Dear Atlas Users,

As we close out 2024, we’re reflecting on a year filled with meaningful work, inspiring collaborations, and deeper dives into the data related to equity in the Bay Area. This year, we explored critical issues like housing affordability, demographic shifts, and economic insecurity, while amplifying the stories of the region’s resilient communities. Here’s a look back at our highlights from 2024:

Unpacking the Region’s Housing Affordability Crisis

The Bay Area’s housing crisis continues to be a defining challenge for the region. Our analysis this year highlighted how chronic shortages of affordable homes, coupled with an overemphasis on market-rate and luxury developments, have worsened overcrowding and driven vacancy rates to historic lows. As the population grows and affordable options remain scarce, bold, community-centered solutions are crucial to addressing these long-standing inequities. This issue of housing insecurity also resonated in Redwood City and Salinas, where more than half of households are renters burdened by rising costs. In response, we released two housing affordability factsheets spotlighting proposed ordinances to stabilize rents, prevent unjust evictions, and improve housing conditions. This work, strengthened by partnerships with local advocacy groups like Faith in Action Bay Area and Public Advocates, has underscored the importance of collaboration in driving systemic change.

Exploring Black Communities in the Bay Area

We were proud to launch Black in the Bay Area, a research series that explores the evolving demographics of the region’s Black population. The first installment, Who is Black in the Bay Area?, delves into the complexities of immigration trends, ancestral diversity, and multiracial identity, challenging long-standing narratives of decline. This analysis highlights the region’s growing and dynamic Black community and provides new insights into critical indicators such as income, education, and representation. Accompanied by an updated interactive dashboard, this work equips both communities and policymakers with valuable tools to better understand the needs and experiences of Black residents, fostering a deeper, more nuanced approach to addressing equity across the Bay Area.

Amplifying Community Voices

Our “In Their Own Words…” series continues to bridge the gap between data and lived experience, amplifying the voices of Bay Area residents facing systemic challenges. This year, the series highlighted stories that addressed urgent issues such as homelessness and the need for more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems, offering a window into the resilience, creativity, and determination of people navigating these obstacles. By centering these personal narratives, we seek to deepen public understanding of the complex equity issues that shape life in the Bay Area and inspire concrete actions toward lasting change. As we continue to expand this series, we are actively seeking new stories that focus on disconnected youth, police use of force, and other critical indicators that reflect the diverse experiences of our communities. If you know of anyone whose experiences would be valuable to share, or if you have ideas for new stories, please contact us at info@bayareaequityatlas.org.

Adding New Indicators

This year, we expanded the Atlas with the addition of two critical indicators: basic family needs and experiencing homelessness. These new measures provide a deeper understanding of the disparities that persist across racial, gender, and geographic lines, offering valuable insights into the systemic inequities that continue to shape the Bay Area. These indicators paint a stark picture of the intersection between housing insecurity and economic hardship, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive solutions. By illuminating these challenges, we aim to spark meaningful dialogue and action that addresses the root causes of homelessness and economic instability in our region.

Informing Media Coverage on Equity Issues

Our data has played a key role in shaping coverage of local issues, ensuring that equity and justice are central to the conversation. In April, El Tímpano, a community-driven news initiative focused on amplifying the voices of the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrant communities, featured our data on extreme commutes in a powerful report highlighting how rising living costs are pushing low-wage workers to relocate to more distant areas with limited transit access. Earlier in the year, Lynbrook High School student reporters used our insights to explore the Bay Area’s shrinking middle class, producing a compelling feature that illuminated the region’s widening disparities.

Reaffirming Our Commitment to You

Thank you for your continued engagement with the Bay Area Equity Atlas. Our work this year has highlighted the interconnectedness of systemic inequities and the urgent need for bold, transformative solutions. As we look ahead to 2025, we wish you a joyful holiday season and look forward to building on this critical work together in the year to come.

— Bay Area Equity Atlas Team

Read Stephanie’s Story

Explore More of Our Feature Stories

We’re proud to showcase our signature “In Their Own Words…” series — a data-driven storytelling project that provides a unique lens for exploring the complex, real-world issues shaping the Bay Area. Through this project, we amplify the lived experiences of residents navigating challenges like unaffordable housing and economic insecurity. By weaving together personal narratives with Atlas data, we provide more in-depth insights into the struggles many people across the region face. These stories highlight the diversity, resilience, and ingenuity of local communities while offering a call to action for regional transformation.

