“Protect the Suburbs!” A racist statement, as well as a political one?

For decades, many property owners in Marin — and statewide — have vociferously opposed affordable housing in order to “preserve local character.” For a suburban county like Marin where 85% of the land area is closed to development, this means, in effect, “don’t build anything anywhere.” Justifications? No more traffic. Save our open space. Keep class sizes small. Prevent crime. 

This theme is echoed by President Donald Trump in his calls to “protect America’s suburbs.” As his administration worked to repeal fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination, he said on Twitter: “people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream” will “no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood.” NY Times July 29, 2020 

The “save the suburbs” rhetoric is sheer dog-whistle — as clear now as the red lines on neighborhood maps were 60 years ago. The message to white suburbanites is, “If low-income residents and people of color are allowed into your neighborhoods, crime will go up, property values will plummet, and your comfortable lifestyle is in danger.” 

It would be wrong to say that the suburbs are all white; the majority of Americans of all races live in the suburbs. However, suburbs across the nation are deeply segregated, and Marin is a dispiriting example. As Stephen Menendian and Samir Gambhir write in a report for UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute, “Despite its reputation as a bastion of progressivism and environmentalism, [Marin] is one of the most segregated counties in the Bay Area … Five of the 10 most segregated census tracts in the entire Bay Area for whites are located in Marin County.”

Is Marin’s vocal antipathy toward creating affordable and multifamily housing just a slightly more subtle way of saying, “Stay out of our enclaves of white privilege.”?

Under the banner of “local control” and “preserving community character,” affordable housing opponents have effectively blocked policies and projects that would promote more integrated communities. And, upfront housing discrimination, long illegal, remains prevalent according to research by Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. Even many upper middle class Black, Native American, Asian, and Latinx residents say they do not feel welcome in Marin.
The renewed outrage over racist policing — including here in Marin — is provoking a re-examination of the policies and attitudes that perpetuate racial inequity. Confronting housing discrimination by removing planning and policy barriers and integrating affordable housing into communities across Marin are important steps toward addressing historic inequities. Doing so will afford residents of different races, ethnicities, and economic means a fair opportunity to get ahead. ###