Community Development through Neighborhood Revitalization, Affordable Housing, and First Time Homeownership

Community Development through Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, and First Time Homeownership

In 2015, Rick Ross released a free mixtape that included samples from many famous songs, including 50 Cent’s hit "In Da Club."  This sampling, in particular, was titled “In Da Club (Ft. 50 Cent)” and included Rick Ross rapping over the “In Da Club” instrumentals, a 30-second sample of 50 Cent singing the “In Da Club” refrain, and multiple references to Rick Ross’s upcoming album.  Well, 50 Cent did not take too kindly to this so, in typical 50 Cent fashion, he sued Rick Ross, claiming that the unauthorized use of his name and voice violated his right of publicity under Connecticut common law.  However, 50 Cent's recording agreement with his former record label, Shady Records/Aftermath Records, 50 Cent did not own a copyright interest in the track and could not sue for copyright infringement.  Therefore, the court granted Rick Ross's motion for summary judgment, finding that 50 Cent had surrendered his publicity rights through the recording agreement and that the right of publicity claim was forfeited.  (Portions of this excerpt were quoted and/or paraphrased from No Remix: Copyright Act Preempts Right of Publicity Claim Wednesday, September 9, 2020, https://www.natlawreview.com/article/no-remix-copyright-act-preempts-right-publicity-claim)  

Now, what does all of this have to do with Community Development through Neighborhood Revitalization, Affordable Housing, and First Time Homeownership?  Well, in this case, ownership has the most to do with this.  Mainly because having ownership or the lack thereof controls much of what you can and what you cannot do with something.  Take Community Development, for example, which is a process or concept where people work on building the community.  This could be a community where you live, where you work, where you shop, or a mixture of them all.  Just imagine the amount of flexibility you can have when you have ownership of something in the community versus not having ownership.  Ownership has its advantages when affecting positive changes throughout the community.

But, no matter the level of ownership you may have in the community, you can still play a huge role in Neighborhood Revitalization.  The goal of neighborhood revitalization is to improve communities in a way that makes a lasting impact on the quality of life of its residents.  Start by working locally with residents and community leaders and organizations to best address real concerns and improve the lives of the people who live in the neighborhood.  Get involved as early and as often as possible.  There are some easy ways that you can help, such as neighborhood cleanups, checking in with your neighbors, reporting issues to your city departments by contacting 311, helping your local schools, and more!

Strong neighborhoods are the foundation of a strong society.  A society that echoes the message of the Poor People's Campaign where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others to this day demand economic and human rights for poor Americans of diverse backgrounds; a message that is motivated by a desire for economic justice: the idea that all people should have what they need to live.  At the same time, the costs of basic needs like housing, health care and education have risen dramatically. Over the past 30 years, rents have gone up faster than income in nearly every urban area of the country. In 2016, there was no state or county in the nation where someone earning the federal minimum wage could afford a 2-bedroom apartment at market rent. Only one in four of those eligible to receive federal housing assistance actually do so. This has caused a structural housing crisis with 2.5 to 3.5 million people who are living in shelters, transitional housing centers and tent cities, which is why our conversation needs to transition to the importance of Affordable Housing.

Affordable Housing has a major part in Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization especially since Individuals and families thrive when they have a safe and stable home in a safe and stable community.  Obtaining Affordable Housing can be a challenge for most of us.  Across Arkansas, there is a shortage of rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income households (ELI), whose incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income (AMI). Many of these households are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing. Severely cost-burdened poor households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions.  [Retrieved from Arkansas | National Low Income Housing Coalition]  So how do we solve this problem?  Well, one way is "that we advocate for affordable homeownership as a key to family stability and a proven means for providing communities and families with long-term benefits, including better health outcomes, higher educational attainment, equity building, and civic engagement."  [Retreived from Martin Luther King Jr.’s Vision for Affordable Housing Is Unfulfilled | Observer]

This rolls right into First Time Homeownership, which is very well possible even for extremely low-income households.  Throughout Arkansas, there are Homeownership Programs that make purchasing a home more affordable for low-to-moderate income families and individuals.  These programs are available through city, county, state, and nonprofit agencies.  Remember what we talked about earlier when 50 Cent sued Rick Ross?  Well since 50 Cent did not own a copyright interest in the song, he could not claim that the unauthorized use of his name and voice violated his right of publicity.  Much of the same can be said when comparing renting versus owning.  As a renter you may have a place to stay but it is not a place that you own.  With so much going on with social and economic injustice, owning a home is a great way to fight those injustices.  Homeownership can offer a sense of stability, belonging to a community, and pride of ownership, along with tax deductions and equity.  Keep in mind: Owning a home is the #1 way most Americans build wealth and the average net worth of a homeowner is much larger than that of a renter.

With so many methods available to develop the community through Neighborhood Revitalization, Affordable Housing, and First Time Homeownership, it can sometimes be difficult to decide which methods to use, but this should be something that you decide with others too so that together we can make a bigger impact in combatting injustices.  As an advocate along with many, I stand with you for your success.  Thank you for listening.