Dear Atlas users,

The Atlas team has had an exciting month of sharing our data tools and analysis with community partners throughout the Bay Area. As local restrictions loosen and businesses begin to ramp back up, we will continue to equip equity advocates with the research necessary to ensure a just economic recovery. Here are some updates:

New Blog: Economic Recovery Begins by Prioritizing Racial Equity

The Covid-19 pandemic and economic shutdown brought about an unprecedented rise in unemployment in the Bay Area and across the country, particularly for low-income people of color and immigrants. Our new analysis highlights how these communities not only suffered the greatest job losses but were also less likely to receive PPP loans early on and more likely to work in essential jobs than their White counterparts. For the region to recover and thrive, policymakers should prioritize investments in historically underserved communities, connect unemployed and low-wage workers with good jobs, and support businesses owned by people of color and immigrants. Find the analysis here.

Atlas Team Presents Data to Spur an Equitable Recovery to The Commonwealth Club of California

The Commonwealth Club hosted a webinar on May 18, "Building an Inclusive Recovery Across the Bay Area," led by Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation. Panelists included Jamila Henderson from the Atlas team who shared findings on how Covid-19 has impacted people of color and low-income communities. Experts and advocates, Chris Iglesias of Unity Council and Tomiquia Moss of All Home, shared their perspectives on what is needed to ensure an equitable recovery for all Bay Area residents. Check out the webinar recording here.

California Tenants Face Barriers in Accessing Rent Relief, Survey Finds

In partnership with Housing NOW and BARHII, PolicyLink surveyed 177 workers conducting intake and outreach for California’s emergency rental assistance programs. We found that tenants are facing numerous challenges accessing relief, including technological and language barriers, difficulty supplying the necessary documentation of income losses, and fear of landlord harassment/retaliation or immigration enforcement. The analysis also includes the latest data from our Rent Debt Dashboard, which shows that Californian renter households owe an average of $4700 in back rent. Check out the findings here.

The Cost of Being Californian: New Data on Economic Security from the Insight Center

Through their Family Needs Calculator, the Insight Center found that the hourly wage needed for a family with one parent, one preschooler, and one school-age child to meet basic needs is over $70 an hour in some Bay Area counties. In addition, the percentage of Black households struggling to make ends meet in Marin County increased from 56 percentage in 2018 to 95 percentage in 2021. The Atlas team regularly uses the Family Needs Calculator in our work and are thrilled to have this updated dataset. You can access the report here.

Create Your Own Factsheets on the Racial Equity Data Lab

Last month, we launched the Racial Equity Data Lab, a new space on the National Equity Atlas where you can create unique data displays, dashboards, and maps. The Lab has everything you need to tell your community’s equity story using Atlas data: ready-to-use datasets, data visualization basics, and a step-by-step guide to get you started. We held a webinar for the Lab release on May 6th where our Atlas team members Selena Tan and Sarah Treuhaft were joined by USC Equity Research Institute Director Manuel Pastor. Check out the webinar recording here.

In the News

This month, The Business Journal and Pacific Sun covered our findings on household rental debt in the Bay Area. New Hope Network cited our data on Bay Area indigenous communities.

Thank you,

Bay Area Equity Atlas team

April 30, 2021

Dear Atlas users,

As the Bay Area’s vaccination campaign and re-opening plans continue to ramp up, the Atlas team is working to share timely data and analyses to support an equitable recovery that centers the needs of low-income residents and people of color. Here are some updates:

You’re Invited: Introducing the Racial Equity Data Lab

The National Equity Atlas is America’s most detailed report card on racial and economic equity – and now we’re democratizing our data even further to help you build your own custom Atlas-powered data dashboards. Join us on May 6 at 12 pm PT / 3 pm ET for the launch of the Racial Equity Data Lab, a new space on the Atlas where you can create unique data displays, dashboards, and maps. The Lab has everything you need to tell your community’s equity story using Atlas data: ready-to-use datasets, data visualization basics, and a step-by-step guide to get you started. We’ll also share a starter dashboard focused on the importance of closing racial wage gaps: just six in 10 Latinx immigrant workers in the Bay Area earn at least $15/hour, compared to more than nine in 10 White workers. Join this webinar to hear more about the Lab, how we’re using it to support equity campaigns, and how to create custom data visualizations for your community. Register now!

