john a. powell, Jason Reece and Stephen MenendianThe Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

Prepared for the United States Department of JusticeHousing and Civil Enforcement Section

Washington, D.C. July 8, 2010

The Community of Opportunity Model for Fair Housing & Educational Equity

Today’s Discussion Opportunity Matters (john)▪ The Community of Opportunity model for fair housing

Methods and Implementation (Jason)▪ Why and how do we map opportunity?▪ What have opportunity maps been used for?

Legal Applications (Stephen)▪ Educational applications and potential use for liability

and remedy

I was born…

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I grew up…

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My parents were sharecroppers in the South.

They left the South in search of opportunity.

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They moved north seeking opportunity and bought a house.

Today I would say they bought into a low opportunity neighborhood.

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The vacant grassy plots are not parks.

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Vacant lots and abandoned houses

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I grew up in a low opportunity structure in a declining opportunity city.

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LOW OPPORTUNITY HIGH OPPORTUNITY

Only 1 in 4 students in Detroit public schools finish high school (based on analysis from Education Week in 2007)

More the 60% of the men will spend time in jail

There may soon be no bus service in some areas

It is difficult to attract jobs or private capital

Not safe; very few parks Difficult to get fresh food

The year my step daughter finished high school, 100% of the students graduated and 100% went to college

Most will not even drive by a jail

Free bus service

Relatively easy to attract capital

Very safe; great parks

Easy to get fresh food

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“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

Racialized…

• In 1960, African-American families in poverty were 3.8 times more likely to be concentrated in high-poverty neighborhoods than poor whites.

• In 2000, they were 7.3times more likely.

Spatialized…

• marginalized people of color and the very poor have been spatially isolated from opportunity via reservations, Jim Crow, Appalachian mountains, ghettos, barrios, and the culture of incarceration.

Globalized…• Economic

globalization

• Climate change

• the Credit and Foreclosure crisis

Outcomes

&

Behaviors

Social

Physical

Cultural

These structures interact in ways that produce racialized outcomes for different groups, but also in ways that influence racial identity

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Some people ride the “Up” escalator to reach

opportunity

Others have to run up the “Down” escalator to get there

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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 Social determinants of race: Where

you live dictates access to opportunity structures and also determines racial norms

…to a multi-dimensional understanding….

• Structural Inequality– Example: a Bird in a cage.

Examining one bar cannot explain why a bird cannot fly. But multiple bars, arranged in specific ways, reinforce each other and trap the bird.

• One variable can explain why differential outcomes.

20Source: Barbara Reskin. http://faculty.uwashington.edu/reskin/

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Lower EducationalOutcomes for Urban

School Districts

Increased Flightof Affluent

Families fromUrban Areas

Neighborhood (Housing)

Segregation

SchoolSegregation(Economic)

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Everyone should have fair access to the critical opportunity structures needed to succeed in life.

Low Opportunity neighborhoods limit the development of human capital

A Community of Opportunity approach can develop pathways that result in increased social and economic health, benefiting everyone Looking at people, places and linkages

▪ Linkages = building connections to areas of opportunity

▪ Example: Opportunity based fair housing

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Deliberate, coordinated, and regional investments in people, places, and linkages

Two-pronged approach:▪ Targeted in-place, urban

revitalization strategies▪ Mobility-based investments for

marginalized residents to access high opportunity communities’

These are Not opposing strategies! A sustainable, transformative development strategy requires both

How do you map opportunity? What has it been used for?

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Why are maps particularly effective in dealing with issues of equity? Regional, racial and social inequity often

manifest as spatial inequity Maps are naturally the best tools to display

this spatial phenomena

Other disciplines and sectors are using multivariate mapping to problem solve Private industry Public sector

▪ NSP▪ Recent interest in mapping by HUD for supporting

sustainable communities▪ See recent Urban Institute report

Mapping visually represents the cumulative effects of opportunity segregation Also a strong analytical tool to

look at disparate impact (especially those impacts which are spatial and racial in nature)

• One map may contain tens of thousands of pieces of information than can be understood in seconds

A good map can enable you to tell a story or solve a problem

• Research has shown that people can solve problems faster with map based information, than by looking at charts, tables or graphs

The Kirwan Institute has conducted “opportunity mapping” for states and metropolitan regions across the US Projects in at least a dozen states

▪ Full State Analysis: MA, CT, OH, FL▪ Regions: Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore,

Washington D.C., Detroit, Austin, Sacramento, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, New Orleans

Why identify the “State of Opportunity” How are low-income groups situated in the State? How are racial and ethnic groups situated? How does housing intersect with race, class and

opportunity What can be done to improve the opportunity

landscape?

How do you map opportunity? Data representing community conditions was gathered

for neighborhood (census tracts) across the state or region▪ 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 or region

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

EDUCATION

Student poverty rates Reading/Math test scores Adult educational attainment Teacher qualifications Graduation rate

HOUSING & NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH

Home ownership rates Crime incidence Vacancy rates Home value appreciation Neighborhood poverty rates Population change Proximity to parks/open space Proximity to toxic waste release

sites

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Proximity to employment Commute times Job growth trends Business start trends Unemployment rate Public assistance rate

ECONOMIC HEALTH

All indicators grounded in social science research literature, also indicators can be more narrowly tailored to meet the needs of particular populations (e.g. public housing residents).

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Education Opportunity

Score

Economic Opportunity

Score

Housing & Neighborhood

Score

Final Opportunity Score (Map)

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Example of an Opportunity Map: Detroit MI

(Dark Areas = Most Opportunity Rich Communities)

(Light Areas = Most Opportunity Deprived Areas)

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

% African American % Asian % Latino % Whites

Low and Very Low Opp. Moderate Opportunity High and Very High Opp.

Background on this project Originated from effort to incorporate

mapping analysis into legal services Partners Massachusetts Law Reform Institute,

MA Legal Assistance Corp (foundation) and other Legal Services Entities

Year long process of meeting with stakeholders to understand mapping needs and issues

Training with service providers & agencies (using mapping for programming)

Three areas of opportunity were analyzed using GIS mapping capability: Education Quality and

Opportunity Economic Health and

Transportation Neighborhood Stability and

Health

Comprehensive Opportunity Map: Greater Boston

Program design and use within legal services New programming – proposed “Adopt A Zip Code” program Use in exploring client concerns/challenges Internal use by funder (MLAC)

State level program design (public sector) New $5 million state affordable housing program, targeted

to high opportunity communities (see press release) Targeting of $21 million in NSP funds to low opportunity

communities by the MA Department of Housing and Community Development

Implementation still unfolding

Connecticut “The mapping is guiding our next round of fair

housing testing…our mapping report has been identified by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development as one of the three central principles that will guide its planning over the next five years.” ▪ Erin Boggs, CT Fair Housing Center

Baltimore Remedial proposal in Thompson v. HUD

Chicago (Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities) Use in advising voucher holders in neighborhood selection

Austin Use in evaluating city’s affordable housing investments

Related Project: Washington County, OR Advised on opportunity map created by the County included in recent

consolidated plan for County▪ Exploring application in planning activities for the broader Portland region

Child Development Jacksonville, FL & the Duvall County children’s commission

Education Montclair, NJ and Louisville, KY (more on this in Stephen’s comments)

Coalition Work (PRRAC) National Coalition on School Diversity & Civil Rights Task Force on

Federal Housing Policy

Education applications and potential use for liability and remedy

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► Since the racialized nature of opportunity isolation is a spatial phenomena, maps are naturally an effective way to represent it

► Maps allow us to understand volumes of data at a glance through layering

► Mapping is a very powerful tool in looking at educational inequity & opportunity

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► School Composition layered over census tract data in Montclair, NJ

► Maps illustrate how residential segregation can manifests in schools

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►Magnet school policy counteracts effects of neighborhood segregation

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►Educational outcomes are a product of many inputs. ►Using social science research, we can identify factors

that correlate with educational performance. ►Mapping looks at multiple factors which correlate

with educational outcomes and social benefits, in a given neighborhood.

