In our last discussion, we
discussed that more than 85% of the homes within the Fair Park Corridor were
built between 1939 and 19701.
These homes were constructed using wood, donned with lead-based paints,
installed with lead pipes, insulated with asbestos, in addition to requiring
gas as a utility for heating. Both awareness and solutions were provided on how
to combat the environmental hazards that have inadvertently harmed the people and
the environment; socially, psychologically, and economically. Throughout this discussion, we’ll address
what’s being done corporately and governmentally to improve the harmful effects
of the built environment within the Fair Park Corridor.
Within 75210, 75215, and the
75223 zip codes lie two banking institutions, Bank of America® and
Chase®. According to the
Modern Real Estate Practice in Texas
text, in 1977, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which
requires lenders to “participate and invest in local community development
and rehabilitation projects, and participate in loan programs for housing.2”
Though the Community Reinvestment
Act appears to be working, as we will see throughout our study, it is not doing
what the legislature intended.
Solutions:
1.
Re-enact the bill with an addendum for oversight of the
Act to ensure bank participation by the municipalities with members of the
community serving on the committees.
2.
Set an actual figure that each bank has to reinvest
based upon the indexes and bank performances.
3.
Require banks to sponsor a minimum of one multi-family and
single family housing new construction project within the community they serve bi-annually.
4.
Require banks to annually publish the project, dates,
and community specifics of the development and rehabilitation projects they
contributed to.
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