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From 1960-2020, one can see the same picture of a widening wealth and prosperity gap between Black and white communities as is seen in home values, painting a historical picture of wronged neighborhoods that have enjoyed minimal restorative economic justice. While the Northshore Triangle, an A-B graded neighborhood, has seen a 12% decline in occupied housing units over the last 60 years, Kennedy Park has seen a 55% decrease, and LaSalle Park has a 43% decrease (Figure 3). Not only has housing unit occupation declined, but the percentage of owner-occupation has declined rapidly in these neighborhoods, from 75% in 1960 to under 50% today (Figure 4). The wealth gap also manifests in employment trends, as the income gap between A and D neighborhoods continues to widen (Figure 5). Median family income in 2020 in Kennedy and LaSalle Park is 66% and 43% of income respectively in these neighborhoods than it was in 1960, respectively, showing the difficulty in building wealth with declining neighborhood income. Looking at income disparities in South Bend as a whole, 29.6% of households of color—31.3% of Black households—had income below the federal poverty threshold, while only 10.4% of white households had income below the federal poverty threshold7. Furthermore, unemployment shocks such as the recession or the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected predominately Black neighborhoods in South Bend (Figure 6), substantially deterring the ability to build wealth for residents in these neighborhoods. Figure 3: Occupied Housing Units, 1960-2020 YEAR NORTHSHORE TRIANGLE KENNEDY PARK LASALLE PARK 1960 716 1245 845 1970 801 1084 556 1980 757 822 657 1990 751 728 666 2000 770 628 607 2010 717 377 453 2020 702 492 607 60-Year Change -12.4%-54�6%-42�8% Source: U.S. Census Data, 1960-2020 10 FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT BLUEPRINT