A Message from Angela Glover Blackwell (translated into Spanish here)
Distributed at Equity Summit 2018, April 11-13, 2018, Chicago

An excerpt:

The forces molding the future—demographic shifts, staggering inequality, economic and technological change, climate threats— are intensifying. The need is growing for action that fosters opportunity, shared prosperity, environmental sustainability, and resilience. As the challenges mount and the political opposition stiffens, the ambitions of the equity movement must soar, not shrink. Now is the time to articulate bold intentions, set far reaching goals, formulate transformational ideas, and build alliances—including unlikely ones—to push those ideas forward. It is the moment to reclaim control of our agenda and our future.

This report presents new data illustrating how the combination of rising rents and stagnant incomes is straining household budgets and stifling opportunity for all but the very wealthy in the nine-county Bay Area, raising serious questions about the sustainability of the region’s economy. The report was developed as part of the Bay Area Equity Atlas partnership between PolicyLink, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California (PERE). Key findings include:

• Between 2000 and 2016, rents increased 24 percent while renter incomes rose just 9 percent.
• There are 480,000 economically insecure renter households in the region that are paying $9,000 too much for housing per year, on average.
• A family of two full-time workers each making $15/hour can only afford market rent in 5 percent of Bay Area neighborhoods.
• 92 percent of these neighborhoods affordable to working-class families are rated "very low opportunity" on a comprehensive index of neighborhood opportunity. 

How are people using this data? The analyses in this report served as the basis for factsheets and maps developed with Working Partnerships, Urban Habitat, and EBASE to support their tenant protection policy campaigns. The Bay Area Economic Council used this data in their report analyzing policy solutions to the housing crisis in Alameda County. KQED Forum host Michael Krasny used it to open up his conversation with housing activist Randy Shaw about his book Generation Priced Out. The Partnership for the Bay's Future used our data to frame the need for investment in housing solutions.

Media mentions: Housing Is Key to Bay Area's Economic Future, Study Finds (Philanthropy News Digest), New Report Examines the Bay Area's Broken Housing Market (Planetizen), World Journal

Provides a framework of principles, describes the work and ideas of key players, and captures the important policy solutions that should be included in the upcoming federal authorization legislation.

850,000 of Alabama's working-age adults are economically insecure and struggling to find good jobs: jobs that pay enough to support a family, offer safe working conditions, and provide meaningful opportunities to move up the economic ladder. Advancing Employment Equity in Alabama describes why employment equity — when everyone who wants a job can find one — is critical to Alabama's economic future and offers a policy roadmap to achieve employment equity. It is based on data analysis and modeling of a "full-employment economy" as well as policy research and focus groups conducted by PolicyLink and the Alabama Asset Building Coalition. With full employment for all, Alabama's economy would be $3.9 billion stronger every year. However, to realize these gains, state leaders must be willing to eliminate barriers to employment through efforts such as expanding public transportation options, banning the box on criminal background checks, and supporting the growth of minority- and women-owned business enterprises. This is the second of five briefs about employment equity in southern states co-produced by PolicyLink, Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at the University of Southern California, and local partners with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Download the report, detailed methodology, and fact sheet "Employment Equity: The Path to a More Competitive Alabama."