Our New Dashboard Tracks Covid Impacts to Support Strong Renter Protections

This month we released a new data dashboard, produced in partnership with the Right to the City Alliance, to equip equity advocates and policymakers with regularly updated local data on the extent of rent debt and the characteristics of renters affected by it. In the five-county Bay Area, 58,000 households owe an average of $5,300 each in rent. About 88 percent of those behind on rent are people of color, and nine in 10 lost employment income during the pandemic. See our accompanying analysis for more insights into the data and the policy solutions that can protect impacted renters.

Sharing the Power of Equity Data and Framing with Tableau Users

We were excited to share our Equity Data Hub and Rent Debt dashboards with the San Francisco Tableau User Group this past month. We presented a live demo of the Bay Area Equity Atlas, and our partners at Tableau Foundation and Lovelytics presented on the Equity Data Hub and the development of Tableau dashboards using Atlas data. You can find a recording of the meeting here.

Equity Data On the Road

We continue to share the Atlas to advance equity across the region. On March 25, we conducted a joint training with the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Junior League of Oakland-East Bay, and on April 8 we led a training for UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program students. On April 28, the Atlas Team also presented equity data to inform the recovery efforts of the Contra Costa County Measure X Community Advisory Board, which is developing a list of county needs and priorities for Measure X, the half-cent, general countywide sales tax passed by voters last November.

Atlas Data Informs Efforts to Build an Inclusive Recovery in the Bay

On May 18, the Commonwealth Club will host a virtual event on Building an Inclusive Recovery Across the Bay Area. The Atlas team will share data on the state of equity in the region, and Fred Blackwell of the San Francisco Foundation will moderate a panel with Tomiquia Moss from All Home and Chris Iglesias from the Unity Council. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting event, which is free and open to the public.

In the News

This month, USA Today cited the Atlas in a story on the impacts of Covid-19 in Native American communities. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on our data on low-income and very-low income families in the Bay Area. Mercury News and The Press Democrat both highlighted our rent debt analysis in their coverage of Bay Area rental assistance programs. Finally, The Daily Journal shared insights from our work on the diversity of Bay Area elected officials.

Thank you,

Bay Area Equity Atlas team

March 15, 2021

Dear Atlas users,

As we mark a full year since the beginning of the Bay’s shelter-in-place ordinance, our neighbors who already faced the burdens of structural racism and extreme inequality have been most impacted by the pandemic’s health and economic impacts. The Atlas team continues to partner with local advocates and policy leaders to bring equity to the forefront of our region’s recovery. Here are a few highlights:

Bay Area Renters Face Mounting Debt
Following up on our eviction risk analyses for Bay Area counties, today we released a new analysis and fact sheet describing rent debt and eviction risk in the Bay Area region. Using Census Household Pulse Survey data for the region from late January, we find that 137,500 renter households are experiencing rent shortfall and potentially face eviction if not covered by an effective eviction moratorium. We estimate that they owe about $488 million in debt.

Racial Equity Data Hub Analyzes Black Prosperity in the Bay Area
Last month, the Tableau Foundation launched its Racial Equity Data Hub, in partnership with the National Equity Atlas. The Hub is designed to provide data and tools needed to understand racism in all of its forms, and to enable movement leaders to effectively use data to advocate for change. The Atlas team worked with Tableau expert Chantilly Jaggernauth of Lovelytics to produce two visualizations for the Hub. Our visualization “How is the Black population doing in the Bay Area?” presents indicators of economic and political inclusion, education, and justice for the region’s Black population. Tableau invites community members to participate in shaping the Hub’s future growth through this forum.

Atlas Findings Power Policy Change in Contra Costa County
We were happy to participate in the Contra Costa Budget Justice Coalition’s presentation to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on equity and racial justice issues with the pandemic on February 9. Contra Costa County has the most households that are behind on their water bills of all counties in the region: about 30,595 households have water debt. The presentation prompted local officials to begin plans to allocate aid to households with water arrearages.

New California Eviction Risk Data Released
In partnership with Housing Now!, the Atlas team released an updated analysis of rent debt in California. We found that over 814,000 households were behind on rent in January, or 14 percent of all renter households. Renters owe an estimated $2.4 billion in rent debt — or $2,900 per household. Immediate action, including debt forgiveness and stronger eviction protections, is crucial to ensure renters with low income and renters of color are included in an equitable recovery. Find the analysis here.

