Fair City Challenge invests in solutions to promote equity in Philly’s neighborhoods
Over of Philadelphians own their homes which is near the average for U S cities But this doesn t reliably mean wealth is distributed equitably mentioned Kenyatta James the deputy director of the Commercial sector League of Greater Philadelphia Specific of the homes of people of color have been strategically devalued over the years and it has put the owners of those homes in situations where they have not been able to build up the equity they need to be able to properly participate in the U S market he mentioned So they don t have the ability to send children to school to start businesses to do all of the other things that you would expect people to be able to do and they ve been longtime homeowners This is where the Fair City Challenge came in The Financial sector League focuses on research and solutions to address issues in Philadelphia James explained that inequity in housing valuation is a big issue in the city A city is such an fascinating thing when it comes to value he declared For a long time West Philly was considered less valuable but it was still the same amount of El stops the same convenience to downtown the same property the same amount of parks It was just a question of whether or not people valued living there And then once people decided it was valuable and started making investments multiple of the areas that used to be considered like a place people didn t want to live suddenly people want to live there and prices go up and equity is built But the fundamental infrastructure didn t change Research prompted the themes of this year s challenge James announced A new survey by the Economic system League used over years of details to analyze housing trends for various demographic groups This facts shows that had majority Black neighborhoods in the city appreciated at the same rate as houses in white neighborhoods adjusted for inflation since homeowners in Black neighborhoods at present would have billion more in housing wealth in Latino neighborhoods there would be billion more in housing wealth The Fair City Challenge allows participants to tailor programs that will help revalue various of these homes and areas and close the wealth gap We have to really start to think much more strategically about what we value and why and how that can and has been weaponized against certain communities and what we need to do to reduce that damage he reported The Fair City Challenge in the past few days named four finalists who each received to create pilot programs to revalue property in historically disinvested Philly neighborhoods The challenge The four finalists will each create a campaign that will be put in front of judges at a pitch competition They will work with mentors and advisors in this accelerated effort James explained the project ideas range from housing initiatives to neighborhood beautification projects We have people talking about things like urban farming taking over lots gardening doing pop-ups within open spaces and just showcasing and giving the region space to connect and be impactful he revealed We also have people that are looking at appraisal bias and how we diversify the appraisal industry We also have people thinking about the process of taking new progress through a public evolution corporation or another sort of public group and figuring out how that process can be democratized The winning group will get Photo courtesy of The Business sector League of Greater Philadelphia Billy Penn spoke with two of the finalist groups The WEALTH Collective For groups like the WEALTH Collective recognizing and combating bias is pivotal Group member Vonetta Hawkins explains the group s ultimate goal is to eliminate racial bias in housing appraisals We realized that from an equity perspective Black and brown people in the U S are literally losing out on legacy wealth on a daily basis to the tune of billion over the program of several years she mentioned Hawkins owns a consulting firm and her group has two other members Clara Lyons-DeVaughn a broker and owner of a real estate company and Almita Tankersly who owns Credit Fitness a company that helps new homeowners investors and business owners improve repair or be educated about their credit With their backgrounds in real estate banking and finance the women came together to create the collective and its pitch for investors Hawkins explains there are three main parts to their project The first is an app intended to analysis and educate on housing appraisal bias in the area If a consumer demanded to go in and say Hey I think I just experienced racial bias in an appraisal whether it s a purchase whether it s a refinance or any time of their home ownership journey they can utilize our equipment in order to do that she announced If a consumer noted Hey I yearned to go into the tool and find out is there appraisal bias happening in my area Is there something going on in my area They can also utilize our tool as a touch point She noted the app will also provide evidence on where housing appraisal bias is happening that other stakeholders like universities can use Hawkins explained this will also help homeowners who are trying to sell recognize the signs and clues of housing appraisal bias Another fundamental part of the project proposal is the group impact Lyons-DeVaughn declared We will also be boots on the ground she revealed We will be in the district having forums to do coaching for people who don t have access to the instrument as well Decisively Hawkins announced there is a third strategy portion The group hopes to continue to advocate for recognition of appraisal bias and accountability from elected executives Tankersly emphasized the group was partially drawn to the challenge due to personal experience In fact myself Clara and Vonetta we ve all experienced an appraisal bias more than enough times she commented And then being in the field of where we are we hear our client s experiences which has also burdened us to figure this out because it s going on and on and on She mentioned The WEALTH Collective is trying to bring together all of these equitable services including the app public assistance and advocacy in one place Lyons-DeVaughn explained the group ultimately hopes to help bridge the gap in wealth a multitude of Black or brown homeowners experience We re really trying to put more equity back in the consumers pockets so we re looking at about billion of equity that s lost and people can do a lot with that equity she commented They can send their children to college they can do home improvements when they do go to step up into their next home that equity is valuable The group will be hosting two sessions for those looking to get more involved with the activity one for stakeholders on July and one for the general populace on Aug Those interested in attending can send the group an email State Equity Home Fund Somalisa Sahoo s Environment Equity Home Fund CEHF is another Fair City Challenge finalist The project aims to give homeowners equity back by equipping them with more energy-efficient upgrades she explained We have a blended capital fund and we will pay for high-impact home resource upgrades things like a new roof improved HVAC Capacity Star appliances and hopefully even rooftop solar she declared So things that will improve the livability and comfort in people s homes but also that will lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve population wellbeing outcomes and so our fund proposes to pay for these upgrades and then the savings on the monthly bill we will take a portion of that and be repaid by that over time Sahoo has a background in resources analytics particularly in the circumstances space She spent time in Europe and with groups that worked in Sub-Saharan Africa where she was able to observe the impacts of things like energy-efficient investments on communities Definitely a huge trend I noticed was that underserved communities and marginalized communities around the world really suffer outsized burdens she reported Sahoo lived in Philly for several years prior to and just now moved back She sees the Fair City Challenge as a great way to use the skills she learned abroad for Philly where underserved communities like Kensington and Strawberry Mansion often face higher burdens in potency costs The housing stock in Philadelphia is quite old she explained The average age of a home I think is either or years So going into a rowhome like that especially in disinvested neighborhoods and especially environmental justice communities areas like Kensington Point Breeze Strawberry Mansion the idea was people with this profile oftentimes are overly strength burdened That means that their utility bills are quite high and too high a percentage of their income Usually it s like oftentimes in low-income individuals And the stress is added when we have other family members involved as well People are already overburdened Sahoo is now working toward her pilot campaign which will involve scaling this plan down to one homeowner We re going to find one eligible homeowner and we re going to implement particular of these fast-turnaround high-impact upgrades she announced Things like Strength Star appliances air sealing and things like that That will be reflected back in the livability and the comfort for the homeowner but also in saving vigor and as well as saving money on their utility bills monthly The Fair City Challenge s timeline The selected groups are now in the accelerator stage Photo courtesy of The Financial sector League of Greater Philadelphia The WEALTH Collective the Context Equity Home Fund and two other finalists each won at the pitch competition in May The groups are now in the accelerator phase where they work on their final pilot and prepare to present to investors and stakeholders The winner of the challenge which will be declared Sept receives an additional and help implementing its idea from mentors and stakeholders The 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