Recent Updates from the Bay Area Equity Atlas
Dear Atlas Users,
In the last few months, we’ve seen the federal government attack access to public data, underscoring just how important open information is for holding our governing institutions accountable and safeguarding democracy.
Data represents real people and their experiences, making them visible in policymaking spaces where decisions are made about their lives. These attacks are about denying the reality of entire communities, and giving those in power a pass when it comes to addressing inequities.
We’ve always believed that by putting the power of accurate and deeply disaggregated data into the hands of community leaders and policymakers, we could create a more equitable Bay Area. We remain committed to that belief today — no matter what happens in Washington.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.
New Analysis: Exploring Housing Equity in the Bay Area’s Black Communities
Our newly released Black Communities and the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis is a regional analysis of data on homeownership and housing affordability for Black residents in the 9-county Bay Area. The second installment in our Black in the Bay Area and Housing Equity in the Bay Area research series, this piece examines recent trends for Black households in the context of longstanding structural barriers to fair housing and the disproportionate impact of the foreclosure crisis on Black families.
Our analysis found that both US-born Black Americans and Black immigrants own homes at lower rates than the overall Bay Area population, and accrue less value in their homes than homeowners in general. And in recent years, Black homeowners and renters alike have moved away from historic communities in San Francisco and the East Bay.
Visit our interactive dashboard to learn more.
Data Update: Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker
The December 31, 2024 deadline to obligate funds from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program has now passed. To understand and hold to account how local jurisdictions invest these dollars in our communities, we have updated the Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker to reflect city and county spending plans through September 30, 2024.
Our latest assessment reveals that the nine counties and 32 larger localities in the Bay Area had made plans to spend $2.97 billion (99 percent) of their $3 billion SLFRF funds, leaving $24 million (1 percent) for them to allocate into the last quarter of the year. Learn more about our findings.
Atlas Site Training for Community Organizations and Advocates
On May 13th, the Bay Area Equity Atlas team will host a virtual training in collaboration with the San Francisco Foundation. This training will engage community advocates on how to use our resources to support their organization’s mission, teaching participants how to utilize the tool to track the state of equity across the region.
We invite anyone interested in getting more comfortable with our resources to attend and share with their networks. Register here.
Coming Soon
Please stay tuned for more exciting updates in the coming months, as we have several new projects in development:
In May, we’re releasing an analysis of fossil fuel refineries, air pollution, and environmental justice efforts in the East Bay, and in June we will conclude our Black in the Bay series with an analysis of occupational segregation and workforce equity for the region’s Black workers. We also plan to release new community member profiles in our “In Their Own Words” story series, and will have updated data for our interactive indicator tables later this year.
Until next time,
– The Bay Area Equity Atlas team
In the last few months, we’ve seen the federal government attack access to public data, underscoring just how important open information is for holding our governing institutions accountable and safeguarding democracy.
Data represents real people and their experiences, making them visible in policymaking spaces where decisions are made about their lives. These attacks are about denying the reality of entire communities, and giving those in power a pass when it comes to addressing inequities.
We’ve always believed that by putting the power of accurate and deeply disaggregated data into the hands of community leaders and policymakers, we could create a more equitable Bay Area. We remain committed to that belief today — no matter what happens in Washington.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.
New Analysis: Exploring Housing Equity in the Bay Area’s Black Communities
Our newly released Black Communities and the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis is a regional analysis of data on homeownership and housing affordability for Black residents in the 9-county Bay Area. The second installment in our Black in the Bay Area and Housing Equity in the Bay Area research series, this piece examines recent trends for Black households in the context of longstanding structural barriers to fair housing and the disproportionate impact of the foreclosure crisis on Black families.
Our analysis found that both US-born Black Americans and Black immigrants own homes at lower rates than the overall Bay Area population, and accrue less value in their homes than homeowners in general. And in recent years, Black homeowners and renters alike have moved away from historic communities in San Francisco and the East Bay.
Visit our interactive dashboard to learn more.
Data Update: Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker
The December 31, 2024 deadline to obligate funds from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program has now passed. To understand and hold to account how local jurisdictions invest these dollars in our communities, we have updated the Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker to reflect city and county spending plans through September 30, 2024.
Our latest assessment reveals that the nine counties and 32 larger localities in the Bay Area had made plans to spend $2.97 billion (99 percent) of their $3 billion SLFRF funds, leaving $24 million (1 percent) for them to allocate into the last quarter of the year. Learn more about our findings.
