building communities of opportunity in massachusetts
TRANSCRIPT
THE GEOGRAPHY OF OPPORTUNITY
Building Communities of Opportunity in MassachusettsFebruary 26, 2009
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Jason Reece, AICPSenior Researcher
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
The Ohio State University
Presented by The Boston Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and the Racial Justice Program of the American Civil Liberties Union
Introduction
Background on this project Origins (SR symposium) KI mapping and legal services
Today’s discussion Opportunity matters Mapping opportunity
Why and how… Opportunity mapping in MA
Results The intersection of opportunity
race and class Opportunity, housing and the
foreclosure crisis
Section 1
Opportunity Matters: Space, Place, and Life Outcomes
“Opportunity” is a situation or condition that places individuals in a position to be more likely to succeed or excel.
Opportunity structures are critical to opening pathways to success:
High-quality education Healthy and safe environment Stable housing Sustainable employment Political empowerment Outlets for wealth-building Positive social networks
Section 2
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Opportunity Matters: Neighborhoods & Access to Opportunity
Five decades of research indicate that your environment has a profound impact on your access to opportunity and likelihood of success
High poverty areas with poor employment, underperforming schools, distressed housing and public health/safety risks depress life outcomes A system of disadvantage Many manifestations
Urban, rural, suburban People of color are far more
likely to live in opportunity deprived neighborhoods and communities
Which community would you choose? To be safe and have positive health outcomes? For your kids to receive a quality education? Which community would be better for employment and have a more sustainable tax base?
What are the implications of opportunity isolation?
Individual Poor economic outcomes, lower educational
outcomes, degraded asset development Poor health conditions, higher exposure and risk
from crime Psychological distress, weak social and professional
networks Community/Economy
High social costs, distressed and stressed communities, fiscal challenges
Weakened civic engagement and democratic participation
Underdeveloped human capital, poor labor outlook, poor economic development prospects
Inequality has a geographic footprint
Maps can visually track the history and presence of discriminatory and exclusionary policies that spatially segregate people
Identifying places with gaps in opportunity can help direct future investment and identify structures which impede access to opportunity
Section 3Mapping Opportunity: Why and How
Mapping Opportunity: Why and How
The Kirwan Institute has conducted “opportunity mapping” for states and metropolitan regions across the US
Why identify the “State of Opportunity” How are low-income groups
situated in the State? How are racial and ethnic
groups situated? What can be done to improve
the opportunity landscape?
Opportunity Mapping in Litigation: Thompson v. HUD (Remedial Proposal)
Submitted expert reports in both the liability and the remedy phases of the litigation, on behalf of plaintiffs
Used GIS to analyze current conditions of segregated public housing (liability phase) and frame solutions for desegregation (remedy phase) in a regional context
Mapping Communities of Opportunity: Methods and Indicators
How do you map opportunity? Data representing community conditions
was gathered for neighborhood (census tracts) across the state
Data for all indicators of community conditions was aggregated to the Census Tract level and analyzed to create a comprehensive opportunity index for the census tracts (neighborhoods) throughout the state
The opportunity index is then mapped and census tracts are broken into quintiles based on their opportunity score
Very Low, Low, Moderate, High, Very High
Mapping Communities of Opportunity: Methods and Indicators
Three areas of opportunity were analyzed using GIS mapping capability: Education Quality and
Opportunity Economic Health and
Transportation Neighborhood Stability
and Health
Opportunity Mapping
Education Quality and Opportunity Student Expenditures Student Poverty Rate Test Scores for Schools Graduation and Dropout Rates Teacher Qualifications
Opportunity Mapping
Economic Health and Transportation Unemployment Rates Population on Public Assistance Proximity to Employment Employment Change: 2000-2005 Mean Commute Time
Opportunity Mapping
Neighborhood Stability and Health Home Values Neighborhood Vacancy Rates Crime Neighborhood Poverty Home Ownership Rate Proximity to Toxic Waste Sites Superfund Sites
Comprehensive Opportunity Map
Comprehensive Opportunity Map: Greater Boston
Comprehensive Opportunity Map: Northeastern Massachusetts
Access to Opportunity: Race, Ethnicity, and Class
Racialized isolation from neighborhoods of opportunity is stunning in Massachusetts
Immigrants from Africa and Latin America were found to be disproportionately concentrated in low-opportunity neighborhoods
Racial isolation into low-opportunity neighborhoods is more pronounced than class-based segregation into these communities
Access to Opportunity: Race Racialized isolation from neighborhoods
of opportunity in Massachusetts: More than 90% of African-American and
Latino households in were isolated in the lowest opportunity neighborhoods in the State
Over 55% of Asian households were found in low-opportunity neighborhoods
By contrast, only 31% of White, Non-Latino households were found in low-opportunity neighborhoods
Access to Opportunity: Race
Access to Opportunity: Immigrants Non-native born Africans and Latinos are
disproportionately concentrated in low-opportunity neighborhoods: 42% of European-born and 46% of Asian-
born residents live in low-opportunity neighborhoods
By contrast, more 70% of non-native born African and Latin American residents live in low-opportunity neighborhoods
Access to Opportunity: Class Racial isolation into low-opportunity
neighborhoods is more pronounced than class-based segregation into these communities 42% of low-income White households live in
low-opportunity communities, while 33% live in high-opportunity community areas
By contrast, more than 95% of low-income Latinos, 93% of low-income African-Americans, and 71% of low-income Asians live in low-opportunity communities
Approximately 90% of high-income African-Americans and Latinos live in low-opportunity communities
Subsidized Housing and Communities of Opportunity
Housing is a strategic intervention point into opportunity and advancement However, 100,000 (nearly 76%) subsidized
housing units in the State is in low-opportunity communities
Only 17,000 units (roughly 12%) of subsidized housing are in high-opportunity communities
Subsidized Housing and Communities of Opportunity
Comprehensive Opportunity Map: Southeastern Massachusetts
Residential Foreclosure and Opportunity
Over half of the State’s estimated amount of high-cost HMDA loans, residential foreclosures, and 90-day residential foreclosures were located in low-opportunity neighborhoods
This data shows the strong relationship between poor lending practices, foreclosure, and vacancy, all of which have been disproportionately concentrated in low-opportunity neighborhoods
Residential Foreclosure and Opportunity
Distribution of Residential Factors Across the Community Opportunity Spectrum
Reflecting on these findings…. What does our analysis find and suggest?
People of color are disproportionately concentrated in opportunity deprived communities Which places them within a system of disadvantage that
ultimately impacts life outcomes Creating both an individual and societal tragedy
Subsidized housing reinforces this opportunity isolation Foreclosures will widen the “opportunity divide” in the
State of Massachusetts What are the implications of this challenge and
how can we formulate a response? Opportunity based model of social justice and
community development People, places and linkages
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