CDC Spotlight: A holistic approach to housing in Brownsville [Video]

Community development corporations (CDCs) are the lifeblood of the low income housing movement, building quality affordable homes and preserving diversity and community in traditionally marginalized areas. In Texas we are fortunate to have several outstanding CDCs working tirelessly on behalf of low income residents. This series of CDC Spotlights will take a closer look at what that work entails, the challenges CDCs currently face, how CDCs are evolving and more. Today’s installment spotlights the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville in South Texas.

The Brownsville-Harlingen area, in the Rio Grande Valley along the Mexican border, is the poorest metropolitan region in America. Its population is also growing rapidly, accelerating the demand for affordable housing options. Many families have little choice but to settle in colonias, the informal communities outside of cities that often lack paved streets, drainage systems, street lights and other basic infrastructure. Nick Mitchell-Bennett, the executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville(CDCB), calls the colonias the …