Not enough low-income housing is being built in better neighborhoods, report finds

Not enough is being done to help build low-income housing in neighborhoods with betters schools and safer streets, according to a report commissioned on behalf of state legal aid programs.

The report found that Ohio gives most of its federal tax credits to developers who pitch projects in distressed neighborhoods that are deeply racially segregated and impoverished.

That raises concerns that not enough is being done to reverse historic patterns of racial and economic segregation, according fair housing advocates.

More effort needs to be put into what are deemed "high opportunity" areas, often suburbs, where children have a better chance of flourishing, they say. Otherwise the state could be in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The report, by Abt Associates, an international consulting firm, looked at tax credits awarded by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) from 2006 through 2015.

Click here to read the full story from Cleveland.com, which includes a quote from Legal Aid supervising attorney Hazel Remesch.