Oct. 19, 2020 – San Francisco Business Times reporter Laura Waxmann reports on a decision by the Executive Board of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) which is considering a plan for how the Bay Area will deal with its housing needs between 2023 and 2031. The ABAG leadership voted to adopt a proposal that uses a methodology that results in more housing going to communities that exhibit racial and economic exclusion as well as jurisdictions that currently have more jobs than housing.

Public Advocates’ Shajuti Hossain is quoted in the article, which discussed the impact of the plan in relation to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic:

“The highest Covid-19 rates are in Latinx and Black communities. If we had a region where people were not forcibly concentrated based off of their race or economic status, people could choose where to live, live with more space, they would have more options based off of what they need and prefer,” said Shajuti Hossain, a law fellow with Public Advocates. “Now the problem is that poor communities have been forced into concentrated areas of poverty, and that has exacerbated Covid-19 in their communities. They are also the same people who have experienced job loss and economic challenges.”

“We see Covid-19 as a huge wake up call for our region to step up and make sure everyone has a home in the Bay Area,” she said

With a subscription to the SF Business Times, the article can be read in its entirety here.