National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Happy Spring! Our team is excited to see our data informing comprehensive equity strategies in Pinellas County, FL and water equity efforts in Buffalo, NY. And we are hard at work getting ready to launch the Bay Area Equity Atlas!
 
Pinella County Equity Profile Release
This month, in partnership with UNITE Pinellas, our team released a new equity profile and summary of Pinellas County, FL. The release event drew over 400 people, ranging from high school students to community and organizational leaders eager to understand the data and take action. Anand Subramanian of PolicyLink presented the keynote and moderated a panel with representatives from the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Commission, A New Deal for St. Pete, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. The report serves as a launching point for UNITE Pinellas and the members of its collaborative to orient their policy, systems, and narrative change strategies moving forward. The release event was covered in the St. Pete Catalyst and the Tampa Bay Times.
 
Buffalo’s Equitable Water Future
Earlier this month, the US Water Alliance and Buffalo’s Water Equity Task Force released “An Equitable Water Future: Buffalo,” a first-ever report on the connections between water management and equity in the city. The report uses Atlas data to make the connection between disparities in wealth and housing, and how those factors affect water systems. It argues that making water systems more equitable means ensuring that all people have access to safe, affordable water, and benefit from high-quality infrastructure and public amenities like waterfront parks.
 
Thank you for your interest in our work!

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

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings from the National Equity Atlas team! This month, we released a new equity profile for Orange County, California. And we were thrilled to see our data on wage disparities used to power policy advocacy in Cincinnati!
 
Orange County Equity Report Release
On March 26, about 300 people gathered at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana for the release event for An Equity Profile of Orange County, completed in partnership with Orange County Grantmakers. The presentation of data revealing stark inequities within the wealthy county made many participants uncomfortable — and ready to take action. Reacting to the presentation of the data by Dr. Manuel Pastor, Rosie Perez of Mission Integration at Providence St. Joseph Hospital said “I am motivated by the findings. I think it can bring all of us together to work toward equity.”

Cincinnati Leverages Equity Data to Win New Wage Equity Policy
On March 13, Cincinnati City Council barred employers from asking applicants about their salary history in an attempt to reduce wage disparities between men and women in the region. This was the direct result of advocacy by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s Women’s Fund, using data from our equity profile along with coalition building support from the PolicyLink All-In Cities initiative. The Cincinnati Business Courier and CityBeat covered the passing of the new ordinance.

Omaha Equitable Growth Profile Wins Planning Award
Our partners at the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the Heartland 2050 initiative received an award from the Nebraska chapter of the American Planning Association for their work using the Equitable Growth Profile of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Region to drive equity planning in the region. Since the profile was released in July, local leaders have used the data to inform multiple planning efforts spanning health, housing, transportation, and leadership development, including the United Way of the Midland’s Community Food Plan, the Douglas County Community Health Improvement Plan, and the City of Omaha’s Transit Oriented Development Initiative.

Join Our Team: PolicyLink is Hiring a Director for Our Equity Data Team
Love the Atlas? Come work with us! PolicyLink is seeking a director to lead our growing portfolio of work that leverages data to advance racial and economic equity. The director will have principal responsibility for the day-to-day management of the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas and lead the development of other high-impact quantitative and mixed-methods analyses and data tools. Find the job description and instructions on how to apply here.

In the News
The Los Angeles Times used Atlas data on the housing burdens faced by minimum wage workers in Oakland in an article about the Athletics baseball team building housing units alongside their new stadium.

Thank you for your interest in our work!

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

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings from the National Equity Atlas team! This month, we released a new equity profile for the city of Long Beach. We are also happy to see our research on Sacramento and Long Island being used to advance equitable growth policies in those communities.
 
Long Beach Equity Report Release
On February 5, the National Equity Atlas team, in partnership with Citi Community Development, the Long Beach Office of Equity, and Councilmember Rex Richardson’s Office, released an Equitable Growth Profile of the City of Long Beach at Long Beach City College Pacific Coast Campus. One hundred participants attended the event, including residents, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, city officials, and staff. Dr. Manuel Pastor gave the keynote address, highlighting the benefits of racial economic inclusion and the importance of using data not only disaggregated by race/ethnicity, but also by immigrant status and ancestry to advance equity and shift policy. “These aren’t crazy things,” said Brian Addison in an article about the report’s policy recommendations in the Long Beach Post. “They’re doable. They’re respectable. And if we want to keep Long Beach, well, Long Beach, we have to actually start implementing them.”
 
Join Our Team: PolicyLink is Hiring a Director for Our Equity Data Team
Love the Atlas? Come work with us! PolicyLink is seeking a director to lead our growing portfolio of work that leverages data to advance racial and economic equity. The director will have principal responsibility for the day-to-day management of the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas and lead the development of other high-impact quantitative and mixed-methods analyses and data tools. Find the job description and instructions on how to apply here.

