Let’s Make Santa Fe Equitable!

A Vision for a Better Santa Fe

As our country is facing a political identity crisis, Santa Fe is facing a housing and equity crisis. Our high cost of living is forcing many people to move farther to the outskirts of the city, often to areas that lack essential services and amenities. This can lead to car dependence, contributing to climate change and perpetuating a cycle of poverty. As Santa Fe continues along this path, we’re becoming increasingly segregated and divided. Because of all this, many Santa Feans feel we must choose between disinvestment and displacement. As people become displaced, we lose not only our friends and family members, but also a piece of the thriving culture that makes Santa Fe so special.

This is not unique to Santa Fe. People in cities across the country are facing the same challenges. But there is hope! Even as national policies threaten to make the problems worse, mindful local policies can help neighborhoods develop in ways that support current residents and help us all thrive in our own homes. Our city can grow without displacing Santa Feans. City resources can be distributed equitably so that all residents have a high quality of life. Our peoples, our cultures, our languages and our homes can thrive free from discrimination and injustice.

Development without displacement is not only possible, but necessary for a truly progressive city. Chainbreaker will be spending the summer talking to our neighbors about Santa Fe’s equity crisis and potential solutions. Together, we will begin to build bridges, heal divisions and open dialogues to confront and overcome these difficult challenges. Let’s find solutions that pave the way for a more equitable Santa Fe. A truly progressive Santa Fe. A better home for us all.

 

Understand the Issue

Chainbreaker defines equity as: Equal access to resources and equal exposure to risks.

 

Equity is about justice and righting historical wrongs.
It’s about bringing resources to areas and people
where need is greatest. It’s about developing our
city in ways that truly reflect our progressive values.

 

Residents in areas with historic disinvestment are most vulnerable to displacement, which locks people into a cycle of poverty and segregation.

*Santa Fe’s home prices rose 65% & rents went up 25% in recent years.

*Over 1/2 of Santa Fe’s residents pay 30% of their income on housing.

*Nearly 1/3 of Santa Feans spend HALF of their income on housing.

*Almost 2/3 of people who work in Santa Fe can’t afford to live here.

*Transportation costs consume up to 1/3 of a working family’s income.

*Car dependency keeps people poor. Lack of public transit leads to car dependency.

*These dynamics disproportionately hurt people of color.

“Population shifts in cities don’t happen by accident. A city’s choices on where to put infrastructure, transit, affordable housing and other resources significantly influence shifts in population, which can occur unequally across income, race, age and other demographic characteristics.”
Equitable Development and Risk of Displacement Report

 

Be Part of the Solution.

Help us spread the word on social media!

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Further reading: