The Geography of Opportunity in Austin: Mapping Opportunity to Support a Vibrant Region

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The Geography of Opportunity in AustinMapping
Opportunity to Support a Vibrant Region

• March 21st 2007
• john a. powell
• Williams Chair in Civil Rights Civil Liberties,
  Moritz College of Law
• Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the
  Study of Race and Ethnicity
• The Ohio State University
• http//www.kirwaninstitute.org/

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Todays Presentation

• What is the Community of Opportunity approach to
  community development?
• What is opportunity mapping?
• How has opportunity mapping been used before?
• The geography of opportunity in Austin
• How can we use this information?

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• What is the Community of Opportunity Model?

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Place and Life Outcomes

• Where you live is more important than what you
  live in
• Housing -- in particular its location -- is the
  primary mechanism for accessing opportunity in
  our society
• Housing location determines the quality of
  schools children attend, the quality of public
  services they receive, access to employment and
  transportation, exposure to health risks, access
  to health care, etc.
• For those living in high poverty neighborhoods,
  these factors can significantly inhibit life
  outcomes

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Housing and Opportunity

• Housing is Critical in Determining Access to
  Opportunity

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Communities of Opportunity

• The Communities of Opportunity framework is a
  model of fair housing and community development
• The model is based on the premises that
• Everyone should have fair access to the critical
  opportunity structures needed to succeed in life
• Affirmatively connecting people to opportunity
  creates positive, transformative change in
  communities

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Communities of Opportunity

• The Communities of Opportunity model advocates
  for a fair investment in all of a regions people
  and neighborhoods -- to improve the life outcomes
  of all citizens, and to improve the health of the
  entire region
• A focus on people, investing in our residents
  (and their communities) to produce transformative
  change

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The Web of Opportunity

• Opportunities in our society are geographically
  distributed (and often clustered) throughout
  metropolitan areas
• This creates winner and loser communities or
  high and low opportunity communities
• Your location within this web of opportunity
  plays a decisive role in your life potential and
  outcomes
• Individual characteristics still matter
• but so does access to opportunity, such as good
  schools, health care, child care, and job
  networks

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The Cumulative Impacts of Racial and Opportunity
Segregation
Segregation impacts a number of life-opportunities
Impacts on Health
School Segregation
Impacts on Educational Achievement
Exposure to crime arrest
Transportation limitations and other inequitable
public services
Job segregation
Neighborhood Segregation
Racial stigma, other psychological impacts
Impacts on community power and individual assets
Adapted from figure by Barbara Reskin at
http//faculty.washington.edu/reskin/
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Economic Conditions
High Opportunity
Low Opportunity
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School Conditions
High Opportunity
Low Opportunity
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• What is Opportunity Mapping?
• How has it been used before?

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The Geography of Opportunity

• The Communities of Opportunity framework is
  inherently spatial
• Inequality has a geographic footprint
• Maps can visually track the history and presence
  of discriminatory and exclusionary policies
• This opportunity mapping has been completed for
  many metropolitan areas in the U.S. and is used
  by advocates to further fair housing and
  community development goals
• The Communities of Opportunity model uses
  state-of-the-art geographic information systems
  (GIS) and extensive data sets to analyze the
  distribution of opportunity in our metropolitan
  areas

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Opportunity Mapping

• Opportunity mapping is a research tool used to
  understand the dynamics of opportunity within
  metropolitan areas
• The purpose of opportunity mapping is to
  illustrate where opportunity rich communities
  exist (and assess who has access to these
  communities)
• Also, to understand what needs to be remedied in
  opportunity poor communities

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General Methodology

• Opportunity mapping methodology
• Requires a comprehensive assessment of local
  indicators related to opportunity
• Economic conditions, education, neighborhood
  health etc.
• Would be extremely difficult without Geographic
  Information Systems technology
• Analyzing multiple opportunity indicators to
  create a comprehensive opportunity index
• Break Census Tracts into quintiles (based on
  opportunity index score) to distinguish between
  various opportunity categories (very low, low,
  moderate, high, very high)

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Similar Models Used Elsewhere

• The concept of using neighborhood based data to
  assess neighborhood opportunities and challenges
  is not unprecedented and is used in various
  sectors (examples)
• Business Site selection analysis by firms such
  as Claritas
• Community Development Criteria used to identify
  areas for targeted investment or areas targeted
  for specific community development initiatives
• Housing Models that try to connect affordable
  housing to areas of job growth work force
  housing initiatives
• The use of neighborhood based indicators for
  measuring sustainability is well established in
  the Austin region
• Opportunity mapping adds an additional analytical
  lens to this significant body of existing work in
  the region

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What has opportunity mapping been used for in
other regions?

• The Kirwan Institute has conducted opportunity
  mapping in approximately a dozen metropolitan
  regions, some prominent examples of this work
  informing action can be found in three regions
• Chicago
• Baltimore
• Cleveland

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Chicago

• Chicago The Kirwan Institute worked with the
  Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open
  Communities and the Institute of Race and Poverty
  to conduct an opportunity mapping analysis in the
  Chicago region
• The opportunity maps produced as part of the
  Chicago research were utilized by the Leadership
  Council for advising inner-city voucher holders
  looking to relocate to higher opportunity
  neighborhoods in Chicago
• In addition, the research was utilized to inform
  inclusionary housing advocacy in the Chicago
  region, focusing on inclusionary zoning advocacy
  and to assess the impacts of the Low Income
  Housing Tax Credit program on expanding access to
  opportunity in the Chicago region

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ChicagosCommunities of Opportunity

• This example is a 6 county Communities of
  Opportunity map for the Chicago region
• Red Lowest Opportunity
• Blue Highest Opportunity

Source Report published by the Leadership
Council for Metropolitan Open Communities 2005
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Baltimore (Litigation)

• Baltimore Opportunity mapping in the Baltimore
  region was conducted as part of the Thompson v.
  HUD fair housing litigation
• Plaintiffs used opportunity mapping to frame
  their remedial proposal, in response to a
  liability ruling that found the U.S. Department
  of Housing and Urban Development in violation of
  the Fair Housing Act
• The plaintiffs have proposed establishing 7,000
  affordable housing units in the regions high-
  opportunity communities, available to volunteers
  who wish to relocate out of the City of
  Baltimores public housing

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Proposed remedy identifies Communities of
Opportunity

• Used 14 indicators of neighborhood opportunity to
  designate high and low opportunity neighborhoods
  in the region
• Neighborhood Quality/Health
• Poverty, Crime, Vacancy, Property Values,
  Population Trends
• Economic Opportunity
• Proximity to Jobs and Job Changes, Public Transit
• Educational Opportunity
• School Poverty, School Test Scores, Teacher
  Qualifications

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Baltimore (Community Organizing)

• Baltimore In response to the proposed remedy, an
  umbrella organization of seven social justice
  organizations (known as the Baltimore Regional
  Housing Campaign) has adopted the
  opportunity-based approach and is actively
  working outside of the Courts remedial action to
  develop affordable housing options in Baltimores
  high-opportunity communities, as well as
  counseling those who desire to leave Baltimores
  public housing for new opportunities

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Cleveland

• Cleveland Opportunity mapping and GIS analysis
  were used in the Cleveland region to assess
  economic opportunities in the region, in relation
  to Minority Business concentrations
• Most MBE's in the region were clustered in
  neighborhoods with declining economic
  opportunity, producing potential impediments to
  business networking and access to markets
• Additional opportunity analysis was used to
  inform regional growth and development policy
  recommendations formulated by the Presidents
  Council of Cleveland, a committee of leading
  political, civic and business leaders in the
  African American community

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Cleveland opportunity analysis race
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• The geography of opportunity in the Austin region

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Background on the Austin Initiative

• The Central Texas Opportunity initiative was
  initiated by Community Partnership for the
  Homeless and involved a steering committee
  representing a diverse array of organizations in
  the Central Texas region
• The committee included representatives from
• PeopleFund, a regional community development
  financial institution Envision Central Texas, a
  regional planning body Capital Metro, the
  regions public transit authority the Indigent
  Care Collaborative, a non-profit health
  organization focused on public health issues for
  the poor Capitol Area Council of Governments
  United Way Capital Area Habitat for Humanity
  and several professors from the University of
  Texas Community Regional Planning and Public
  Health Departments
• The broader goal of the opportunity mapping
  initiative is to provide a data resource for
  policy makers, community development
  practitioners, social service providers, and the
  public to support actions to remedy socioeconomic
  inequity issues highlighted by the map, such as
  providing access to health care or addressing
  affordable housing

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Selecting Indicators of Opportunity

• The committee worked collaboratively with the
  Kirwan Institute to identify indicators of
  opportunity in the region 
• The selection of indicators was based on input
  regarding issues or concerns in the region, as
  well as research literature validating the
  connection between indicators and opportunity
• Twenty-two indicator areas were selected for the
  analysis, covering education, economic
  conditions, mobility and transportation, public
  health and the environment, and neighborhood
  quality

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Indicators of Opportunity Austin
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General Results

• The Comprehensive Opportunity Map (which
  represents all opportunity indicators)
• As seen in the following maps, higher opportunity
  areas in the region are primarily concentrated
  west of I-35, with the highest opportunity
  communities found directly west of I-35 in the
  Travis County area
• The lowest opportunity areas are primarily
  concentrated in southeastern Travis County and in
  the regions eastern counties (Caldwell and
  Bastrop)
• The largest concentration of high-opportunity
  communities are found in the portions of the City
  of Austin west of I-35 and most of the suburban
  communities adjacent to Austin west of I-35

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How is Opportunity Distributed in a Hot Market
City? (Austin, TX) Opportunity in the Austin
region is more centralized (not a hollow region
like Cleveland or Baltimore). Although,
opportunity is more centralized it is still
spatially segregated.
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An in-depth view of the distribution of high and
low opportunity areas in and around the City of
Austin
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Other Opportunity Maps Education

• The east-west divide along I-35 is evident in
  educational conditions in the region, with all
  high-opportunity areas found west of I-35
• Areas of low educational opportunity are
  concentrated east of I-35, but centered around
  Travis County
• Most areas in Caldwell and Bastrop Counties
  scored as moderate areas of educational
  opportunity

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Education Opportunity Map (based on educational
indicators for elementary schools)
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Other Opportunity Maps Housing and Neighborhood
Quality

• The distribution of high and low opportunity
  census tracts based on the housing and
  neighborhood quality analysis is seen in the
  following map
• The highest opportunity areas in the neighborhood
  analysis are located west of I-35, spreading from
  Hays to Williamson County
• Most of the high-opportunity tracts in Travis
  County are west of Route 183
• The lowest opportunity tracts in this analysis
  are located in the center of Travis County,
  directly east of I-35

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Neighborhood Conditions Quality Opportunity
Map (based on neighborhood quality indicators for
census tracts)
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Other Opportunity Maps

• Economic Opportunity
• Economic opportunities in the region are
  generally centralized, but are more concentrated
  to the west of I-35
• Opportunity related to Transportation Mobility
• Mobility-related opportunity in the region is
  highly concentrated, reflecting the centralized
  nature of the public transportation system and
  lower commute times for urban workers (also
  related to the general concentration of jobs near
  the City of Austin)
• Public Health and Environmental Quality
• The highest performing areas in the region are
  concentrated west of I-35, including parts of
  western Travis County and portions of Williamson
  County

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Public Health and Environmental
Quality Opportunity Map (based on indicators of
public health and environmental quality)
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• How can we use this analysis and information?

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Using this Information to Produce Action (Some
Examples)

• Assess and work to remedy racial, ethnic,
  economic segregation from opportunity in the
  region
• Look at affordable housing and access to high
  opportunity areas
• Exploring linkages with the opportunity mapping
  data (e.g. public transit and health care
  facilities)

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Opportunity Segregation

• Just like a weak market city, hot markets can
  result in segregation from communities of
  opportunity for marginalized groups
• In weak market regions (Detroit) people are
  disconnected from high opportunity neighborhoods
  in the suburbs
• In hot market regions (Austin) people may be
  disconnected from high opportunity neighborhoods
  in the city

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Opportunity Segregation in Austin

• Latino and African American populations are
  concentrated in the regions low and moderate
  opportunity communities
• While 39 of Whites in the region are in very
  low- or low-opportunity census tracts, 60 of
  Latinos and African Americans are concentrated in
  these tracts
• Linguistically isolated populations are also more
  likely to be concentrated in low-opportunity
  areas, with 56 of all linguistically isolated
  people located in very low or low opportunity
  census tracts
• Latino and African American children are much
  more likely to be located in the regions low
  opportunity areas, with 2 out of 3 African
  American and Latino children found in these
  communities
• For children in poverty, this isolation from
  opportunity is more pronounced, with 69 of
  children in poverty in the region found in the
  regions low-opportunity census tracts

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Segregation from Opportunity
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Linguistically Isolated People and the
Comprehensive Opportunity Map for the Austin
Region
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Children of Color and Educational Opportunity
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Remedying Opportunity Segregation

• To remedy such opportunity segregation, the
  Communities of Opportunity approach emphasizes
  investment in
• People
• Places
• Linkages

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Examples

• People
• Subsidies for affordable housing in
  high-opportunity neighborhoods with good schools
• Although inclusionary zoning is not permitted in
  Texas, other inclusionary models could be
  explored (e.g. developer incentives for
  production of affordable units)
• Promoting school mobility
• Wealth building programs for residents in low
  opportunity areas
• Places
• Regional housing and neighborhood development
  plans
• Opportunity-based Zoning
• Targeted investment in failing schools
• Linkages
• Improved public transportation to jobs and other
  critical opportunity structures

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Inclusion for Marginalized Communities in Hot
Market Regions

• How can marginalized communities benefit more
  from the economic growth and investment found in
  hot market regions?
• Three strategies
• Assure business investments provide benefits to
  disadvantaged groups (community benefits
  agreements)
• Assess the racial impacts of new developments
  (Racial Impact Statements)
• Assure people are prepared to be included in
  Austins thriving 21st century economy
  (education)
• Focus on affordable housing opportunities in
  growing high opportunity areas

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Opportunity and Subsidized Housing

• Subsidized housing is almost non existent in high
  opportunity areas
• Approximately 1 out of 10 subsidized housing
  sites can be found in high opportunity census
  tracts, while 2 out of 3 sites are concentrated
  in the regions low opportunity areas

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How can we counter this trend?

• Housing should be a primary policy concern (how
  do we connect affordable housing to high
  opportunity areas)
• Work to assure affordable housing is included in
  new investments
• Assure inclusionary housing requirement as part
  of developer incentives
• Work to maintain/preserve existing affordable
  units
• Promote alternative revenue streams for
  affordable housing (explore expanding resources
  for housing trust fund)

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Using Opportunity Mapping Data to Explore Linkages

• Example How is the regions public transit
  infrastructure connected to the regions health
  care facilities (clinics, physicians offices,
  hospitals)
• Public transit lines are well connected to public
  health resources in the City of Austin, but
  transit access gaps exist with regard to health
  care resources directly to the west and north of
  the City of Austin

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Thinking Opportunistically

• Given this information, what can concerned
  stakeholders in the Austin region do to promote
  integration with opportunity?
• Be prepared to take advantage of the
  opportunities and resources for changing the
  regional arrangements which isolate residents
  from opportunity
• Educational reforms?
• Assuring marginalized residents benefit from
  transportation and public transit investments?
• Utilizing the regions rapid investment and
  building boom to promote inclusion and assuring
  community benefits?
• Prioritize and target specific initiatives as a
  starting point

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Linked fatestransformative change

• Our fates are linked, yet our fates have been
  socially constructed as disconnected
• We need socially constructed bridges to
  transform our society
• Conceive of an individuality as connected
  toinstead of isolated fromthy neighbor
• Be advocates for Communities of Opportunity as
  transformative change
• Transformative An intervention that works to
  permanently transform structural arrangements
  which produce inequity and disparity

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Agents of transformative change

• Recognize that advocacy can be instrumental to
  connecting people to critical opportunity
  structures
• Education, Jobs, Child care, Health care,
  Transportation
• All of these are related and affect each other
  all show effects of cumulative disparity all are
  ripe for transformative change
• Creating the potential for healthier citizens,
  communities and a more vibrant region

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Concluding Thoughts

• We need integration with opportunity to have a
  truly just society
• A society where all people would have access to
  the means essential to living a life they have
  reason to value
• A society where a geographic identifier would not
  predict an individuals life chances
• Linked fate

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