California Data Sources
The Atlas was included in a crowdsourced compilation of data sources advocates turn to when they need publicly available data about California. Originally created for the communities participating in the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative, Hillcrest Advisory currently maintains the regularly updated catalog.
 
In the News
Atlas data was used in the first of six longform reports by Hawaii Business magazine about families struggling to get by in the state. Sacramento News & Review provided coverage on a white paper released by the Sacramento Housing Alliance that included Atlas data on local rent increases. Our fact sheet on rent burdens in Chicago was cited in an In These Times cover article on grassroots organizing in the city. Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman released a report on Black economic equity in the Long Island, NY county, which references a National Equity Atlas report from 2017. Newsday and The Island Now wrote about the report and its release event.
 
Thank you for your interest in our work!

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

National Equity Atlas Update: Year in Review

Dear Atlas Users,

Happy Holidays from the National Equity Atlas team! We are thankful for another fruitful year of collaborations with local coalitions and community leaders on data projects that empower collective action, undergird advocacy, and inform policies to advance racial equity and inclusive prosperity. Here are some highlights from the past year:

Employment Equity in Southern States

In partnership with collaboratives and organizations in each state, we released a series of five briefs that lay out policy roadmaps for Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Louisiana. These briefs were all based on data analyses and modeling of a “full-employment economy,” defined as when everyone who wants a job can find one, as well as focus groups with workers seeking good jobs These reports are undergirding the employment equity work of our partners, Partnership for Southern Equity, Alabama Asset-Building Coalition, Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative, Rural Forward NC, the NC Budget & Tax Center, and the Louisiana Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

New Equity Profiles

Continuing our work to inform equitable growth strategies locally, we developed equity profiles for Sacramento, Albuquerque, Cincinnati, and Omaha. As always, each profile was produced in partnership with local leaders who are using the data in their collective action efforts. In Albuquerque, the profile data will serve as a guide for the city’s Office of Equity and Inclusion as they develop their action agenda. In Cincinnati, the profile is informing the All-In Cincinnati coalition which is focusing on increasing housing affordability and stability for Black women in the city.

Other Reports and Publications

In April, we released Solving the Housing Crisis Is Key to Inclusive Prosperity in the Bay Area, produced in partnership with The San Francisco Foundation. Analyzing Zillow data on median rents, we found that two minimum-wage workers earning $15/hour can find affordable rentals in just 5 percent of the Bay Area’s 1,500 census tracts. Last month, in partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, we released 100 Million and Counting: A Portrait of Economic Insecurity in the United States, which sheds new light on the 106 million Americans — nearly a third of the nation — who are living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Register here for an upcoming webinar on the report and its findings taking place on Monday, January 14, 12:00 - 1:00 pm PT / 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET.

Data in Action/Atlas in the News

Our team has also shared several blog posts adding equity data to the national dialogue about inclusive economies; those posts and our monthly email updates are archived here. And throughout the year, Atlas data and reports have also been covered by various local and national media outlets and articles, radio interviews, and more are available here.

Thank you once more for your interest in our work!

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

A Developmental Pathway for Achieving Promise Neighborhoods Results

Overview

This important tool was developed to help Promise Neighborhood communities and the field at large better understand the external conditions and developmental milestones that are needed to build the cradle to career continuum and to achieve the goals/outcomes set forth in Promise Neighborhoods. The tool illustrates the developmental pathways necessary to achieve the Promise Neighborhoods vision.

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings from the National Equity Atlas team! We are busy at work crunching data for forthcoming analyses and tools that we will be rolled out in the next couple of months. In the meantime, we are happy to share news about our most recent equity profile release in Cincinnati.

Advancing Health Equity and Inclusive Growth in Cincinnati

On October 19, over 200 people gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for the release event for the new equity profile; its accompanying policy brief, All-In Cincinnati: Equity is the Path to Inclusive Prosperity; and one-page fact sheet which were written in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and Interact for Health.

PolicyLink President and CEO Michael McAfee gave a keynote speech about how the city is poised to lead the nation on equity, and Senior Associate James Crowder presented data findings and potential policy solutions to the audience. These data and accompanying policy recommendations will help to inform the work of the All-In Cincinnati coalition. That coalition is using the PolicyLink All-In Cities policy framework as they move towards policy and systems change.

Local news station WCPO Cincinnati covered the report in a TV segment and accompanying article that highlight key data points that have informed the coalition to work towards removing barriers for women of color to participate more fully in, and benefit from the region's economy. Reporter Lucy May writes, "All-In Cincinnati's policy recommendations aim to help black women, who often feel the region's racial and economic inequities most acutely." Nick Swartsell from CityBeat also wrote about the release, lifting up, "the cascading effect economic and racial inequality have on Hamilton County residents."

