Regional fair‑housing plan proposes seven goals to expand affordable choice; Bowie to review before HUD submission

Hilary Chapman, housing program manager at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), told City of Bowie officials and attendees that a multi‑jurisdictional draft regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair housing Choice lays out seven data‑driven goals local governments will implement to address segregation and barriers to opportunity.

The plan — compiled by a regional team with Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as lead consultant, Urban Institute on data, and Ochoa Urban Collaborative on community engagement, with technical assistance from HUD's Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office and Enterprise Community Partners — reflects more than 2,800 survey responses and will move through local approval processes before the regional submission to HUD. "We're hoping to wrap up the review process and submit to HUD early this fall," Chapman said during the City's Fair Housing Symposium.

MWCOG staff said the plan responds to findings that segregation in the region has increased overall since 1990 and that disparities in access to schools, jobs and low‑poverty neighborhoods correlate with race and ethnicity. The public‑engagement results cited by presenters showed that 13% of survey…