Chart of the Week: Getting Infrastructure Right in Baltimore

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

In the latest issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell makes the case for the #CurbCutEffect—the idea that policies and programs designed to benefit marginalized groups often end up benefiting society as a whole. Equitable public transportation investments, for example, that connect underserved residents to employment and regional economic opportunities can generate benefits that extend beyond individual residents. Better transportation options for those who have been historically disconnected from the region means employers have better access to labor. It also means lower turnover and greater retention, which decrease costs for businesses. And as employment increases, so does taxable income.

To illustrate the importance of equitable infrastructure investments in the United States, this week’s chart looks at the share of households without a vehicle in Baltimore, Maryland. Nationally, 9 percent of households are without a vehicle, but in Baltimore, that number is 30 percent. White households are the least likely to be carless—just 16 percent of White households do not have a vehicle. Black households, on the other hand, are the most likely to be carless: nearly 39 percent do not have a car.

How far the potential benefits of public transit investments in Baltimore extend depend on how targeted they are and whether decision makers use investments to advance racial equity. A recent article in Citylab highlighted that bike infrastructure in Baltimore appears to be concentrated in Whiter, more affluent neighborhoods, but Bikemore is working to change this by centering equity, safety, and health and tackling the historic disinvestment in Black communities head on. As Blackwell explains, “when the nation targets support where it is needed most—when we create the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully—everyone wins.”

To see how car access varies by race/ethnicity in your city or region, visit the National Equity Atlas, type in your city or region, and share the map for your community using #equitydata. To read “The Curb Cut Effect,” visit the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Chart of the Week: San Diego’s “YIMBY” Coalition to Take on Housing Fight

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

In California, 58 percent of renter-occupied households spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent (the second highest rate of housing burden in the country after Florida). In a heated real estate market, advocates across the state are fighting for more affordable housing. In many cities, housing production has not kept up with a growing population, in part because existing residents are often resistant to new housing developments—especially those with affordability restrictions—due to concerns that such developments will change the “character” of their neighborhoods.

But a new coalition of business and environmental groups in San Diego is taking the opposite approach. Housing YOU Matters is San Diego’s first formal organization of “Yimbys”—an acronym for “Yes in My Backyard” that indicates their support for affordable housing solutions. This week’s chart looks at renter housing burden in the city to underscore the affordability issues in San Diego and the communities most impacted.

As the chart below shows, 54 percent of all renter-occupied households in San Diego are rent-burdened. But this number ranges from 49 percent among Asian or Pacific Islander renter households to 63 percent among Latino renter households.

Not all households are similarly impacted by the housing affordability crisis in San Diego and efforts to increase the supply of housing (both market-rate and affordable) ought to address how Black and Latino households, in particular, pay too much for housing. Policies that help to ensure that all households can access safe and affordable housing include adopting strong tenant protections such as “just cause” eviction ordinances, anti-harassment policies, and rent control to prevent displacement of renter households.

To see how renter (and homeowner) housing burden varies in your city, region, or state, visit the National Equity Atlas, type in your community, and share the chart using #equitydata.

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Equity Atlas Users,

As you know, the Atlas is a living resource, and 2016 was a year of growth and evolution. As we close out the year, we wanted to highlight some of our milestones from the year:

  • To help you use the Atlas data, we began the practice of hosting 30-minute webinars with short demos of new data/features and also started a "Chart of the Week" series linking the data to current events
  • We further disaggregated our data, adding detailed breakdowns of the major racial/ethnic groups by ancestry (to help you bust the model minority myth), as well as more nativity breakdowns
  • Our new school poverty data undergirded a series on educational equity from journalist Ron Brownstein and colleagues at The Atlantic
  • We participated in the inaugural White House Opportunity Project data sprint and added new indicators on air pollution, poverty, and working poverty
  • Most recently, we upgraded our mapping system, making neighborhood-level mapping (and a nifty, custom-created neighborhood filter for visualizing spatial relationships) available for four indicators

 

We’ve been thrilled to see community leaders in Fairfax County, Grand Rapids, Atlanta and elsewhere using Equity Atlas data to drive equitable growth policies, plans, and projects, and are looking forward to working more with you in 2017.

Thank you!

(clockwise from top left): Sheila Xiao, Sarah Treuhaft, Angel Ross, 
Justin Scoggins, Rosamaria Carrillo, Pamela Stephens, Abbie Langston, Alexis Stephens

The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

Chart of the Week: Large Urban Counties are at the Forefront of America's Demographic Change

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

It’s been well reported that Hillary Clinton, despite failing to secure the necessary 270 Electoral College votes, won the popular vote by more than 2 million ballots. At the same time, county-level maps of election results show a sea of red. There are now nine times as many “Republican landslide counties” (counties that went Republican by more than 20 percentage points) than “Democratic landslide counties” according to The New York Times. But the areas where Trump won big are less populated than the areas where Clinton won big: the 2,232 Republican landslide counties have less people overall than the 242 Democratic landslide counties. And according to a Brookings analysis, the less than 500 counties that went Democratic made up 64 percent of total U.S. economic activity in 2015.

