The Bay Area is booming, but a rising tide economy is not lifting up its low-income communities and communities of color. As communities of color continue to drive growth and change in the region, addressing wide racial inequities and ensuring people of color can fully participate as workers, entrepreneurs, and innovators is an urgent priority. Our analysis finds that the regional economy could have been $117 billion stronger in 2012 absent its racial gaps in income and employment. This profile, produced for The San Francisco Foundation, describes the region’s demographic transformation and performance on a series of equity indicators. Read the summary (web version/download PDF) and the full profile (web version/download PDF). NOTE: This profile was updated in 2017. See the updated profile.

Media: Study Finds S.F.’s Ethnic Diversity Dwindling (SF Chronicle); A Startling Map of How Much Whiter San Francisco Will Be in 2040 (CityLab); S.F. Could Be Much Whiter in 25 Years, While the Rest of Region Gets More Diverse (KQED News); Study Shows San Francisco Getting Less Diverse (KGO 810 News); San Francisco Poised to be "Whitest County" in Bay Area (NBC Bay Area); SF Is on Track to Be the Whitest County in the Region (SF Curbed)

The Research Triangle Region has a long tradition of growth and change, as its research universities and technologically sophisticated businesses have served markets and attracted people from across the United States and around the world. From the city cores of Raleigh and Durham to small towns and rural areas throughout the region, the communities that make up the Research Triangle have a common goal of seeing that all its people have pathways to success. Download the full profile and summary.

Media: Inequality Threaten's Triangle's Rise (News and Observer), Report: Triangle Has Room For Improvement To Address Racial Disparities (WUNC Public Radio)

This document, created by the Urban Institute, explores seven steps to align high-quality education with innovations in city and metropolitan planning and development.

This guide contains a set of suggested critical criteria, functions, and guiding questions to use in order to review potential database vendors. These guidelines are intended to be a starting point for community discussions about data systems, and can be altered to reflect the specific needs of a Promise Neighborhood.

This “Peer Learning Tool” is intended to briefly highlight examples of promising solutions for achieving the Promise Neighborhoods results, as well as the competencies needed to implement them effectively and sustain the work over time, that were taken from communities utilizing the Promise Neighborhoods approach who were willing to share their experiences with their colleagues.

The tool is organized in two parts: one including promising practices related to the Promise Neighborhoods results and associated indicators, and another describing efforts to build the competencies necessary to achieve better results and scale the work over time. For a given result area or competency there is an entry that includes a brief description of the efforts of one or more Promise Neighborhoods in that area as well as a contact person who can be reached to learn additional details.

The Cape Fear region in North Carolina is experiencing a demographic transformation characterized by a diversifying younger population and a rapidly growing senior population that is predominantly White. To secure a thriving economy for the decades to come, the region must tap the economic potential of its growing young population. Building education and career pathways for all and ensuring young workers are prepared for the jobs of the future are key strategies for inclusive growth in the region. Download the profile and summary.

Media: Community, Business Leaders Discuss Inequalities and Growth (WilmingtonBiz.com) 

The Pine Ridge reservation, home of Oglala Lakota people, sits within a broader regional economic context whose primary sectors include tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and retail.1 The Pine Ridge Reservation and the Rapid City Metropolitan area are interdependent economies that, to date, channel many economic benefits off-reservation. This Equity and Opportunity Assessment identifies key strategies to create greater vibrancy and equity in reservation-based economic activity—to increase prosperity and quality of life for both the Oglala Lakota people and the region as a whole.

The Piedmont Triad region in North Carolina—covering 12 counties and home to the cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point—is a growing region whose demographics are rapidly changing. Communities of color are driving growth, and have increased from 20 to 33 percent of the population since 1980. Ensuring its diverse residents can participate in the regional economy and contribute to stronger job growth and broadly shared prosperity is critical for the region’s future. Growing good jobs, investing in its workforce, and infusing economic inclusion into economic development and growth strategies are promising strategies. Download the profile and summary.

Houston-Galveston is characterized by overall economic strength and resilience, but wide racial gaps in income, health, and opportunity coupled with declining wages, a shrinking middle class, and rising inequality place the region’s economic success and future at risk. Our analysis showed the region already stands to gain a great deal from addressing racial inequities. If racial gaps in income had been closed in 2012, the regional economy would have been $243.3 billion stronger: a 54 percent increase. Download the equity profile, summary, and addendum with the GDP analysis.

Media: Study: Urgently Provide More Educational and Employment Opportunities for Hispanics in Southeast Texas (en Español)

Communities of color are driving Southeast Florida’s population growth, and their ability to participate and thrive is central to the region’s economic success. But wide racial gaps in income, health, and opportunity place its future at risk. Creating good jobs, connecting youth and vulnerable workers to training and career pathways, and increasing access to economic opportunities can secure a bright economic future for the region. PolicyLink and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) produced this profile in partnership with the Southeast Florida Regional Planning Partnership. You can also download the profile and summary.

Media: South Florida Least Affordable for Housing, Studies Show (SunSentinal)