Prof. Myron Orfield Authors Op-Ed in Star Tribune About How a Government-Funded Strategy in the Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis Failed

Professor Myron Orfield, Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and Director, Institute of Metropolitan Opportunity, authored an op-ed in the Star Tribune about a report recently released by the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, a University of Minnesota Law School research center that he leads, that details how a $1 billion, “separate but equal,” government-funded strategy in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis failed. The idea was that concentrating affordable housing in the Phillips neighborhood would improve health and education and reduce crime. Prof. Orfield wrote, “The developers got the $1 billion, but the conditions in Phillips did not improve. In fact, they got worse. Today, Phillips’ residents have the worst public health in the Twin Cities region, among the lowest-performing schools (with only around 10% of children competent in math and reading), and the highest violent crime rate in the metropolitan area.”