Our analysis of Large Urban Counties (LUCs), counties with more than 500,000 residents, underscorces just how urban and diverse the country has become. LUCs are not just the economic powerhouses of the country, they are also home to a disproportionate share of people of color.

This week’s chart draws from the new people of color maps added to Atlas to highlight how the nation’s most populous, “high output” counties are at the forefront of America’s demographic changes. In 2014, there were 133 LUCs, accounting for just four percent of counties nationwide. Of these 133 counties, 52 are already majority people of color and 18 are two-thirds people of color. The U.S. population as a whole is just 37 percent people of color, but half of the 151 million residents of LUCs are people of color.

LUCs are major economic actors and have a unique opportunity to advance equitable economic policies. Last month, Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, in her address to the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) of the National Association of Counties, highlighted several strategies that LUCs can adopt to catalyze equitable growth, including the integration of health and human services into development through investing in the residents and workers as well as the built environment.

To see how population and the share of people of color vary by county in your region, visit the National Equity Atlas, type in your state or region, and share the map for your community using #equitydata.

Chart of the Week: #Fightfor15’s National Day of Action Lifts Up the Working Poor

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

Today is the #Fightfor15’s National Day of Action. Across the country, thousands of fast food and airport workers from Los Angeles to Chicago and Little Rock are striking and protesting as part of a call for a $15 minimum wage and collective bargaining rights. Organizers emphasize that this movement is about restoring dignity for all working people.

Had the minimum wage kept up with productivity, it would be nearly $19 an hour today according to the Economic Policy Insitute (EPI). Regardless of where one stands on the issue, most agree that people working full-time year-round should not be in or close to poverty. But data show that this is the case for many workers, particularly workers of color.

To provide additional context to actions taking place at Chicago O’Hare and across the country, this week’s chart looks at the rate of working poverty by race/ethnicity and nativity in the city of Chicago. The working poor are defined as full-time workers, ages 25 to 64, with a family income below 200 percent of poverty (based on their family size and composition). As the chart below illustrates, more than one in four Latino immigrant full-time workers in Chicago have a family income that places them below 200 percent of poverty. Nearly 13 percent of U.S.-born Black full-time workers in the city also fall below 200 percent of poverty. This compares to just three percent of U.S.-born White full-time workers.

The poverty threshold is determined federally and not adjusted for local cost of living. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for a family of three (one adult and two children) is $31/hour in Cook County, where Chicago is located. The 200 percent of poverty wage, on the other hand, is $20/hour. As the low-wage sector has expanded, the share of adults who are working full-time jobs but still cannot make ends meet has increased, particularly among Latinos and other workers of color. The failure of even full-time work to pay family-supporting wages dampens the potential of working families and the nation as a whole.

Fortunately, we know which economic policies, if adopted or expanded, can lift full-time workers out of poverty and those participating in the National Day of Action today are working to build political will around them. In addition to raising federal and state minimum wages, those policies include expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which are responsible for lifting millions of families and children out of poverty each year. For a list of policies, visit EPI’s Agenda to Raise America’s Pay.

To see how working poverty varies in your region, visit the National Equity Atlas, type in your city, region, or state and share the chart for your community using #equitydata and #Fightfor15.

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Equity Atlas Users,
 

Now more than ever, data that is disaggregated by race/ethnicity and place must be used to sustain and amplify the movement for equitable growth and shared prosperity. Here is this month’s roundup of news and updates to help you continue to make the case for equity as the path to a successful future. 

State of Black Long Island Project Launched
Last month, we launched a new engagement to advance racial equity and inclusive growth in America’s quintessential suburb: Long Island. In partnership with the Urban League of Long Island, the Long Island Community Foundation, and Citi Community Development, PolicyLink and PERE are analyzing changing demographics and the state of equity in Nassau and Suffolk counties, with a particular focus on the Black community, and building a policy agenda for racial economic inclusion. We will be releasing the report and policy agenda in February 2017. 

