Communities of color and low-income communities bear the brunt of the impacts of unhealthy, energy inefficient, and disaster-vulnerable buildings. Yet, as one looks around the work tables or worksites of the sustainable and regenerative building sector, there is little representation of the populations most impacted by our current proliferation of unsustainable, inefficient, sometimes unsafe, and often unhealthy building stock. Whether it is as policy makers, advocates, architects, project managers, contractors, or even in the construction workforce, the most impacted communities are underrepresented in the design, construction, and occupancy of sustainable, regenerative, healthy buildings.
A complex web of federal, state, and local regulations and subsidies for developers, renters, landlords, homeowners, and home-buyers have yet to help us realize a vision of sustainable community development, including plentiful, diverse, high-quality, and stable housing options across the economic spectrum.
The aim of the Waukesha NAACP is to become a beacon of inspiration and transformation in centering equity in the sustainable building sector. Strong public policy is necessary to moderate real estate market forces driven by profit and expediency, rather than human need and dignity.