Sharing Atlas Research at UC Berkeley Housing Solutions Event
On March 12, the Berkeley Opportunity Lab hosted an afternoon of talks with Bay Area housing experts aimed at generating new insights and solutions to the challenges of housing supply and affordability, homelessness and displacement, and the question of how to ensure broad and equitable economic development. Sarah Treuhaft, Vice President of Research at PolicyLink, shared our rent debt research at the event alongside Senator Scott Weiner, and panelists from SPUR, TechEquity Collaborative, and UC Berkeley.

Atlas in the News
Media outlets continue to cover our rent debt and eviction risk research, including San Jose Spotlight, CBS San Francisco, San Luis Obispo Tribune, KSRO, and KFBK. Find a full list of our media coverage here.

Thank you,

Bay Area Equity Atlas team 
 

April 27, 2021

Dear Atlas users,

With the conviction of Derek Chauvin, the Atlas team stands in solidarity with George Floyd’s family. True justice would be a world where George Floyd was never murdered. We remain committed to supporting the fight for racial equity and systemic justice through our analyses, disaggregated data tools, and campaign support. Here are some updates:

Join Us for the Launch of the Racial Equity Data Lab on May 6

The National Equity Atlas is America’s most detailed report card on racial and economic equity – and now we’re democratizing our data even further help you to build your own custom Atlas-powered data dashboards. Join us on May 6 at 12:00pm Pacific / 3:00 Eastern for the launch of the Racial Equity Data Lab, a new space on the Atlas where you can create unique data displays, dashboards, and maps. The Lab has everything you need to tell your community’s equity story using Atlas data: ready-to-use datasets, data visualization basics, and a step-by-step guide to get you started. We’ll also share a starter dashboard focused on the importance of raising the minimum wage. For example, in Dallas, fewer workers earn at least $15 now than in 1980, due entirely to racial inequities. Join this webinar to hear more about the Lab, how we’re using it to support equity campaigns, and how to create custom data visualizations for your community. Register now!

New Rent Debt Dashboard Tracks Covid Impacts to Support Broad Renter Protections

Stabilizing renters experiencing housing insecurity is key to an equitable recovery and lasting prosperity for our communities, so we partnered with Right to the City Alliance to equip advocates and policymakers with timely, local data on the extent of renter debt and the characteristics of households affected by it. Our regularly updated data reveals that the renters behind on rent owe an average of $3,400 – and the vast majority of them are low-wage workers, disproportionately people of color, who’ve suffered job and income losses due to the economic shutdowns. Without sufficient eviction protection, debt relief, and financial support, these Covid-impacted renters will be left behind. Visit the rent debt dashboard to see the data for your community, and check out our accompanying analysis.

In the News

This month, Forbes highlighted the Atlas as a key tool for advancing racial equity on a municipal level. Denver7 TV aired a story featuring the findings and implications of our rent debt analysis, and Planetizen also highlighted the data in our rent debt dashboard. Government Affairs called for the Biden Administration to develop equity indicators modeled after the Atlas. And ABC Cleveland, Energy News Network, and Akron Beacon Journal all cited our data in their coverage of racial inequities. See a complete list of media coverage here.

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dear Bay Area Equity Atlas Users:

January 11, 2021

Dear Bay Area Equity Atlas Users:

Happy New Year from the Bay Area Equity Atlas team! This has been a year of tremendous economic and social turmoil for our region and the nation. The Covid-19 pandemic and the outcry against police brutality and systemic racism following the murder of George Floyd pushed structural racism to the forefront of public consciousness and elevated equity in local policy debates. Throughout 2020, we worked to equip advocates and the public with relevant, deeply disaggregated local data to inform policy and systems changes to advance racial equity.

Covid-19 Dashboard, Frontline Workers Analysis Reveal Pandemic’s Impact on Communities of Color

To track the community-level impact of the pandemic, we launched a daily-updated dashboard in December that provides ZIP code-level data on total Covid cases from the four Bay Area counties that publish such detailed geographic data. The dashboard reveals how neighborhoods with large Latinx and Black populations have been hardest hit and can be used to inform targeted relief and recovery strategies. We also analyzed the Bay Area’s 1.1 million-strong essential workforce and found that Black, Filipinx, women of color, and immigrant workers are disproportionately represented in essential industries and vulnerable to economic and health risks.