Data Updates for 17 Indicators
For several months, our team has been updating our database to incorporate the most recent data from one of our key sources, which is the 2014 five-year pooled data from the IPUMS American Community Survey. (The pooled data is an average of the samples taken between 2010 and 2014.) We are happy to share that we've now updated 17 of our 32 indicators, including:

  • Demographics: Detailed Race/Ethnicity, Median Age
  • Economic Vitality: Homeownership, Income Growth, Income Inequality: Gini, Income Inequality: 95/20 ratio, Job and GDP Growth, Poverty, Unemployment, Wages: Median, Working Poor 
  • Readiness: Education Levels and Job Requirements, Disconnected Youth
  • Connectedness: Car Access, Commute Time, Housing Burden, Neighborhood Poverty

 

Large Urban Counties Are Leading the Nation’s Growth
Although they represent just 4 percent of the 3,142 counties in the United States, large urban counties — those with at least 500,000 residents — are home to nearly half of the U.S. population. For a convening of the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) of the National Association of Counties on November 18 in New York City, the National Equity Atlas team created an infographic and blogpost illustrating how these counties are at the forefront of the nation’s shifting demographics.
 
Charts of the Week
In a month where setbacks seemed to pile on top of one another, the three Charts of the Week posted to the Atlas Data In Action section showed where there is hope on the horizon. On Election Day, voters in Maine approved a minimum wage increase to $12.00/hour and this chart reveals the impact this can have for workers in the state. Voters in Indianapolis authorized a progressive plan to fund mass transit expansion and we generated a charton racial disparities in car access underscoring how transit equity will help connect people to jobs. Finally, this GIF displays the percent people of color in the U.S., by county, from 1980 to 2040. With each decade going forward, the strength of our economy increasingly depends on the readiness and full inclusion of people of color as workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
 

Thank you!
The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

Large Urban Counties are Leading the Nation’s Demographic Change

 

On November 18, the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) of the National Association of Counties convened in New York City, bringing together county leaders from across the country to share ideas and develop innovative policy solutions to address their most pressing challenges.

Although they represent just 4 percent of the 3,142 counties in the United States, large urban counties (LUCs) — those with more than 500,000 residents — are home to nearly half of the U.S. population. In other words, as the graphic below illustrates, more than 150 million people live in the 133 LUCs in the United States.

So it is no surprise that these counties are at the forefront of the nation’s shifting demographics. As data in the National Equity Atlas show, the face of America is changing: Just a few years from now, the majority of people under the age of 18 will be youth of color, and by 2044 the United States will be a majority people-of-color nation.

LUCs are already there. The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and PERE analyzed the current and projected demographics of these counties to highlight the economic imperative of equity and inclusion. More than 50 percent of these counties’ residents are people of color, compared to 37 percent of the U.S. as a whole. Today, LUCs are home to 65 percent of people of color in the United States, including nearly 8 out of 10 Asians and Pacific Islanders and 7 out of 10 Latinos.

Over the next few decades, the U.S. population will not only become more diverse, it will also become more urban. Projections show that by 2050 there will be 183 LUCs, and 224 million people will live in them. That is why this year’s LUCC symposium theme, “County Leadership for Economic Opportunity,” is so important: in order to build the vibrant, thriving, inclusive communities of tomorrow, leaders must act today to embed equity into every function of government. Angela Glover Blackwell, chief executive officer of PolicyLink, presented the findings of our demographic analysis, and offered some important guidance for county leaders grappling with the challenges of building an economy in which all can participate and prosper.

LUCs are major economic actors, directing over $350 billion of annual investments in infrastructure, public facilities, health services, economic development, and other critical services and programs. And nowhere else is the economic imperative of equity more clear: by 2050, LUCs will be home to 56 percent of the U.S. population, including 41 percent of Whites and 69 percent of people of color. In her remarks, Blackwell laid out a series of strategies that LUCs can adopt to catalyze equitable growth and provide opportunities for those being left behind to reach their full potential:

  • Prioritize infrastructure investments to improve economic mobility, build career pathways, and create lifelines to opportunity by prioritizing local and targeted hiring and increasing opportunity in disinvested neighborhoods.
  • Align economic development strategies that aim to grow “high-opportunity jobs” with workforce strategies to prepare people to succeed in those jobs. Make equity and inclusion benchmarks a requirement for the allocation of economic development incentives, and hold businesses and developers accountable for delivering on them, through community benefits agreements or other appropriate mechanisms.
  • Integrate and health and human services into development, investing in the residents and workers as well as the built environment of neighborhoods. Remove barriers to preventive services to improve and safeguard the health of tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and workers.
  • Ensure that jobs related to the construction and operation of public facilities are good jobs that providing family-supporting wages, health care and other benefits, paid sick leave, and opportunities for professional development.

