Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
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Additional Resources
Fair Housing Data and Mapping Resources
There are several publicly available data sources that can assist with fair housing planning. Because of the differing geographies for each data source, the appropriateness of each for your community’s Housing Element will depend on your community.
- United States Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) Data and ACS Data Curated by the Maryland State Data Center: Many housing characteristics can be derived from ACS data, such as vacancy rates, age of properties, number of bedrooms, monthly housing costs, number of occupants per room, and household size. Additionally, ACS data can help a community’s planners consider the prevalence of home ownership or rental opportunities, particularly as they relate to protected classes. Users can access data by their selected geography (county, place, census tract) for occupied housing units by owner or renter, or housing tenure by race and ethnicity. Examining this information on a map may help highlight disparities between locations where residents do or do not have access to homeownership opportunities or where a more even mix prevails.
- HUD’s Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data: HUD develops CHAS data from ACS data. CHAS provides information on households and housing units that need assistance and is available at the county, place, and census tract levels. CHAS includes data on household income and households that have at least one of four housing problems: incomplete kitchen facilities, incomplete plumbing facilities, housing overcrowding, or housing cost burden. CHAS data can be used to analyze disproportionate housing needs by race, age, disability status, and other characteristics.
- DHCD’s Multifamily Mapper: The Multifamily Mapper (Mapper) displays information about multifamily rental developments that were either renovated or newly constructed with financing from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and other sources. Planners can use this tool to support an analysis of access to opportunity for residents of subsidized housing developments.
- Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) MDEnviroscreen Tool: MDE developed this tool to enhance communication, outreach, and oversight of permitting activities in communities that may be overburdened and underserved. The EnviroScreen Tool calculates EJ scores at the census tract level, which are based on three criteria: 1) percent minority distribution, 2) percent poverty distribution, and 3) percent Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Jurisdictions assessing fair housing can use the EnviroScreen Tool to identify communities of racially or ethnically concentrated poverty. Identifying such areas is a vital early step in fair housing planning.
To learn more or ask questions about affirmatively furthering fair housing, please contact Carter Reitman, Lead Housing Planner for the Maryland Department of Planning at carter.reitman2@maryland.gov.
