Back in 1978, Wisconsin’s 40th governor, the late Lee Sherman Dreyfus, quipped that “Madison is 30 square miles surrounded by reality.” Tell that to the capital city’s African American families today. Madison is no refuge from reality, not as far as racial discrimination is concerned, not when it comes to segregation that is the consequence of unaffordable housing.
Housing in Madison is not only unaffordable for the poorest Black families, its cost puts it out of the reach of median-income Black households in nearly every part of the city. The average Black renter can afford an apartment in only three Madison neighborhoods. Home ownership opportunities are even more limited, with homes for sale in only one area in town at a price a median-income Black family can afford.
Like so many places across the country, Madison’s got real estate developers building upscale apartment complexes, luxury condominiums and single-family McMansions as fast as they can. It’s filthy with speculators who sw…
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