 

By leveraging their considerable assets to foster economic inclusion, create healthy communities of opportunity, and champion justice and safety for all, large urban counties can play a decisive leadership role in building equitable regions in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

 

Chart of the Week: A Vote for Transit Equity in Indianapolis

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

Last Tuesday, voters in Marion County, Indiana, delivered a local election-day victory for equity when they authorized a progressive plan to fund mass transit expansion throughout the Indianapolis area.

Voters approved more than two-thirds of the nearly 50 transit-related measures that appeared on ballots across the country last week, totaling nearly $200 billion in public transportation projects (according to the American Public Transportation Association). But Marion County’s Question 2 stands out because it authorizes the City-County Council to raise funds through an income tax increase, rather than the regressive sale tax increases that many other transit plans rely on for capital.

Reliable transportation is essential to help workers and families connect to jobs, education and training, services, and other community resources. And as data from the National Equity Atlas show, many households of color in Indianpolis (12 percent) lack access to a car; 14.6 percent of Black household do not have a vehicle, compared to 4.5 percent of White households. 

To grow an equitable economy, all communities must be able to easily connect to the opportunities and assets in a region. This requires policies just like those included in the Marion County Transit Plan, which calls for $390 million of investments to improve existing bus services — extending hours, adding new routes and increasing frequency, and expanding days of service — and funding the operation of three bus rapid transit lines. These services could put two-thirds of the city’s jobs and people within walking distance of reliable public transit.

To see how car access varies in your state, region, or city, visit the National Equity Atlas, download the chart for your community, and post to social media using #equitydata.

Chart of the Week: Maine’s New Minimum Wage Law is a Win for Equity

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

Earlier this week, voters in various cities, counties, and four states approved minimum-wage increases that have the potential to raise incomes for millions of working Americans.  Washington state will raise its minimum hourly wage to $13.50 by 2020, while Arizona, Colorado, and Maine will raise their respective state minimums to $12.00 in the same time frame. These are important victories for the equity movement and the #FightFor15.

Maine’s plan is especially encouraging; not only will it boost the current minimum of $7.50/hour by 60 percent over the next few years, it will tie the minimum wage to inflation after 2020 and eliminate the sub-minimum “tipped wage” by 2024. No other state east of the Mississippi has moved to end the so-called tip credit that allows employers to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage.

Atlas data underscore how inequitable income growth contributes to rising inequality and creates a drag on the overall economy of a region and the nation as a whole. As this week’s chart illustrates, real income for full-time workers at the 10th percentile in Maine has remained virtually unchanged for many decades – growing just 1.4 percent since 1980. For workers at the 90th percentile, on the other hand, incomes have grown by more than 21 percent. 

Increasing the income of low-wage workers is essential to build an economy that works for all

Equitable growth would mean rising wages for all workers, but with the largest gains going to those at the bottom of the income distribution. In Seattle, the first major city to pioneer a $15 minimum wage, the pay of workers covered by the new law grew by 12 percent during the first-stage of the phase-in increase — compared to just 5 percent for workers in similar, neighboring places — and the employment stability of low-wage workers increased, as well.

To see how earned income growth for full-time wage and salaried workers varies across the income distribution for your state, region, or city, visit the National Equity Atlas, download the chart for your community, and post to social media using #equitydata.

Chart of the Week: Vote for Candidates Who Will Invest in our Future

To add equity data to the national dialogue about growth and prosperity, every week the National Equity Atlas team posts a new chart from the Equity Atlas related to current events and issues.

News stories about broad demographic shifts and the changing face of America are increasingly common. Last year, California — the most populous state in the nation — became the fourth “majority-minority” state. Already the majority of youth under age 5 nationwide are people of color, and by 2044, the nation will be majority people of color.

Today’s policy decisions will affect the future growth and prosperity of the nation for years to come. To illustrate the importance of racial equity, this week’s chart is a GIF showing the percent people of color in the U.S., by county, from 1980 to 2040. With each decade going forward, the strength of our economy increasingly depends on the readiness and full inclusion of people of color as workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. On Tuesday, vote for candidates who will invest in our future workforce and build an economy that works for all.

In 1980, the U.S. was 20 percent people of color. The dark orange counties, representing areas where people of color comprised more than 80 percent of the population, were located throughout the South and Southwest, with the exception of Native American reservations in the Dakotas and Wisconsin. From 1980 to 2020, the share of people of color in the United States is expected to more than double to 41 percent. By 2040, the U.S. is projected to be 49 percent people of color.

According to 2015 Census data, 370 counties, home to nearly one in three Americans, are already majority people of color. That’s up from 339 counties in 2010. Some of the counties that have become majority people of color in the last five years include parts of Fort Worth and Austin in Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina.

To see how the share of people of color is expected to change through 2040 in your community, visit the National Equity Atlas, and type in your region or state. Download the chart and share it on social media using #equitydata.

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