 

Partnering with Bay Area Organizers to Assess Eviction Risk, Support Tenant Protections

We produced county-level fact sheets estimating the number of renter households at risk of eviction in the midst of the current economic crisis. Our Contra Costa county factsheet, produced in July in partnership with the Raise the Roof Coalition, found that nearly 22,000 households were at risk of eviction, and helped to secure an extension of the county’s eviction moratorium from July to September. We produced similar resources for San Mateo and Sonoma counties in partnership with the People’s Alliance of San Mateo County and the North Bay Organizing Project, we as well as for the state of California (with the Housing Now! coalition). Find them here.

Tracking Racial Equity in Political Representation, Police Use of Force, and Income

In February, we analyzed the latest data on the race and gender of top local elected officials and found that while the region is making progress on political representation, people of color — especially the Latinx and Asian or Pacific Islander communities — remain underrepresented in elected office. We also reviewed the use of force indicator in the Atlas and found that Black residents are disproportionately the victims of police violence. Of the nearly 200 incidents in 2016 and 2017, one-fifth involved Black people even though they make up just 6 percent of the region’s population. We also analyzed the typical income classifications used to inform housing policy (e.g. 50 and 80 percent of Area Median Income) and found that nearly half of all residents are considered low income. Black and Latino residents are overrepresented in very-low-income households while White residents are overrepresented among high-income households.

Democratizing Equity Data in the Region

We continued to share the Atlas resource with community leaders across the region, albeit virtually, including presenting our data with the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention and the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative, and hosting community trainings with the All-in Alameda County initiative, Boston Private Bank in San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits.

Atlas in the News

Our data and reports have been covered by media outlets including the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate, Mercury News, Palo Alto Online, East Bay Times, Patch, San Francisco Business Times, Tableau, and more.

We have big plans for 2021, including new analyses, tools, and partnerships, so stay tuned. Thank you for your continued interest in our work!

The Bay Area Equity Atlas team

Dear Bay Area Equity Atlas Users:

The results of this year’s elections are largely due to a historic groundswell of activism led by people of color and grassroots community organizations across the country, including the Bay Area. As the movement for racial equity continues to build momentum, the Atlas team is proud to partner with local leaders at the forefront of policy change. Our research this month highlights the urgent need to center low-income communities and people of color in both the ongoing Covid-19 recovery and in the long-term vision for a just and fair society. Here are some updates:

Atlas Dashboard Reveals Majority Black and Latinx Neighborhoods Hardest Hit by Covid-19

To track the community-level impact of the pandemic, the Atlas team launched a new automatically-updated dashboard that provides ZIP code-level data on total Covid cases from the four Bay Area counties that publish such detailed geographic data: Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Sonoma. By analyzing Covid cases in each ZIP code in relation to the share of Black and Latinx residents, the dashboard highlights how neighborhoods with large populations of color have been hardest hit: The four ZIP codes with the highest case rates are majority-Latinx or majority-Black. Targeted strategies are needed to improve conditions in these hotspots, including community testing, better enforcement of workplace safety standards, rental supports, and continued eviction protections.

New Report Highlights Strategies for Inclusive Recovery and an Equitable Future of Work

In partnership with Burning Glass Technologies and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, the National Equity Atlas released, Race and the Work of the Future: Advancing Workforce Equity in the United States, a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of Covid-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. We found that White workers are 50 percent more likely than workers of color to hold good jobs, and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the US economy by $2.3 trillion a year. We’re currently partnering with Rework the Bay to produce a similar report for the Bay Area, which will be published in spring 2021. Watch our webinar presentation and read the full report.

Eviction Risk Analyses Released for California

The Atlas team has been supporting the Our Homes, Our Health housing justice effort by producing eviction risk fact sheets for local campaigns advocating for strong renter protection and eviction moratorium policies across the country. This month, we published a factsheet for California (with Housing NOW! California), which found that 1.6 million renter households are experiencing rent shortfall and potentially facing eviction. We plan to publish a factsheet for the nine-county Bay Area later this year. Find them here.

Thank you!

The Bay Equity Atlas team