Denver's Regional Equity Atlas: Improving Urban Planning With Equity Data

Data can, and should, play a central role in urban planning. In Denver, CO, the Denver Regional Equity Atlas overlays educational, income, health, and other equity metrics on the new transit network to paint a picture of how transit impacts equity. As a result, the Atlas has helped advocates fight for better transit access, strengthen existing partnerships and engage new partners. The Atlas continues to be an important organizing tool.

Using Data to Advocate for Transit

Transit routes that help connect people to the places in which they work are particularly important for low-income families, who heavily rely on public transportation. Using data from the Atlas, advocates were able to save a bus route that served low-income residents but had been slated for closure when the city’s new light rail service opened. Coalition coordinator Davian Gagne says, “The Equity Atlas helped us understand which communities we needed to be prioritizing for outreach and where bus services routes had the highest level of impact.”

Bringing Partners Together

Mile High Connects, the creator of the original Atlas, sees it as one of the most fundamental tools in forming their equity collaborative. A partnership between private, public, and nonprofit organizations that are committed to developing inclusive, affordable and livable communities within walking distance of public transit, Mile High Connects engaged new partners through the original Atlas. As Dace West, Director of Mile High Connects says, “The first Atlas was a static map and it was instrumental in bringing people to the table, especially the philanthropic community, which hadn’t been as involved in equity work until then. It was a way to invite our public sector partners to take a look at some of the other actions taking place around the region.”

The Atlas is now in its second iteration as an online interactive tool that creates custom maps and summaries of statistics for particular interest areas in the region. The online tool was launched in partnership between Mile High Connects and the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the regional planning office, along with the Piton Foundation. The planning agency hosts the website and the foundation created the data engine and open data framework that makes the data accessible and sharable. A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sustainable Communities Initiative Grant allowed these groups to deepen their relationship and have joint ownership over the Atlas. 

The Atlas also facilitates data sharing and coordination between the two, a benefit that will lead to more equitable long-term planning. “The Equity Atlas is a piece of the story and through the Sustainable Communities Initiative Grant there are a number of ways we are interacting with our MPO, including a longer term Memorandum of Understanding to preserve the work we have done together,” said West. “Over several months, we’ve had the opportunity to explore more ways in which we can work together that go even beyond the Atlas.”

Now that the Atlas is online, Mile High Connect is looking to respond more directly to the interests and needs of their partner organizations, especially when it comes to the data they are most interested in and that they access most frequently. The maps created through the Atlas help provide a visual tool to help advocates make the case for areas that need fresh food or transit connection from housing to job centers, for example. West say, “The Atlas has really provided the ability to visually represent where some of those mismatches are happening.”

A Tool for Organizing Communities

The Atlas can also be an important tool in organizing communities. Stephen Moore, a policy analyst at FRESC, uses the Atlas with community leaders so they can map their own communities and see what impact developments can have on their communities. When a development is proposed, Moore can show community leaders what happened in similar communities. Moore said, “We can show the displacement caused in other communities and say, ‘here’s some information about what these communities used to look like and what they look like now. The median house cost has increased and demographics have shifted. Looking at that neighborhood and looking at your own, what do you think about the kind of displacement that is likely to take place?”

By providing a visual understanding of the change taking place in the City, the Denver Regional Equity Atlas is helping advocates shape how they want their communities, and region, to look and advancing equity through smart, community based urban planning.

3 Ways to Use the National Equity Atlas

Last week, Angela Glover Blackwell, the founder and CEO of PolicyLink made a bold statement at a conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: “if people of color don’t become the middle class, there will be no middle class.”

Her statement, grounded in forecasts that predict that America’s population will be majority people of color by 2043, is a sharp synopsis for the subject of that conference, “The Inequality of Economic Opportunity.” It also poses a challenging follow-up question: “Now what?”

Enter the National Equity Atlas, a website that we built in partnership with PolicyLink and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at the University of Southern California. 