Direct Education Indicators

School poverty rate

Average teaching experience

Percent reading proficiency - 11th grade

Percent writing proficiency - 11th grade

Percent math proficiency - 11th grade

Graduation rate 2004-2005

Percent of teachers with Bachelor's degree

Percent of teachers with Master's degree

Total hardware/software (computer expenditure)

Access to libraries

Percent associates degree or higher

Other Neighborhood Indicators

Percent poverty

Percent unemployed

Access to prenatal care

Total crime indicator

Percent of houses owner-occupied

Percent of houses vacant

Housing median value

Child poverty rate

Median household income

SOUTHWEST OHIO SOUTHWEST CENTRAL OHIO

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► Mapping the geographic distribution of opportunity helps us to evaluate where these opportunity mismatches exist in a community and to design interventions to move people to opportunity

► Student assignment policies can be created using these indicators, drawing attendance Zones, boundaries, or through controlled choice plans.

District Indicators Steps NotesJefferson County/Louisville, KY

1) Median HH Income2) Racial Composition of

Neighborhood3) Ed. Attain of Parents

1) Parental Choice within Resides Zone

Two-Zone model

Berkeley , CAL 1) Average Nbhd Income2) Ed. Attain of Adults in

Nbhd3) Racial Composition of

Nbhd

1) Sibling2) Parental Choice within

Zone assignment

Controlled Choice, 3 Attendance Zones; Upheld by Cal. Ct. of Appeals

Montclair, NJ 1) Median HH income 2) HH Poverty Rates 3) # of F/R Lunch Stds4) Ed. Attain of Adults in

Nbhd5) Racial Composition of

Nbhd

1) Special needs2) ESL3) Siblings4) Parental Choice within

Zone Assignment

Magnets Plan, Freedom-of-Choice, 3-Zones, K students only

Chicago, IL 1) Median family income2) Adult Ed. Attainment3) % of Single-Parent HH4) % of Owner-Occupied

Homes5) % Of ESL students

1) Siblings2) ½ of remaining seats

proximity lottery3) Remaining Seats by

SES census block zone

4 Census Block Zones

Source: Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Source: Civil Rights Project at UCLA

“We conclude that the particular policies challenged here – which aims to achieve social diversity by using neighborhood demographics when assigning students to schools – is not discriminatory. The challenged policy does not use racial classifications; in fact, it does not consider an individual student’s race at all when assigning the student to a school.”

- ACRF v. Berkeley Unified School Districts

► GOAL: Each school has diversity of students from each zone, within 5% point deviation of K class zone baseline.

► K and transfer students are assigned based on parental preference and zone balance.

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Notes on Parents Involved

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Justice Kennedy’s opinion is controlling as the fifth vote.

J. Kennedy, ConcurringThat the school districts consider these plans to be necessary should remind us that our highest aspirations are yet unfulfilled. School districts can seek to reach Brown’s objective of equal educational opportunity. But the solutions

mandated by these school districts must themselves be lawful.

In my view, the state-mandated racial classifications at issue, official labels proclaiming the race of all persons

in a broad class of citizens – elementary school students in one case, high school students in another – are

unconstitutional as the cases now come to us.

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School boards may pursue the goal of bringing together students of diverse backgrounds and races through other means, including strategic

site selection of new schools; drawing attendance zones with general recognition of the demographics of the neighborhoods; allocating resources for special programs; recruiting students and faculty in a targeted fashion; and tracking enrollments, performance, and other

statistics by race. These mechanisms are race-conscious but do not lead to different treatment based on a classifications that tells each student he

or she is to be defined by race.

“If school authorities are concerned that the student-body compositions of certain schools interfere with the objective of offering an equal educational opportunity to all of their students, they are free to devise race-

conscious measures to address the problem in a general way without treating each student in a different

fashion soley on the basis of systematic, individual typing by race.

►After decades of integration efforts and hard won gains, many districts concerned that the reversion to neighborhood schools and local control would result in rapid resegregation implemented voluntary integration plans.

►This refers to integration efforts and strategies that a school system might employ, absent a legal obligation to do so.

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