Atlas Site Training for Community Organizations and Advocates
On May 13th, the Bay Area Equity Atlas team will host a virtual training in collaboration with the San Francisco Foundation. This training will engage community advocates on how to use our resources to support their organization’s mission, teaching participants how to utilize the tool to track the state of equity across the region.
We invite anyone interested in getting more comfortable with our resources to attend and share with their networks. Register here.
Coming Soon
Please stay tuned for more exciting updates in the coming months, as we have several new projects in development:
In May, we’re releasing an analysis of fossil fuel refineries, air pollution, and environmental justice efforts in the East Bay, and in June we will conclude our Black in the Bay series with an analysis of occupational segregation and workforce equity for the region’s Black workers. We also plan to release new community member profiles in our “In Their Own Words” story series, and will have updated data for our interactive indicator tables later this year.
Until next time,
– The Bay Area Equity Atlas team
Recent Updates from the National Equity Atlas
Dear Atlas Users,
Over a decade ago, we launched the National Equity Atlas based on a simple belief: data is knowledge, and knowledge is power. And that by putting the power of accurate and deeply disaggregated data into the hands of community leaders and policymakers, we could build an economy and democracy that works for all people. We knew that we could only solve problems if we’re equipped to understand and measure them.
We’re proud of what the Atlas has helped achieve across the country, and the last few months have underscored just how important this work is.
Since the new administration took office, it has unleashed a wave of attacks on data — scrubbing websites, eliminating entire datasets, and removing publications that detail economic, social, and health disparities. As Manuel Pastor has noted, this data represents real people and their experiences, making them visible in policymaking spaces where decisions are made about their lives. These rollbacks are about denying the reality of entire communities and giving those in power a pass when it comes to addressing inequities.
As the country’s most detailed report card on racial and economic equity, the Equity Atlas remains committed to our mission. We have always believed that data is as powerful as what you do with it, and we won’t ever back down from telling the truth — especially now.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.
Protect Public Data Access by Submitting Your Data Stories
As crucial federal data continues to be removed, our national partners are working to protect public data access. You can support these efforts by submitting your own data stories:
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights' 'We Are The Data' portal is collecting stories regarding how you use race and ethnicity data in your work.
- America's Essential Data is collecting stories regarding the importance of all federal datasets.
New Data Snapshot: Workforce Equity Dashboard
This tool offers insights into key workforce indicators, such as job growth, occupational segregation, future-ready jobs, and automation risk, illuminating the unequal ways that labor is valued in our current economic framework.
Check out this short video that details the key features of the data snapshot.
Whether you are a policymaker, community advocate, or a leader in the economic justice movement, this tool offers valuable insights that can inform decisions and strategies to shape a new economic system in which all jobs are good jobs. Please share it with your networks.
Coming Soon: Environmental Justice Indicators
The National Equity Atlas is currently in the process of adding new environmental justice indicators to the tool, including a measure of urban heat islands, flood risk to industrial sites, and tree canopies.
How could environmental justice data support your work? We'd love to hear from you!
In the News
- PolicyLink VP of Research, Abbie Langston, joined Michelle Wilson of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions on the State of Our Workforce podcast to discuss the power of disaggregated data in understanding deeply rooted inequities in the workforce.
- Our report on the state of equity on Long Island was featured in Newsday, highlighting that amid gains, income gap persists for Black Long Islanders.
- The Guardian covered a recent rally held by rideshare drivers across the state, citing our report that found that pay for rideshare and delivery apps remains significantly low after the passage of Prop 22.
- The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services announced a new online Racial and Health Equity Data Hub, designed to provide an overview of the health status of residents across different racial and ethnic groups. The Atlas is proud to be a data source for this project.
Until next time,
— The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)
April 2025
Water Affordability Crisis Leaves Millions Underwater op-ed
Overview
Everyone, everywhere, deserves access to safe and affordable water. More than 2 million people in the United States live without access to the basic necessities of safe water and sanitation, and millions more risk losing access to water due to rising water bills. The longer we wait to address aging and stressed infrastructure, the more expensive this becomes to fix, pushing the burden onto communities and families.
Read the latest Water Equity & Climate Resiience Caucus op-ed authored by Yasmin Zaerpoor, PolicyLink, and Mary Cromer, Appalachian Citizens Law Center.