1. MAPPING FOR CHANGE:
SEIZING OPPORTUNITY & CONFRONTING CHALLENGES
USING MAPS & GIS
Presentation to:
Jessie Ball duPont Foundation
January 13th 2010
Presented by:
Jason R
J Reece, S i R
Senior Researcher (R
h (Reece.35@osu.edu)
35@ d )
Samir Gambhir, Senior Research Associate (Gambhir.2@osu.edu)
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
The Ohio State University

2. Today’s Presentation
y
 Background
 Kirwan
 Our Work – Opportunity Mapping
 Using Opportunity Mapping – Two Examples
Using Opportunity Mapping – Two Examples
 Baltimore
 Massachusetts
 Local example – exploring mapping applications
 Exploring opportunities/challenges in Duval County
 Concluding Thoughts
 Moving forward

3. Background
B k d
The Kirwan I i
Th Ki Institute & Our W k
O Work

4. About Kirwan
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 Multidisciplinary applied research
Multidisciplinary applied research
institute
 Our mission is to expand opportunity
for all, especially for our most
f ll i ll f t
marginalized communities
 Founded in 2003 by john powell
 Opportunity Communities Program
(1/3 of staff)
 Opening pathways to opportunity for
p gp y pp y
marginalized communities through
investments in people, places and
supporting linkages
 Opportunity mapping
i i

5. 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
High‐quality education
 Healthy and safe environment
 Stable housing
 Sustainable employment
 Political empowerment
 Outlets for wealth‐building
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 Positive social networks

6. 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
likelihood of success
 High poverty areas with poor
employment, underperforming
schools, distressed housing and
schools distressed housing and
public health/safety risks
depress life outcomes
 A system of disadvantage
 Many manifestations
Many manifestations
 Urban, rural, suburban
 People of color are far more
likely to live in opportunity
likely to live in opportunity
deprived neighborhoods and
communities
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7. About Our Work
 Emphasis on how systems work to produce inequity
 How do multiple issues interact to either depress or uplift
certain populations or communities?
 What can we do to “strategically intervene” and improve
outcomes for marginalized communities
f i li d ii
 Extensive use of mapping in our work
 Inequity has a geographic footprint
I it h hi f t i t
 Leverage points sometimes geographic in scope
 Maps powerful for tools for
 Research
h
 Designing policy/programming
 Communicating research/issues to the public and other
stakeholders

8. 8
 Typical map used for
T i l df
applied policy
research
 Foreclosures in
Columbus, OH
 Helps target areas for
investment or policy
intervention

9. Mapping Opportunity: Why and How
 The Kirwan Institute has conducted
“opportunity mapping” for states and
opportunity mapping for states and
metropolitan regions across the US
 Projects in at least a dozen states
 What is an opportunity map?
 Comprehensive map, showing various
neighborhood indicators
 Opportunity indicators
pp y
 Why identify the “State of Opportunity”
 How are low‐income groups situated in the State?
 How are racial and ethnic groups situated?
H i l d h i i d?
 What can be done to improve the opportunity landscape?
 Investments
 Policy Reforms
 Targeting Services

10. 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 or region
 Data for all indicators of community conditions was aggregated to the
Census Tract level and analyzed to create a comprehensive opportunity
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
Th i i d i h d d b k i
quintiles based on their opportunity score
 Very Low, Low, Moderate, High, Very High

11. Creating the Composite Opportunity Map:
Example From a Recent CN Project
11
Education Economic Housing & Final
Opportunity Opportunity Neighborhood Opportunity
Score Score Score Score (Map)

12. Example of an Opportunity Map:
Detroit MI
(Dark Areas = Most Opportunity
Rich Communities)
(Light Areas = Most Opportunity
Deprived Areas)
12

13. Using Opportunity Mapping
Ui O t it M i
Two C
T Case Studies:
S di
Baltimore, MD & Massachusetts

14. Application and Impact
pp p
 In the past five years our opportunity
In the past five years our opportunity
mapping has been utilized in communities
across the nation to promote social justice
 Expanding opportunity for marginalized
Expanding opportunity for marginalized
groups – informing policy & action
 Recent examples:
 Public housing residents and fair housing in Baltimore,
Public housing residents and fair housing in Baltimore,
MD
 Legal service populations & neighborhoods of
opportunity MA

