CNT applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding disparate impact liability in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project. The Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act prohibits policies that adversely affect minority groups and reinforce segregation, even when those actions are not a stated goal.

“At the center of the case was whether Low-Income Housing Tax Credits should be allocated to the inner city or in the suburbs,” CNT’s president and co-founder Scott Bernstein said. “It’s not an ‘either/or’ proposition. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits should be used to proactively build diverse, walkable communities with good access to jobs, transit, and economic opportunity.”

As CNT noted in Quality of Life, (e)Quality of Place, when communities grow compactly, close to jobs and along transit routes, and include housing of all incomes, households have expanded choice of affordable communities, a variety of career ladders, and multiple transportation options connecting the two.

“State housing finance authorities and other housing agencies should respond to this ruling with criteria that balance the need to increase affordability in traditionally exclusive communities with the need for more equitable transit-oriented development (TOD) with access to jobs,” Bernstein said.

Chicago-based CNT is a national leader in promoting more livable and sustainable cities. CNT’s research, strategies, and solutions are implemented across America and around the world to create more equitable and resilient communities. Our work in transportation and community development, water, energy, and climate change have inspired a generation of new approaches and earned the highest of honors.