End Housing Discrimination.
State governments can put increased pressure
on landlords to stop unfair evictions, rent goug-
ing, and housing discrimination through vigor-
ous enforcement of the Fair Housing laws and an
expansion of housing litigation and testing pro-
cedures. Fair Housing Councils around the
nation are hampered by insufficient budgets and
lack of real commitment from both the business
community and local cities in enforcing housing
discrimination provisions. State governments
also can discourage irresponsible rdevelopment
in local areas where such redevelopment threat-
ens to gentrify an area at the expense of working
and poor people, as is occurring in San
Francisco, California. Housing and homeless
activists can have a larger impact at the state
level if there is a renewed federal commitment
to working families and the poor.