On the Body of Evidence of Bias in Zoning in Canada - A Response to Dr. Mandy Hansen

2024-08-20 by: Scott Wilson, MBA, P.App, AACI (Fellow), MRICS, FRI

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I started out attempting to answer Dr. Mandy Hansen ’s questions about the availability of research evidence on racially based zoning in Canada - then because my answer stayed past the character limits of a single LinkedIn reply box, I ended up staying almost four hours past my end of day at work to respond in-depth on the topic.? As many of my followers and friends in our industry know, diversity in the Appraisal Industry is a personal hot-button topic for me. So I hope you appreciate my answers to her question. Ultimately, I know I will return for some of the links to resources I have written and linked to in this article.?

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ORIGINAL QUESTION: “This book should be mandatory reading for anyone working in real estate and land use. The purpose of zoning bylaws was to codify segregation: first by race, and when that started to fail in courts, then by economics. I would love to know if there are similar studies from Canada. I have seen (and written) some academic papers on this, but not to this level of detail.” ?LinkedIn Post by Dr. Mandy Hansen on 08/19/2024 retrieved on August 20, 2024 ?– Source: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/mandy-hansen_insightspecialtyconsulting-landuse-housingpolicy-activity-7231343799329783808-ZSZO

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Dr. Hansen’s posting references another Post made by Insight Specialty Consulting that references a 2017 book entitled The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, written by Richard Rothstein and published by Liveright. (Source: https://www.amazon.ca/Color-Law-Forgotten-Government-Segregated/dp/1631492853 ).? Please note that I have NOT read this book and so I am not able to comment on the readability or appropriateness of this text.

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BEGIN RESPONSE….

My reading of the subject, Dr. Mandy Hansen , is that racially-based zoning – which stands for the segregation of real estate by skin colour was more prevalent in the US than in Canada although to my knowledge, limited research has been undertaken in the Canadian market.

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I assume many urban land planners and economists would like to think that zoning was originally intended to serve a higher purpose of dividing cities into "harmonious" uses; those uses and features that a city might want to emphasize and promote. (And that is before being corrupted by a corrupt society or persons). Here I am thinking of geography, historical architecture, or maximizing the highest and best use of properties – appraiser speak that means to maximize the utility of (enjoyment) and maximize the monetary benefits for all citizens, the local business economy, and the municipality - say by allocating specific uses of the land to construction within residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial uses and containing certain restrictions on what can be built legally on a property.

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It would be ignorant of me to assume, however, that zoning within Canada, (and abroad and here I am including particularly societies who use Economic or Socio-Economic or some other form of definition of classes of people as “defining” part of the culture) has not been used for the completely wrong (and I have to add here – completely illegal) purposes of segregating a society into "haves" and "have-nots". Whether those divisions might be along racial, social, caste, or economic lines (or in larger urban centres probably even gender or sexuality based - but I don't have any "evidence" to support this last claim).

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The 2022 edition (Vol. 66, No. 2) of the Appraisal Institute of Canada / Institut canadien des évaluateurs (AIC) publication Canadian Property Valuation Magazine highlighted many areas of evidence you are interested in learning more about. It contained an excellent article entitled “Collateral damage: a brief history and the effects of housing discrimination in Canada” (Source: https://www.aicanada.ca/article/collateral-damage-a-brief-history-and-the-effects-of-housing-discrimination-in-canada/ ) that was authored by Ashita Chandra , an AIC Candidate member who highlighted two sources of evidence: i) a 2022 report prepared by the University of Toronto Centre for Urban and Community Studies for CMHC which was called “Housing Discrimination in Canada: What we know about it”.? This report talked about the lack of research in lending practices on homes in Canada, and that the evidence at that time of authorship was only anecdotal with no studies done.? ii) A second report, prepared by CMHC and completed in 2021, called “Homeownership Rate Varies Significantly by Race” provided evidence of inequalities by race (but did not specifically reference the cause by zoning to the best of my knowledge).

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The best support for evidence around zoning in this article touches on a brief history of the Africville community within the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia. For further interest sake, the article also touches briefly on the topic of reparations in Chicago, US. Finally, as with any well-written article, there is an excellent bibliographical section. ?

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The topics of racial stereotyping; implicit bias and unconscious bias in the Appraisal Profession; diversity in the Profession and it's membership; an excellent discussion around zoning in the City of Vancouver another superb article entitled “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)” and written by AIC member Andy Pham – again excellent linked reading resources - primarily written by the University of British Columbia - (UBC); and finally some statistics on diverse communities within Canada can also be found in other issues (For your information, I did a keyword search of the AIC magazine using the keyword “racial”? - Source: https://www.aicanada.ca/?s=racial ) some of these resources included AIC Magazine Issue 2021-Volume 65, Book 1; Issue 2021-Volume 65, Book 3; Issue 2022-Volume 66 – Issue 1; and Issue 2022-Volume 66. Book 4; and issue 2024-Volume 68-Book 1.

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Finally, I know from my participation with the Appraisal Institute of Canada’s National Board that we continue to take this issue very seriously. An AIC President’s Council on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has been established. ?Our profession has created a scholarship to support the entry of new and diverse students into the education of the appraisal industry; has adopted strict rules and standards in the Canadian Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (CUSPAP) against bias and racism within the industry; has published multiple articles; conducted training; and has reviewed or will be soon completing a review of the Associations bylaws, rules, and regulations of our Association through a Racial Equity Lens.? (I recommend the following resource: https://www.aicanada.ca/about-aic/social-responsibility/presidents-council-on-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/ - with more recommended reading resources)

I hope that these resources have provided you, Dr. Mandy Hansen, with the best knowledge that I am aware of presently, and will be of additional benefit to all readers interested in this topic. I hope to read of any other reader's resources if they know of any so that I might be able to continue adding to the body of evidence.