15. Opportunity Mapping & Fair Housing: Thompson v.
HUD in Baltimore
 Mapping initiative originated during
pp g g g
Director powell’s involvement in both
the liability and remedy phases of
litigation, on behalf of NAACP Legal
Defense Fund and the Maryland
ACLU
 Initial partners
 Maryland ACLU
 NAACP Legal Defense Fund
 Expanded beyond litigation
 Regional fair housing coalition
R i lf i h i li i
 Framework for program evaluation &
identifying housing opportunities or
challenges in the region
 Used the opportunity community
model to identify solutions for fair
housing litigation in the Baltimore
region (remedial proposal pending)
 Potential impact on 7,000 public housing families
Potential impact on 7 000 public housing families
in the Baltimore region

16. What is Thompson v. HUD?
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 Litigation brought on behalf of class
of 14,000 African‐American residents
f 14 000 Af i A i id t
of public housing in response to
history of racial segregation of public
housing and concentration in poor,
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distressed neighborhoods in
Baltimore
 Represented by Maryland ACLU and
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
 US District Court of Maryland, Judge
Marvin Garbis
 Began in 1995…judge issued liability
Began in 1995 judge issued liability
ruling in 2005
 Remedial trial held in 2006
 Still waiting for final remedial decision
16

17. More on Thompson v. HUD
 In January 2005, US District Court Judge Garbis found HUD liable
for violating the federal Fair Housing Act, for not providing fair
housing opportunities to Baltimore’s African American public
housing residents
 "Baltimore City should not be viewed ... as a container for all of the poor of a
contiguous region“
 HUD failed to affirmatively promote fair housing by failing to consider a
regional approach to desegregating public housing
 “[T]he failure adequately to take a regional approach to the desegregation of public
housing in the region that included Baltimore City violated the Fair Housing Act and
q pp p y
requires consideration of appropriate remedial action by the Court.”
 [Hon. Marvin J. Garbis, Memorandum of Decision. Carmen Thompson et. al. vs. US
Department of Housing and Urban Development et. al. January 6, 2005: 104]

18. Fair Housing & Subsidized
Housing in the Baltimore Region
g g
 Subsidized housing
opportunities in Baltimore
are generally clustered in the
region’s predominately
African American
f
neighborhoods
 Also high poverty
neighborhoods
18

19. 19

20. Photos Near Public Housing Sites in Baltimore
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21. Opportunity Mapping in Baltimore
 Use of 14 indicators of neighborhood
opportunity to designate high and low
opportunity to designate high and low
opportunity neighborhoods in the
Baltimore region
 Indicators of Opportunity (General)
pp y
 Neighborhood Quality/Health
 Poverty, Crime, Vacancy, Property Values,
Population Trends
 Economic Opportunity
Economic Opportunity
 Proximity to Jobs and Job Changes, Public
Transit
 Educational Opportunity
 School Poverty, School Test Scores,
School Poverty School Test Scores
Teacher Qualifications
21

22.  Subsidized housing
opportunities in
Baltimore are generally
clustered in the region’s
lowest opportunity
neighborhoods
22

23. Final Plaintiff’s Proposed Remedy
 Plaintiffs propose providing desegregative housing opportunities
Plaintiffs propose providing desegregative housing opportunities
in the region’s high opportunity neighborhoods to remedy HUD’s
fair housing violations
 With the goal of providing nearly 7,000 affordable housing opportunities
in high opportunity communities to public housing residents who
volunteer to relocate in ten years
 Flexibility in implementation (new construction and vouchers)
 Aligned with proposals to provide support services for residents
who volunteer for the program
who volunteer for the program
23

