More than forty years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, most American neighborhoods remain segregated by race and ethnicity. The Integration Agenda is a collaborative effort to develop and execute a comprehensive agenda for residential integration.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 is not only about protecting individual rights, but also fostering residential integration. On October 7th, 2008, academics, policymakers, and activists gathered at "The Next Forty Years of Fair Housing: Developing an Agenda for Integration in the 21st Century" to craft an agenda to renew a commitment to integration at a conference sponsored by the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Jane Addams / Hull House Foundation.

The conference focused on research, policies, and programs that move beyond issues of enforcement of anti-discrimination to examine the barriers to integration. The day brought together researchers, policymakers, and community leaders from universities, government, and non-profit organizations across the country and throughout the city to work towards an action agenda for the future.  The conference was organized around three panel sessions: (1) Government Policy and Housing Integration; (2) Individual Behavior and Housing Integration; (3) Policies and Programs Promoting Integration; and a final workshop session where participants focused on “developing an action agenda.”

The conference was fashioned to promote and benefit from active audience participation.  As part of that participation, MoveSmart.org is sponsoring the Integration Agenda, a collaborative, web-based effort at making the goals of the conference real.

Update 10/20/08: The Chicago Journal has a wonderful story on the conference: "Looking to the Future of Fair Housing".

Update 12/1/08: IntegrationAgenda.org has launched!