Explore the StoryMap

Unpacking the Bay Area’s Affordable Housing Crisis

The Bay Area’s housing crisis, a decades-long issue, has worsened within the last two decades. This decline has been driven by a chronic shortage of affordable homes. Our latest analysis takes a deeper look at the ongoing housing challenges across the nine-county region. The findings reveal that population growth has consistently outpaced housing development, contributing to overcrowded households and declining vacancy rates. The shortfall in affordable housing has been further exacerbated by a focus on market-rate and luxury developments, which have overshadowed the urgent need for affordable options. Addressing this gap will require bold action and a shift in priorities to create housing solutions that truly serve all.

Dive into the Report

These features highlight just a fraction of the impactful stories and data driving understanding and action across our region. Visit our website to dive deeper into these resources and learn more.
 

Dear Atlas Users,

As we transition into fall, we’re excited to share the latest research and resources we’ve released. From examining the shifting demographics of Black communities in the Bay Area to amplifying local voices through data-driven storytelling, we’ve continued equipping advocates, policymakers, and community leaders with the insights they need to drive equitable change across the region. Now we invite you to explore the updates below, engage with our tools, and take action to help create a more equitable Bay Area for all.

Exploring the Shifting Demographics of Black Communities in the Bay Area

This summer, we launched Black in the Bay Area, our research series that examines the evolving landscape of the region’s Black population. The first analysis in this series — Who is Black in the Bay Area? — provides key insights into immigration patterns, changes in ancestry, and the complexities of multiracial identity, challenging traditional narratives of decline. Alongside the analysis, we’ve released an updated interactive dashboard, offering dynamic, accessible data on key indicators like education, income, and representation across the Bay Area.

Amplifying the Voices and Lived Experiences of Bay Area Residents

We’re proud to reflect on the success of one of our signature features — the “In Their Own Words…” series. This data-driven storytelling project has provided a unique lens for exploring the local context of critical equity issues, such as housing instability, linguistic isolation, transit inaccessibility, and economic insecurity. By amplifying personal stories from people who live and work across the region, we’ve brought Atlas data to life, offering a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the challenges many residents face. These stories continue to highlight the diversity, resilience, and ingenuity that define Bay Area communities. Explore the story map.

New Indicators Shed Light on Economic Insecurity and Homelessness in the Bay Area

We’ve added two new indicators to the Atlas: basic family needs and experiencing homelessness. They provide data-driven insights into the challenges families face in meeting their essential needs and the stark realities of homelessness in the region. Each indicator features 25 detailed displays that break down data by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and trends over time. These displays are further enhanced by informative maps and rankings that illustrate the geographic and demographic nuances of these issues. By integrating these new indicators into the Atlas, we aim to shed light on the persistent economic and housing inequities impacting communities across the Bay Area, while also lifting up actionable solutions to address these issues.

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 is fast approaching. Localities have until the end of this year to complete their obligation or the remaining dollars will be returned to the US Treasury. To continue bolstering efforts to ensure these funds are invested equitably, we’ve updated the Bay Area Recovery Dollars Tracker to reflect city and county spending plans through March 31, 2024. Our latest assessment reveals that the 33 larger Bay Area localities reflected in the dataset have made plans to spend $2.8 billion (93 percent) of their $3 billion SLFRF funds, leaving $222 million (7 percent) left for them to allocate. Learn more.

New Housing Affordability Factsheets: Redwood City and Salinas

We’re excited to share two factsheets we developed to highlight the housing affordability challenges in Redwood City and Salinas, where more than half of households are renters and many of them are struggling to keep up with rising housing costs. In Redwood City, a proposed fair and affordable housing ordinance aims to stabilize rents, protect against unjust evictions, and improve living conditions, potentially saving rent-burdened households an average of $15,300 annually. The City of Salinas is working on a rental stabilization ordinance that would offer similar protections, with rent-burdened households standing to save an average of $8,300 per year. Both factsheets were developed in partnership with local housing advocacy groups, including Faith in Action Bay Area, Affordable Redwood City, Public Advocates, and BHC Monterey County.

Get Involved: An Open Call for Stories

We are currently sourcing additional stories for our “In Their Own Words…” series — and we could use your assistance. We are actively seeking stories that would align with the following indicators: disconnected youth, employment, basic family needs, police use of force, homeownership, and economic gains: racial equity in income. If you know of anyone whose experiences would be valuable to share, or if you have ideas for new stories, please contact us at info@bayareaequityatlas.org.

