Over 50% of Philadelphians own their homes, which is near the average for U.S. cities. But this doesn’t always mean wealth is distributed equitably, said Kenyatta James, the deputy director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.
“Some 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. economy,” he said. “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 Economy 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 interesting thing when it comes to value,” he said. “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, many 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 said. A recent study by the Economy League used over 70 years of data to analyze housing trends for various demographic groups.
This data shows that, had majority Black neighborhoods in the city appreciated at the same rate as houses in white neighborhoods (adjusted for inflation) since 1950, homeowners in Black neighborhoods today would have $24 billion more in housing wealth; in Latino neighborhoods, there would be $33.4 billion more in housing wealth.
The Fair City Challenge allows participants to tailor programs that will help revalue some 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 said.
The Fair City Challenge recently named four finalists who each received $10,000 to create “pilot programs” to revalue property in historically disinvested Philly neighborhoods.
The challenge
The four finalists will each create a program that will be put in front of judges at a pitch competition. They will work with mentors and advisors in this accelerated program.
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 community space to connect and be impactful,” he said. “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 development through a community development corporation or another sort of community group and figuring out how that process can be democratized.”
Billy Penn spoke with two of the finalist groups.
The WEALTH Collective
For groups like the WEALTH Collective, recognizing and combating bias is important. 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 $150 billion over the course of several years,” she said.
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 report and educate on housing appraisal bias in the area.
“If a consumer wanted 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 technology in order to do that,” she said. “If a consumer said, ‘Hey, I wanted to go into the technology and find out, is there appraisal bias happening in my area? Is there something going on in my area?’ They can also utilize our technology as a touch point.”
She said the app will also provide data 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 important part of the project proposal is the community impact, Lyons-DeVaughn said.
“We will also be ‘boots on the ground,’ ” she said. “We will be in the community, having forums to do education for people who don’t have access to the technology as well.”
Finally, Hawkins said, there is a third policy portion. The group hopes to continue to advocate for recognition of appraisal bias and accountability from elected officials.
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 said. “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 said The WEALTH Collective is trying to bring together all of these equitable services – including the app, community support and advocacy – in one place.
Lyons-DeVaughn said the group ultimately hopes to help bridge the gap in wealth many Black or brown homeowners experience.
“We’re really trying to put more equity back in the consumers’ pockets, so we’re looking at about $57 billion of equity that’s lost, and people can do a lot with that equity,” she said. “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 program – one for stakeholders on July 21, and one for the general public on Aug. 4. Those interested in attending can send the group an email.
Climate Equity Home Fund
Somalisa Sahoo’s Climate 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 energy upgrades, things like a new roof, improved HVAC, Energy Star appliances, and hopefully even rooftop solar,” she said. “So things that will improve the livability and comfort in people’s homes, but also that will lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health 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 investment analytics – particularly in the climate 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 said.
Sahoo lived in Philly for several years prior to 2020, and recently 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 energy costs.
“The housing stock in Philadelphia is quite old,” she said. “The average age of a home, I think, is either 93 or 98 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 energy burdened. That means that their utility bills are quite high and too high a percentage of their income. Usually, it’s like 20% 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 program – which will involve scaling this program down to one homeowner.
“We’re going to find one eligible homeowner, and we’re going to implement some of these fast-turnaround, high-impact upgrades,” she said. “Things like Energy 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 energy and as well as saving money on their utility bills monthly.”
The WEALTH Collective, the Climate Equity Home Fund and two other finalists each won $10,000 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 announced Sept. 11, receives an additional $50,000 and help implementing its idea from mentors and stakeholders.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