At Bureau Blank, whenever we are faced with a big challenge, we look for whatever data we can find to inform our approach. Now, with the Atlas, policymakers, educators and community leaders can access a large pool of data to use in research and advocacy for racial equity. 

It’s not a vault of PDFs. It is truly a tool to visually analyze this data based on location and it’s easy to use!

So, how does the Atlas help users tackle the middle class question? Here are 3 step-by-step approaches to investigate key areas:

#1 Disconnected Youth: Are all young Americans ready to enter the workforce?

How to find it

  1. Click Indictators in the navigation bar
  2. Select the Equity indicator "Disconnected youth" under Readiness
  3. Here's what you'll see

The data

In 2012, 14% of all 16 to 24 year olds were not in school or working. Native-American and Black youth experienced the highest rates of disconnect, at 27% and 22%, respectively.

Why it matters

Educational and work opportunities for young people translate into higher lifetime earnings and decreased reliance on public assistance.

#2 Homeownership: How do my region’s rates compare to other U.S. regions?

How to find it

  1. Click Indicators in the navigation bar
  2. Select the Equity indicator "Homeownership" under "Economic Vitaility"
  3. Click "Ranking" in the "Breakdown" bar and "Region" in the "Geography" bar under the graphic
  4. Begin typing your city where you see "Enter a region state" and click the arrow
  5. Here's what you'll see

​The data

In 2012, 61.9% of Boston metro area homes were occupied by their owners, putting it in the bottom third of the 150 metro regions listed. Whites in Boston had the highest rate of homeownership at 68.4%, while Latinos had the lowest at 25.4%. Click "By race/ethnicity" in the "Breakdown" bar to toggle this data.

Why it matters

Communities of color were disproportionately affected by the foreclosure crisis, placing an imperative on policies like California’s Homeowner Bill of Rights to guarantee basic fairness and transparency for homeowners.

#3 Economic benefits: If we achieve a country with no inequality, what is the payoff?

How to find it

  1. Click Indicators in navigation bar
  2. Select the Economic Benefits indicator and click "GDP gains with racial equity"
  3. Here's what you'll see

The data

In 2012, the United State’s annual GDP was $15.6 trillion. If racial gaps in income or employment were closed, the projected GDP would increase by over $2 trillion. What’s not to love about that? 

Why it matters

Rising wages, particularly for households in the lowest income groups, leads to increased spending power which is a key driver of job creation and economic growth across groups and income levels.
 

Links to policy campaigns, advocacy groups and strategic initiatives accompany every indicator on the Atlas, so users can see real examples of action around the country. By aligning data, narrative and action, the Atlas demonstrates that these disparities are more than a matter of fairness – they will determine our collective economic future. 

As Angela Glover Blackwell says, understanding where we stand now, region by region, state by state is the first step toward building a more equitable and prosperous future for us all.

How will you use the Atlas to connect the dots in your work? Tell us about it on Twitter @bureaublank!

Cross-posted from Bureau Blank's blog. See the original story at http://bureaublank.com/#/blog. 

In New Orleans, A Deeper Look at Jobs Data Catalyzes Economic Strategy Focused on Connecting Black Men to Work

Data can be a jarring wake up call and prompt major institutional action. In 2013, the Lindy Boggs National Center for Community Literacy at Loyola University and The Data Center released a report on the economic potential for African American men in New Orleans with findings nothing less than shocking:

  • More than half of all working-age African American men – 52 percent – did not have jobs.
  • Four out of every 10 black men were not in the labor market, meaning they were discouraged and stopped looking for work.  
  • Between 1999 and 2011, the median wages of African American men fell while median wages for white men rose.
  • The median wage of white men in New Orleans, $60,075, is nearly twice that of African American men, $31,018.
     

Honing in on the key equity challenge

New Orleans would never be able to reverse its economic decline without addressing the employment and wage crisis among its African American men. As Allison Plyer, executive director of The Data Center says, "Black men are often marginalized as part of the solution for a lot of our community problems. You only have to think about that for a couple of minutes to see that’s silly."