— Bay Area Equity Atlas Team

Delve into Insights from Our Fellowship

We see the seeds of change taking root. Looking ahead, our focus remains steadfast on enhancing the Racial Equity Data Lab to meet the evolving needs of communities and those who advocate for them. We are structuring future resources into learning arcs that address foundational data visualization skills, applying a research justice lens, and aligning data products to strategic stakeholder mapping. This approach aims to empower all Atlas users to deepen their data literacy autonomously, supporting a diverse range of data projects and roles within the advocacy landscape.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we advance our mission of leveraging data to advance equity and justice. Together, we look forward to shaping a more inclusive future.

Best,

The National Equity Atlas

Dear Atlas Users,

As 2024 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the year. It’s been filled with meaningful collaborations, data-driven insights, and impactful projects that continue to drive positive change in communities across the country. As we wrap up the year, we’re excited to share some of the highlights from 2024, and we’re also looking ahead to 2025 with some exciting projects in store that will continue to advance data equity nationwide.
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Empowering Communities with Data to Strengthen Local Action

This year, we collaborated on key projects to support regional equity efforts across the US. In California, we developed seven regional equity profiles to support the California Jobs First initiative, a $600 million statewide effort to drive investments that strengthen communities. These profiles cover regions such as the Central Coast, Inland Empire, and Southern Border, providing valuable data and insights to address long-standing inequities, promote climate resilience, and ensure that new development benefits communities of color and historically disinvested areas. We also partnered with local organizations in Long Island to produce an updated equity profile for the region, providing an in-depth analysis of its economic challenges, environmental justice issues, and health disparities. Both projects underscore the importance of localized, data-driven approaches to advancing equity, with the power to inform community-led solutions and shape policy for a more equitable future.

Making Waves in the Media

Throughout 2024, the Atlas was featured in several media outlets, amplifying the reach and impact of our work. In August, The Seattle Times referenced our data in a report on the rise of unpaid rent in low-income housing, shedding further light on the financial struggles tenants face as rental arrears continue to mount. In April, Shelterforce cited our data in its analysis of deepening rental arrears and increasing operational costs faced by affordable housing providers. Our rent debt data also made its way into Capital & Main, where it was featured in a story about a Los Angeles renter preparing to fight for his home in court. And our collaborative study with Rideshare Drivers United was mentioned in a CalMatters article discussing the implications of Prop 22 and its impact on gig economy workers. To explore more media coverage, visit our news archive.

Addressing Economic Insecurity and Housing Pressures

This year, we released two critical pieces of research that highlighted the growing disparities in housing and community well-being. Our report on economic insecurity and green space equity in Los Angeles County uncovered significant racial and economic disparities in access to green spaces, revealing how these gaps affect the quality of life and exacerbate broader economic inequalities. Meanwhile, a data snapshot we released earlier in the year delved into the growing pressure US renters feel to leave their homes, particularly in regions like the South and Southwest, where financial strains were most acute. These insights, which were incorporated into our rent debt dashboard, underscored the urgent need for stronger protections for renters and equitable solutions to improve both housing stability and access to essential community resources like green spaces.

Celebrating the Conclusion of the National Equity Atlas Fellowship

In the first quarter of 2024, the second cohort of National Equity Atlas Fellows completed their equity data projects. The program concluded with a Fellowship Showcase, where each of them presented their projects—ranging from a transit equity dashboard in New Orleans to a toolkit on economic disparities caused by heir properties in Detroit. Post-fellowship interviews with both cohorts provided valuable reflections on their skill development and impact. As we look ahead, we’re retooling the Racial Equity Data Lab and refining our approach to continue promoting research justice and advancing data equity in the field.

Driving Conversations on Data and Equity at the PolicyLink Equity Summit 2024

We hosted three sessions at this year’s PolicyLink Equity Summit, each showcasing innovative approaches to advancing equity through data and community engagement. The first session examined transformative data systems, exploring the balance between data disaggregation and holistic analysis, while also addressing the ethical considerations surrounding the use of big data. In the second session, we shared strategies for creating accessible and impactful data visualizations that can drive meaningful change. The third session offered an immersive experience, inviting participants to think beyond traditional indicators and imagine new ways to measure and promote community well-being. To dive deeper into the sessions and access the resources we shared, visit nationalequityatlas.org/equity-summit-2024.

Looking Forward to the New Year

Thank you for using the National Equity Atlas and for your ongoing commitment to advancing equity through data, research, and collaboration. We wish you and yours a joyful holiday season and look forward to an even more impactful 2025!
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— The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)