History
The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 intended to end housing discrimination and to promote diverse, inclusive communities. Segregated neighborhoods of concentrated poverty are often lacking in economic opportunities and experience greater crime, while integrated, mixed-income neighborhoods are more likely to be healthy, thriving communities. But since 1968, most states and local housing programs have struggled to fulfill their obligations to affirmatively further fair housing. As the nation’s goal to realize the civil rights and equal opportunities of every American resident remains elusive, the aims of the Fair Housing Act have not been fully realized. In Maryland, as in other states, segregation persists despite decades of federal and local actions to overcome it. To continue the state’s efforts to implement the Fair Housing Act, in 2021, the Maryland General Assembly enacted its own Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing law to foster thriving communities for everyone regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, family status, or disability.
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.