While data collection was the necessary first step, knowing what data to present and how to present it was key to getting the right attention from decision makers. "There was a lot of data that we pulled together and it took some strategy not to release all of it. We wanted to highlight those pieces that really speak to the specific concerns and issues that leaders are thinking about and shift their attention to equity issues," Plyer said.

Prompting mayoral action  

The strategy succeeded. Calling the unemployment rate, "unacceptable," the Mayor's office worked with several stakeholders and advocacy groups, including PolicyLink, and in August 2014 Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced an ambitious economic opportunity strategy with a focus on connecting these men to the job opportunities associated with the city’s growing sectors.

"Who are the 52 percent? What are their barriers to employment?  How can we ensure that the people who need work are matched with employers who have jobs? said Landrieu. "What types of skills are employers looking for? And, how can we ensure the people of New Orleans rebuild New Orleans so that we do not leave anyone behind?"

Through focus groups and surveys, the city found a variety of issues preventing these 52 percent from securing jobs. Some individuals needed more training, some needed more education, and some, "just need to be given an opportunity." This information helped the Mayor’s office tailor their jobs program. 

Leveraging the economic power of anchor institutions  

The strategy builds around the strength of economic opportunities offered by the city’s anchor institutions – including hospitals, universities, and the New Orleans International Airport. The goal is to "pave the way for New Orleans to close the income gap and create equity for all New Orleanians."

The Strategy has generated $1.1 million in foundation support and the city is also leveraging its workforce and community development resources toward the effort. Several large employers and anchor institutions have stepped up as partners, including CMC Health, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Ochsner Health System, Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, Tulane University, and Xavier University of New Orleans.

Implementation will begin in Fall 2014 with five main strategies:

  1. Establish a collaborative of local anchor institutions committed to expanding economic opportunity to disadvantaged job seekers and businesses.
  2. Create a workforce intermediary that connects disadvantaged job seekers to employment opportunities through anchor institutions, providing case management, foundational skills training and supportive services.
  3. Start a procurement intermediary that connects qualified disadvantaged businesses to contracting opportunities through anchor institutions.
  4. Build a worker-owned cooperative that connects job seekers to employment by leveraging procurement and purchasing opportunities through anchor institutions.
  5. Establish and align customized job training based on employer needs that prepares disadvantaged job seekers for in-demand jobs through anchor institutions and major infrastructure projects. 

City and business community embrace equity as a growth strategy

Through the support and information provided by the Lindy Boggs National Center for Community Literacy and The Data Center, New Orleans is galvanizing city resources and the business community to fight the unacceptably high rate of non-employment among working-aged black men. The data on non-employment helped not just the Mayor’s office make equitable employment a priority for the mayor, it also helped the New Orleans Business Alliance make equity a priority. Plyer said that after the data was released, she received a call from the Business Alliance asking if they could highlight the non-employment data point to justify using equity as a growth strategy in their strategic plan for economic development.

Data Helps Set the Agenda and Expand Networks for Kansas City Region Advocates

In-depth data on community demographics and equity can provide a more complete picture of challenges and opportunities and help advocates prioritize their agenda. That's what happened in Kansas City when the regional planning agency and equity network partnered with PolicyLink and PERE to develop an equity profile of the region.

The Kansas City Regional Equity Network is a 16-member collaborative that meets monthly to strategize ways to ensure community members understand the importance of equity and inclusion in creating sustainable places. Data on the region's diversity has been key in helping the network form a plan for action. The Network has selected eight issue items as its focus, including housing, transportation, health, and workforce development.

Dean Katerndahl, a member of the group and director of the government innovation forum at the Mid-America Regional Council, explains how knowing more about their region's young people of color helped set their priorities. "The data point that intrigued me the most was the one showing the large number of youth of color who were disconnected, not in school or employed," Katerndahl said. The profile also revealed how a disproportionate share of Kansas City's 27,000 youth out of work and school in 2010 were black or Latino. "This finding has become a real priority for the equity network, as folks were really surprised, and so we have put together a committee around youth."