24. Other Impacts
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 Outside of the litigation, the opportunity maps have
g , pp y p
been used in a variety of ways
 Program evaluation and planning
 Monitoring partial consent decree program
M it i ti l td
 Identifying Opportunities/Challenges
 Assessing opportunities/challenges related to the foreclosure
crisis
 Regional housing advocacy
 Baltimore Regional Housing Coalition
g g
 Research
 Tracking outcomes for families who move to high opportunity
areas (John Hopkins)
areas (John Hopkins)

25. Initial Moves and Secondary Moves by Thompson
Consent Decree Program Participants
25

26. 26

27. MA Legal Services and
Opportunity Communities
 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
d di
 Training with service providers &
agencies (using mapping for
programming)

28. Mapping Communities of Opportunity: Methods
and Indicators
 Three areas of
opportunity were
analyzed using GIS
mapping capability:
 Education Q lit
Ed ti Quality and
d
Opportunity
 Economic Health and
Transportation
T t ti
 Neighborhood Stability and
Health

29. Comprehensive Opportunity Map: Greater Boston

33. Applications and Impact
pp p
 Program design and use within the legal services
 New programming – proposed “Adopt A Zip Code” program
 Use in exploring client concerns/challenges
 Use in litigation (National Consumer Law Center)
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 Internal use by funder (MLAC)
 Direct advocacy
 State opportunity impact assessment (proposed)
State opportunity impact assessment (proposed)
 Dissemination among state agencies
 State level program design (public sector)
 New $5 million state affordable housing program, targeted to
$ ll ff d bl h d
high opportunity communities (see press release)
 Implementation still unfolding

35. Local Applications
L l A li ti
Exploring
E l i opportunities/challenges through
i i / h ll h h
mapping in Duval County, FL

36. Exploring Duval County
p g y
 Exploring the dimensions of child poverty
p g p y
 Geography of neighborhood/school poverty & student
performance
 Exploring investments
 Children's services & ARRA
 Looking at intersections
L ki i i
 Foreclosure patterns and child vulnerability
 What does a comprehensive opportunity map for
What does a comprehensive opportunity map for
Jacksonville look like (sample map)
 Intersection with race, subsidized housing, foreclosure

41. Exploring Investments in relation to need – Child Poverty & Children’s Services Investments

42. Example:
Understanding Investment
Patterns
An early look at ARRA
(stimulus) investments and
jobs created.
Caution: thi map i only as
C ti this is l
accurate as the source data
(ARRA data problematic)

45. Example:
Sample Comprehensive
Opportunity Map (prepared in
2009 for MWC)
Based on neighborhood
performance relative to other
neighborhoods in state.
Indicators:
Index based on
•Adult educational attainment
•School poverty
•Teacher qualifications
•FCAT scores
•Unemployment
•Public assistance rates
•Jobs and job changes
•Commute time
•Proximity to Toxic Waste
•Home values
•Home vacancy/ownership
•Crime

46. Opportunity Map: In relation to subsidized housing and foreclosure patterns

47. Closing Thoughts
Cl i Th ht
Moving Forward
M i F d

48. Applications
pp
 What is this information/approach useful for?
/ pp
 Diagnostics and targeted investments
 Identifying areas of opportunity and challenges
 O
Opportunities
t iti
 Opportunities for investment
 Targeting services better, targeting programs
 Challenges
 E.g. foreclosure patterns – interconnections between foreclosure and
children in need
 Looking at broader policy issues and concern
 Communications – using maps to illustrate areas of concern, areas of
opportunity, broader community discussions

49. Moving Forward - Strategies
g g
 Spend time identifying areas of concern/need prior to
p y g / p
mapping
 Targeted inquiries and analysis (areas of concern, areas of
opportunities for progress)
opportunities for progress)
 Diagnostics (programs, investments etc.)
 Consider mapping to help address broader challenges
 Planning and strategy, communications, public discourse, advocacy –
outreach, stakeholder, informing program design
 Comprehensive opportunity maps more useful in this role
p pp y p
 Be aware of data challenges
 Access to data sometimes a limiting factor

50. Thank You!
For questions, comments or for more information: www.kirwaninstitute.org
or e-mail us at Reece.35@osu.edu or Gambhir.2@osu.edu
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