San Jose adopted a housing dispersion policy in 1989 to equally spread affordable housing projects among districts.
“It was more of a suggestion,” Peralez said. “So throughout the next 30 years… affordable housing is still ultimately concentrated and over-concentrated in particular parts of our city, and in neighborhoods that were more lower income and with more minorities.”
"These projects all predate me, but I think it's a form of redlining, to be frank," Councilmember Maya Esparza told San José Spotlight, adding that her district has the most extremely low income housing units in the city. "If you look at the fairgrounds, for example, there are 1,900 affordable housing units within a mile of (it). Without a doubt, it's a form of modern redlining."
Where are we with homeless housing?
Normal policy is to meet the homeless where they live. This does not seem to be the policy of the City of San Jose when it comes to their EIH/BHC and Safe Parking builds.
The City of San Jose is relocating the homeless to one 1.7 mile area of South San Jose, gentrifying the city center and wealthier suburbs at the expense of lower income and former redevelopment areas of San Jose. This is the essence of redlining. If we don't learn from history, we are bound to repeat it. The numbers below tell the ugly story.
54% of all EIH/BHC/Safe Parking, current and proposed, will be in the same 1-2 percent of San Jose, specifically 1.7 miles of D2/10.
The City of San Jose is on the wrong side of history, again!