Maps highlighting the growing presence of Latinos in the eastern portion of the region and the large clusters of low-income neighborhoods not located near major employers also gave the network a point around which to rally for transportation equity, according to network member and WestSide Housing Organization Executive Director Gloria Fisher. A region-wide discussion about constructing a new streetcar line in Kansas City's urban core is now underway. "We hope to change the conversation around transportation by inserting equity," Fisher said. Fisher described how if equitable development were not prioritized, the route would likely only go through neighborhoods with money while avoiding those without any, perpetuating transportation inequality.

Data can also open conversation on why equity matters to those who may not be so familiar with these concepts. Katerndahl said the data, charts, and graphs presented in the profile resonated with the business community, including the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. His group, the Mid-America Regional Council, which serves as the metropolitan planning organization for Kansas City, has also added equity to its long-run planning objectives "pretty much as a direct result of the work with PolicyLink," he said.

Kansas City's full equity profile can be found here.

Data Inspires Equity-Focused State Policy in Rhode Island

When done right, data can be more than a collection of numbers and statistics: it can uncover a reality that may not be immediately apparent to advocates or decision makers. In Rhode Island, new data on the state's changing demographics sparked policy changes to leverage its increasing diversity as an asset.

In 2013, PolicyLink and PERE worked with local partners to produce an Equity Profile of Rhode Island. The profile revealed a growing racial generation gap between the white senior population and the increasingly diverse youth population. Thirty-six percent of Rhode Islanders under the age of 18 were people of color in 2010, compared with 9 percent of those over age 64. This demographic divergence between young and old presents a challenge to securing adequate public funding for educational systems and community infrastructure.

The profile also showed that people of color fare worse in the state's labor market even when they have the same levels of education as their white counterparts. Unemployment rates for college graduates were, for example, 3.5 percentage points higher and wages about $6.50 per hour lower for Rhode Island's people of color than for its whites.

By painting a more complete picture of how the state's population is changing and the extent to which communities of color can participate in the state's economy, the profile lent critical facts to policy discussions. Amanda Martin, a planner for the state who worked with PolicyLink and PERE to produce the Equity Profile, said the data have fostered new discussions about her state's demographics.

And the data did more than change discussions. Shortly after the Equity Profile was released, Governor Lincoln D. Chafee issued an executive order to increase diversity among government employees and contractors. The order led to the creation of the state's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Opportunity, which will be opened in 2015 with a $1.1 million budget and a goal of ensuring fair-hiring and inclusion in all aspects of government.

Governor Chafee cited figures from the profile documenting how, in the past three decades, people of color had grown from 7 percent to 24 percent of Rhode Island's population, and that by the year 2040 Rhode Island was projected to be 41 percent people of color. These statistics undergirded the governor's proactive steps to ensure that Rhode Island's workforce and state government accurately reflected the state's changing demographics. Currently, the state employs 15,000 workers, but only 15 percent of them are people of color.

The Governor also highlighted the state's changing demographics during his State of the State and Budget Address, urging lawmakers to allocate more funding toward education. "This is the future of Rhode Island," he said in the January 2014 speech. "And the best way to prepare for it and translate it into prosperity is to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to quality public education. We cannot afford to have disparity in Rhode Island where there are areas of opportunity and others where poverty and lack of education self-perpetuate and hold back our economy as a whole."

Relevant data about changing demographics and the extent to which diverse groups can participate in economic life can lead to the process and policy changes necessary to work toward equity. "This has opened up a new focus on equity issues for our department, helped us to develop a new vocabulary, and given us information we need to incorporate equity into our work," Martin said.

Going forward Martin said she believes the data will continue to shape the public discussion about the equity imperative and contribute to a deeper understanding of where the state stands and how to plan for a prosperous future. Far from contributing to data overload, the equity profile is helping to build a more equitable Ocean State economy.

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