Columbine and Littleton, Colorado, the suburbs affected by the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School.
Here are the demographics of those suburbs:
Newtown, CT: The racial makeup of the town was 95.14% White, 1.75% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.36% of the population. The median income for a household in the town was $90,193, and the median income for a family was $99,192 (these figures had risen to $101,937 and $119,175 respectively as of a 2007 estimate.
Columbine, CO: The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.82% White, 0.47% African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.57% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.58% of the population. The median income for a household in the CDP was $71,319, and the median income for a family was $77,866.
On the flip side, we see children equally victims in segregated mostly African American or Latino communities where shootings are often gang-related -- sadly, the ubiquitous "white noise" (so to speak) of our if-it-bleeds-it-reads local media. (Except for a few brave neighborhood pastors, elected officials, or community groups, one hears little gun control clammor reported like we do after dramatic school shootings.)
It seems to me that we should add to the list of reasons for why racially and economically integrated communities are good for us is that open communities reduce the extreme isolation that incites violence.
Fair housing is a public health issue. This makes the need for inclusive and diverse communities a matter of urgency. Starting here at home.
Jennifer O'Neil
12:00 pm on Monday, December 31, 2012
I couldn't agree more.
Add to Ms. Schechter's new and thoughtful perspective on this issue the evidence provided in a paper published by the Urban Institute: "Promoting Neighborhood Diversity: Benefits, Barriers and Strategies" by Margery Austin Turner and Lynette A. Rawlings.
Despite substantial progress since passage of the Fair Housing Act four decades ago, neighborhoods remain highly segregated by race and ethnicity. This paper summarizes existing research evidence on both the costs of segregation and the potential benefits of neighborhood diversity. I encourage reading this recent and relevant evidence for taking action, especially when you add public health and safety to the mix.
http://www.urban.org/publications/411955.html
Gail Schechter
11:03 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Fear of the "Other" comes from ignorance. In the case of suburbs and neighborhoods, where people live only with people like themselves -- whether by choice or lack thereof due to few resources or racial steering -- they risk losing their capacity for empathy, becoming numb as they are more and more cocooned in their own realities. Whether poor or rich neighborhoods, predominantly Black or Latino or Asian or White, that isolation and boredom -- especially where there are no jobs or other viable options for our youth -- breeds a despair that, if not addressed, makes violence its only relief. In addition to the excellent study that Jennifer cites above, check out "Divided We Fall: Gated and Walled Communities in the United States" (http://www.asu.edu/courses/aph294/total-readings/blakely%20--%20dividedwefall.pdf): "Gated communities manifest a number of tensions, between notions of civic responsibility and exclusionary aspirations rooted in fear and protection of privilege; between the trend toward privatization of public services and the ideals of the public good and general welfare; and between the need for personal and community control of the environment and the dangers of creating outsiders of fellow citizens." It's time to wake up, North Shore neighbors, and do the work of building communities of connection.