Evidence Matters: Spring 2014, Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

Fair housing, the focus of this edition of Evidence Matters, is a critical component of HUD’s mission and is deeply connected to many of the housing and community development topics we have covered previously, from community resilience to low-income homeownership. Ensuring that all Americans have equitable access to healthy, opportunity-rich neighborhoods that fit their needs and preferences must be a fundamental goal at all levels of our government.

This issue examines fair housing and housing discrimination, particularly from an enforcement perspective. The lead article, “Expanding Opportunity Through Fair Housing Choice,” discusses the progress that has been made in reducing overt discrimination while recognizing the consequences of more persistent and subtle forms of discrimination as well as continuing segregation. “Paired Testing and the Housing Discrimination Studies,” our Research Spotlight article, focuses on the methodology of HUD’s Housing Discrimination Studies, which have for decades provided critical insight into the state of fair housing in the United States. Finally, our In Practice article, “Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations Use Testing To Expose Discrimination,” profiles three nonprofits working to prevent and expose discrimination and advocate for equal housing opportunities.

I hope you find this issue of Evidence Matters enlightening. Our next issue will explore the connections between housing and youth outcomes. Please provide any feedback at www.huduser.gov/forums.

— Rachelle Levitt, Director of Research Utilization Division