News
In January, Nelima Sitati Munene, Executive Director of African Career, Education and Resource, Inc. (ACER) and Alliance leader / board member, featured in Shelterforce reflecting on the work of Equity in Place and its impact on local housing narratives. The stories we tell ourselves matter. Narrative plays an important role in defining whose voice gets heard, how issues are…
For Fresh Energy, a new program and organization-wide focus is giving power a double meaning. Since its inception in 1992, the St. Paul-based environmental organization has worked to flip the switch on a clean energy economy for residents across the state. But more recently, its new Energy Access and Equity program is igniting an intentional…
The Alliance is a coalition of community-based organizations and advocacy groups building shared power to advance strategic campaigns around the intersections of racial justice, economic justice, environmental justice, and health equity. Our mission is to advance justice and equity in economic growth and land development in the Twin Cities region. The Alliance is seeking a Coalition…
Days after the passage of an inclusionary housing framework in Minneapolis, Alliance member leaders Nelima Sitati Munene, Executive Director of African Career Education and Resource, Inc. and Aaron Berc, community organizer at Jewish Community Action, shared their insight on the importance of such ordinances across the region in a Community Voices piece published in MinnPost. The Twin…
As stakeholders throughout the Twin Cities explore tools to address the affordable housing crisis, the Alliance’s Russ Adams weighed in with a commentary in the Star Tribune on December 4, countering the narrative from developers’ that an inclusionary zoning policy in Minneapolis could hinder production of affordable housing. In his Nov. 28 commentary, “Mpls. considers…
The Equitable Development Principles & Scorecard helps communities ensure that the principles and practices of equitable development, environmental justice, and affordability are available to all residents. As we have worked with local communities of color and low-income communities to pilot the Scorecard, a number of groups have chosen to adapt it to serve their communities’…
Back in July, the Alliance and Equity in Place submitted detailed comments on the draft Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, calling for policy action steps that will directly address displacement; housing cost burdens borne by renters, people of color, and low wealth communities; problems experienced by low income renters such as poor maintenance, exploitive practices, and the…
Both the Alliance and Equity in Place responded directly to the Analysis of Housing Needs presented in the Minneapolis 2040 Draft Comprehensive Plan. The Alliance’s response focuses on the following items, highlighting missing or under-explained issues and offering policy action steps: • Loss of 15,000 affordable units since 2000 and the resultant displacement, • Extensive…
End-of-session legislation has gutted the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency’s ability to incorporate any community priorities when directing limited affordable housing resources. This legislation positions private developers to profit at the expense of low wealth and under-resourced communities. The Fort Snelling Upper Post project is one example of how damaging this shift in policy is and…
This article from CityLab highlights the housing crisis in Twin Cities suburbs, where available housing does not meet the needs of every community member. Arguments about how to improve access to affordable housing ignite anxieties about race and poverty as well as debates about density and “neighborhood character.” Nelima Sitati-Munene, Alliance board member and executive…