DIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT LATIN AMERICAN WORKERS

MISSISSIPPI SOUTH CAROLINA

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SOUTH CAROLINA OPPORTUNITY GROWTH PROJECT

The South Carolina Opportunity Growth Project works with African American community leaders in South Carolina to identify the impact of land use and growth planning policies on access to opportunities for African American communities. The project introduces a race lens to the policy discussion on growth planning, increases the African American community’s capacity to participate effectively in these discussions and develops tools to support development of new policy options.

African American South Carolinians have a median household income 46.7% lower than White South Carolinians. African American South Carolinians also have higher rates of unemployment (10.9%) than White South Carolinians (4%). Yet, African Americans in South Carolina have very high rates of land and homeownership (61%) – much higher than the national average of African American land ownership (46.3%). Therefore, despite their relative poverty, African Americans have a potential wealth-building asset. Local, county and state policies are failing to increase wealth-building opportunities in African American communities and may be preventing them.

South Carolina ’s population, like much of the South, is booming. The population of South Carolina has grown rapidly—15.1% between 1990 and 2000. Developers are building new housing and shopping centers on once vacant land outside of cities. However, this kind of development far outstrips the need based on the population growth. This growth, often called “sprawl,” is not sustainable for local governments, communities or for the environment. But at its heart, sprawl is about race and segregation. Luxury housing development generally sprawls away from cities, which tend to have high concentrations of people of color. African American communities have been denied the infrastructure they need to attract investment, like jobs, credit, housing and transportation. In cities, African Americans are often pushed out to make room for luxury housing. Efforts to promote growth and control land consumption have a significant impact on African American communities and the overall health of metropolitan areas.

The South Carolina Opportunity Growth Project engages in the following activities:

• applied research to identify where and how land use planning policies may be creating barriers to opportunities for African American communities;

• meetings and other convenings to share research and raise policy issues with community members, legislators, and others;

• collaborations with community leaders to develop policy reform strategies;
  
• facilitation of dialogue between potential allies and interested parties to identify opportunities for alliances and other forms of collaboration .