Thank you!

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

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Happy fall! This month, the Atlas team hit the road, with presentations and equity profile community engagements from Orange County, California to Pinellas County, Florida and many more stops in between. In all of the places we are working, we are impressed by our community partners who are bringing together diverse leaders to effect policy changes to reduce racial and economic inequities.

#EquityData at Mile High Data Day

On September 20, about 180 Coloradan community leaders gathered for the third annual Mile High Data Day, held by Shift Research Lab, to gain new ideas, insights, and connections for using data to power their community change efforts. Sarah Treuhaft, managing director at PolicyLink, gave the keynote address, lifting up how the Equity Atlas team weaves story, data, and community partnerships together to drive equitable growth policy changes and sharing the Denver Renter Fact Sheet created in partnership with the Right to the City Alliance. At the conference, we were happy to learn that the Colorado Office of Health Equity used our data in its new Equity Action Guide.

Equity Profiles Underway for Long Beach, Orange County, and Pinellas County

We are busy gathering data and speaking with community leaders about key equitable growth challenges and opportunities in three very different coastal communities: the port city of Long Beach, California, located in Los Angeles County; Orange County, just to the east of Long Beach; and Pinellas County, Florida, home to St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The Long Beach profile will be released later this year with the others scheduled for release in early 2019.

Milwaukee Renter Data In Action

In July, the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin requested a renter fact sheet to support its economic opportunity work. The data revealed that Milwaukee renters already spend $2.8 billion to the local economy every year, but could contribute an additional $352 million per year if six in 10 renters were not rent burdened. The YWCA has been using the data to make the case that better job opportunities and wage increases for disenfranchised communities of color would have broad benefits for the city, to push for quality homeownership opportunities for renters, and to counter the myth that renters are not concerned about their neighborhoods and do not contribute to the Milwaukee economy.

Atlas Team on the Road

The theme of this year's Community Indicators Consortium conference, held in Minneapolis, was "Community Indicators in Action" and we were happy to host a workshop on leveraging data and narrative to advance equity locally at the event. Sarah Treuhaft also delivered the Impact Award to the MAP Dashboard Project in Southern Arizona, whose data on teacher wages helped Tucson for Teachers win higher teacher pay as a part of the #RedforEd movement. This month, our team is looking forward to the EARN Conference in Chicago and the National Neighborhood Indicators meeting in Los Angeles.

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

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings! As we move into fall, our team is expanding. We are happy to welcome Joanna Lee and Arpita Sharma to PERE, and are also excited for Huibin (Amee) Chew to join PolicyLink as an American Council of Learned Societies Equitable Economy Fellow, beginning September 4.
 

New Community Data Projects
Over the next year and a half, the National Equity Atlas team will be working with five community organizations and coalitions in New Mexico and Mississippi on data projects to advance equitable growth locally. The partners and their projects include: the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (predatory storefront lending), the New Mexico Worker Organizing Collaborative (wage theft), Doña Ana Communities United (equity policies in Las Cruces), San Juan College (equitable economic development in Farmington), and East Biloxi Community Collaborative (equitable opportunity zones). We are grateful to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for supporting this project and excited to get started!

Join Us at the 2018 CIC Impact Summit in Minneapolis!
From September 17-19, the Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) will host its annual impact summit in Minneapolis, with the theme of "Community Indicators in Action." One of our longtime collaborators, Dr. Chris Benner of the University of California, Santa Cruz, will deliver the keynote, and Sarah Treuhaft will lead a workshop on leveraging data and narrative to advance equity locally on September 19. Register here.

Seeking a Communications Strategist in Oakland
Are you a communications expert passionate about racial and economic equity and empowering community changemakers with data? PolicyLink is looking for a part-time strategist in our Oakland office to implement our communications and outreach strategy for the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas. Apply here.

In the News
Kevin Alin and Peter Truog of The Fund for Our Economic Future cited our data estimating that Cleveland's regional economy could be $15 billion stronger each year with racial equity in income in their blog post encouraging cities to advance racial equity through their opportunity zone investments.

Thank you!

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

National Equity Atlas: July Update

Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings! July has been a month for making progress on a number of exciting projects we will roll out in the fall and winter. We are thrilled to welcome our newest team member, Michelle Huang, who has joined PolicyLink in our Oakland office. We also wish our teammate Ángel Ross well as they begin a doctorate program in sociology at UC Berkeley!
 

