Health Equity Through Housing: A Blueprint for Systematic Legal Action

Abstract

This is the sixth and final report in a series of reports exploring the role of law in housing equity and innovative uses of law to improve health equity through housing. The reports are based on extensive literature scans and semi-structured interviews with people who are taking action in housing policy and practice. The full series includes: Report I: A Vision of Health Equity in Housing; Report II: Legal Levers for Health Equity in Housing: A Systems Approach; Report III: Health Equity in Housing: Evidence and Evidence Gaps; Report IV: Creative People and Places Building Health Equity in Housing; Report V: Governing Health Equity in Housing; and Report VI: Health Equity through Housing: A Blueprint for Systematic Legal Action. This report offers guidance for action based on our research. We propose one overarching recommendation, the adoption of a systematic policy experimentation approach to achieving health equity in housing. We explore this approach through a case study of lead poisoning prevention efforts in Rochester, NY. We then present six areas of housing law that are ideal for experimentation. They range in topics, including strengthening fair housing enforcement to reduce discrimination, and supporting residential stability. The report also contains an appendix with additional ideas for experiments that emerged through our research and interviews.