For housing to be adequate, it must be situated so as to allow access to employment options, health care services, schools, childcare centers, and other social facilities. Housing must not be located in polluted areas.
Q. What are "colonias"?
A. Colonias are border communities in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, where many families are forced to live in isolation due to the lack of affordable housing in more central areas. Due to the isolated locations of the colonias, many children living in these communities are not able to access school. Families are often forced to migrate throughout the year in search of work, which also impedes children's access to school. Colonias also often lack access to medical care. All but two of the border communities in Texas have been deemed "medically underserved" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In all colonias, diseases such as salmonellosis, dysentry and cholera are common.
Q. Other than access, what issues do low-income wage earners face in terms of location?
A. Many low-income and racial minority communities face inadequate housing located on or near polluted environments. A 2005 Associated Press study found that African Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to live in neighborhoods where air pollution seems to pose the greatest health danger. In some parts of the country, Hispanics and Asians also are more likely to breathe dirty air. Over nine million people live within 3 kilometers of the nation's 413 commercial hazardous waste facilities, over 5.1 million of whom are racial minorities. These communities are frequently densely populated and have disproportionally high poverty rates.
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