Affordable housing for Black communities: A case-study approach

This research will analyze successful Black-led housing projects in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. These case studies will provide insights to help other Black organizations deliver affordable housing successfully.

Project scope and expected outcomes

Supporting Black communities with affordable housing

Black-led organizations are increasingly looking for support in navigating the process of delivering affordable housing tailored to the needs of Black communities. One source of support is the Black Planning Project.

The Black Planning Project facilitates more sustainable and equitable spaces for Black populations. Its research gathers information on issues like housing, planning and development affecting Black communities. The research aims to fill historical knowledge gaps, identify trends and guide policy and new areas of research.

The Black Planning Project has worked with Black-led organizations across Canada to address their specific needs in these areas.    

Case studies to show the way

This research will analyze case studies of successful, Black-led affordable housing projects in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. It will focus on the key factors that contributed to their success. These include:

• ·organizational readiness
• planning and design
• enabling policy
• construction and operation partnerships
• financing models.

The research uses a mixed method approach, including:

• secondary data collection
• primary data collection through interviews with key nonprofit and community affordable housing providers, technical advisors, partner organizations and Black-led nonprofit and community organizations
• ·online surveys, virtual meetings and workshops to gather feedback from partner organizations and Black-led nonprofit and community organizations
• focus group discussions
• reviews of scholarly literature on affordable housing development success factors relevant to Black-led or minority-led housing development

Insights from interviews will help refine the research questions and identify needs and desired learnings to shape the case study selection and analysis. Researchers will then select examples Black-led nonprofit and community-based organizations that have successfully delivered affordable housing to Black communities. The team will summarize the key factors that contributed to their success.

A resource to support action

This research will be a valuable resource for Black-led nonprofits across Canada, helping them manage the affordable housing development process. The research will empower these organizations work more effectively, assess their readiness and build the necessary capacity to implement successful housing solutions for Black communities.

The findings will also be shared with other organizations, encouraging a collaborative ecosystem for equitable community housing.