Seeking a Communications Strategist
Are you a communications expert passionate about racial and economic equity and empowering community changemakers with data? PolicyLink is looking for a part-time strategist in our Oakland office to implement our communications and outreach strategy for the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas. Apply here.

Advancing the Conversation on Employment Equity
James Crowder recently participated in a radio interview with NC Policy Watch to describe the findings and recommendations of our report, "Advancing Employment Equity in Rural North Carolina." And he and Sarah Treuhaft penned an op-ed for the News & Observer lifting up the challenges posed by the proliferation of temporary employment in the state’s rural areas.

Charts of the Week: #EquityABQ and Health Equity in Michigan
Following up on the Equity Profile of Albuquerque released last month, summer intern Maryjane Bermudez took a closer look at the gender wage gap in the Albuquerque metro, where just 45 percent of Native American women earn at least $15 per hour compared with 56 percent of Native American men and 80 percent of White men. Last week, Maryjane explored how the expansion of Michigan’s 10 cents a meal program could advance health equity.

Better Data for Better Health
We are honored to be among several tools featured in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's on its “Better Data for Better Health” web collection, which is also summarized in this handy brief. Check it out to explore other data tools for health equity!


In the News
As a part of the Bay Area Equity Atlas project, the Atlas team provided data to EBASE to incorporate into its report about the growing housing crisis in Concord, California. The data revealed how the majority of Concord renters have annual incomes below $50,000 yet in the vast majority of Concord neighborhoods, renters need an income of at least $75,000 to find affordable housing. Our data was included in articles about the report printed in the San Francisco Chronicle and The Mercury News.


Thank you!

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

Investing in Water Infrastructure Now is Critical for California's Future

For decades community leaders and environmental justice advocates have worked to bring attention to the water problems impacting low-income communities and communities of color across California. Together they have secured significant water equity wins. In 2012, California became the first state to establish the human right to water.  Substantial new investments have been made to expand access to safe and affordable drinking water. And new requirements have been established to ensure that local planning processes identify water infrastructure deficits in disadvantaged communities and develop strategies to address these deficits.

Despite these important wins, our work is far from done. Over one million Californians live in communities that do not have reliable access to safe drinking water. Many live in places where the cost of water is so high that residents are forced to forgo spending on other critical household needs in order to pay their water bill.  Children attend schools where their drinking water is contaminated with lead.  The availability and quality of our drinking water resources are increasingly impacted by the changing climate.

And drinking water is not the only water challenge low-income communities and communities of color are facing. Dams, water management practices, changing water temperatures due to climate change, and a host of other factors are decimating California’s fisheries—impacting the livelihoods, food sources, and cultural traditions of Native American communities who have managed these natural resources for thousands of years. Climate change induced flooding and sea level rise threaten people’s homes and their lives. Failing or completely absent wastewater treatment systems are causing public health and economic impacts for households and communities.

We have a lot to take care of and investing in our water infrastructure now is critical to begin tackling these problems. While California has a history of leading the nation on protecting its’ natural resources, applying this leadership is more important than ever. The Trump administration has demonstrated over and over their desire to unravel the national Clean Water Act, promote privatization of our water resources and management systems, reopen our coastline to offshore oil drilling, and defund key programs that fund water infrastructure.

To protect what we have already accomplished and secure water equity for all Californian’s it is critical that Californians, and our elected leaders, step up. Fortunately, there are some important things California can do now to secure our water future.  

  • State legislators are considering a variety of important proposals that would address critical water infrastructure challenges for low-income communities and communities of color.
    • SB 623 (Monning) would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, a permanent source of funding for safe and affordable drinking water. Water justice advocates and state water agencies have been calling for this for years. The fund would provide grants to address critical operations and maintenance needs, fund repair and replacement of failing drinking water infrastructure, provide technical assistance, conduct lead pipe replacement, consolidate water systems, and other projects designed to secure long-term safe drinking water for all.
    • AB 1215 (Hertzberg) would bring much needed sewer service to communities that do not have adequate service by facilitating service extension and consolidation of service providers where it makes sense.
    • Advocates are asking for a $23.5 million budget allocation to address emergency drinking water needs.
       
  • Voters can support proposition 68, a bond proposal that is on the June ballot. If passed, $4 billion dollars in bond revenues would be invested in water, parks, and natural resources. Unlike many bonds of the past, proposition 68 includes a significant focus on investing in our most disadvantaged communities.
     
  • California voters and California leaders can also support Rep Keith Ellison’s federal Clean Water Act of 2018, H.R. 5609. The bill would invest $35 billion each year in water infrastructure and clean water programs, and target important resources to communities with clean water violations.

Six years ago, California set a national precedent by recognizing the Human Right to Water.  It’s time to deliver on that promise by addressing the water infrastructure needs of low-income people and people of color across our state.

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