Mapping Opportunity and Assets to Support Community Development & Sustainability

Conference Workshop Session at the 2012 National Association of County Community & Economic Development

“Forging a New Vision – Reinvent, Revive and Restore”Orlando, FL

September 29th 2012

Jason Reece, Director of Research reece.35@osu.edu

The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & EthnicityThe Ohio State University

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Takeaway Points….

Today’s context for community & economic development– Systemic challenges– Fiscal constraints– Growing equity concerns

Intro to opportunity mapping – How can it help practitioners

support development, equity and sustainability ?

What is a structural, systemic or ecological perspective?

Characteristics– Systems (holistic) perspective

• Ecological view of community challenges & conditions

– Multi-factor/Multidisciplinary– Cumulative effects– Interactive & dynamic

An Ecological or Systems View of Development: Fostering

Community Revitalization

“…sustainable neighborhood improvement requires long-term, simultaneous investment in all the issues-schools, housing, health, jobs, economic development, safety, community cohesion, and more-that must improve together in a reinforcing virtuous circle. Practically speaking, this may mean applying a comprehensive lens and working first on the few interventions with the greatest potential to stimulate further change.”

• Quote taken from remarks made by Jonathan Fanton at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) National Leadership Conference, October 3rd 2007

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Public Sector Fiscal Constraints

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Survey Response from U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Community Development Survey for (OH, KY, IN and WV)

Source - Information Adapted from U.S. Federal Reserve Publication Available at: http://www.clevelandfed.org/Community_Development/publications/issues_insights/2011Q3/index.cfm#_edn1

“Federal budgets cuts will cripple our operations.” – Survey Respondent

“Neighborhood revitalization, schools, consumer finance, public transportation, and human services all rely on state

funding. The lack of resources and change in politics cause me grave concern about how we will address those needs going

forward.”-Survey Respondent

Growing Equity Concerns:

Poverty, Race & Kids

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Opportunity Mapping: A Tool to Address Multiple Goals

Opportunity Mapping

Providing an ecological or

systems perspective or

analysis

Focusing on equity and reaching

marginalized populations

Targeting resources in a

fiscally constrained environment

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Community & Opportunity: Understanding the Role of Place

How do we move from an “Opportunity Poor”

community…

…to an “Opportunity Rich” community?

People, Places and Linkages: Deliberate, coordinated, and strategic investments in people, places, and linkages

There’s A Map For That

Opportunity Mapping Provides a Multi-Factor

(Holistic) View of Community Conditions.

Measuring how neighborhoods compare

to each other and/or other benchmarks.

It is most effective when grounded in community engagement and paired

with asset mapping.

• Unit of analysis: Tract, Block Group

• Calculate z-score for each indicator group

• Display as quintile map

Building & Layering Indicators of

Neighborhood Conditions

All measures rolled into a single index value (Opportunity Index)

Building a Composite Map: The Comprehensive

Opportunity Map

Comprehensive Opportunity

Index

Very Low

Low

Moderate

High

Very High

Mapping Neighborhood Conditions Example: Opportunity Mapping in Columbus, OH

The following Opportunity Map of Franklin County Ohio is based on a set of data that represents four ways of conceptualizing opportunity: – Housing & Neighborhood, Transportation & Employment, Health & Safety, and Education.

Each of these categories is formed using a set of indicators at the neighborhood level

Neighborhood & Housing

• Median Home Value

• Poverty Rate• Vacancy Rate• Foreclosure Rate• Rate of Cost-

Burdened Households

Transportation & Employment

• Transit Access• Mean Commute

Time• Job Access• Unemployment

Rate• Job Growth Rate

Health & Safety

• Medically Underserved Rating

• Number of Primary Care Providers

• Incarceration Rate

Education

• Student Poverty• School

Performance Index

• Educational Attainment

• Student Attendance Rate

Adding Value Through Analysis: Overlaying Data & Information Demonstrate relationship to the

opportunity landscape Various data types

– Demographics/Equity Concerns• Race• Poverty• Household composition

– Policy-related• Affordable housing locations• Proposed transit hubs• Investments

– Assets, civic infrastructure• Schools• Hospitals• Bus routes

8 - 228

229 - 534

535 - 1086

1087 - 2675

Comprehensive Opportunity

Index

Very Low

Low

Moderate

High

Very High

Opportunity Mapping: More than just maps!

Goal: To create “iterative space” where collaborativeconversation can happen

Maps bring together diverse stakeholders around theopportunity frame– A frame of abundance & opportunity

Common purpose: To increase access to opportunity acrosscity/metro/region– Opportunity framework brings equity into the conversation

– Identify structural barriers to opportunity, community assets

Opportunity Mapping Critical Points:

Iterative Mapping and Data Refinement Collaborative process empowers

stakeholders, keeps them engaged Provides reality checks for our work Generates buy-in

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IMPACTS AND LESSONS LEARNEDApplying to Your Community

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Applications for Opportunity

Mapping Planning

• Deeper Analysis of Area Plans or Regional Plans

• Policy or Program Design

Policy & Investments

• Targeting Investments

• Evaluating Programs & Policy

Engagement

• Community Engagement

• Capacity Building & Communication

Equity

• Fair Housing• Identifying Areas of

Isolation

Impact

“We have program outcome data on every program we fund, but we have never had a way to show impact upon a population or neighborhood. Opportunity mapping is a powerful tool that demonstrates the value of our work in a graphic and easy to understand way….our city budget continues to shrink but as we go forward we’ll be working on ways to refocus some of our investments.” -Linda Lanier, Executive

Director/CEO, Jacksonville Children’s Commission

Why use mapping to support community development?

Internal Capacity Building– Building capacity & collective

knowledge

External Capacity Building– Raising awareness (building external

capacity)• To raise attention and awareness• To identify solutions to remedy

barriers to opportunity• To call for systems change from

various stakeholders

Impact

“The story of how our maps were created resembles the children’s story Stone Soup, in which a hungry community started out with nothing but a pot of water with stones and ended up with a rich soup that fed everyone because each person contributed something. Creating these maps was a community building experience that promises to have benefits that go beyond the maps themselves.” –Andree Tremoulet, Ph.D. Housing

Services Specialist, Washington County, OR, Department of Community Development

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Lessons Learned

Engagement process is critical Also important to overlay and

identify assets Focus goal on building long term

internal capacity– Technical skills

– Relationships

– Collective knowledge

– Common frameworks

Integration with online mapping platforms

Robust participatory mapping and other activities

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Linguistic Isolation &

Opportunity Communities

(Austin)

HUD Sustainable Communities Grantees & Opportunity Mapping

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Utilizing the Opportunity Model: Community & Policy Impacts in our First Decade

• Establishment of a minority business accelerator in the greater Cleveland region.

• Development of the Thompson v. HUD fair housing remedial proposal.

• Utilization of opportunity maps to target affordable housing investments in the City of Austin, TX.

• Establishment of a $5 million gap financing program to produce construction of affordable rental housing in high opportunity areas in Massachusetts.

• Targeting of $20 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program investments into high- need, low- opportunity communities in Massachusetts.

• Adoption of a Community of Opportunity policy framework as guiding principles for the Connecticut Department of Housing and Community development.

• Adoption of a Community of Opportunity model for the Department of Community Development in Washington County, OR.

• Expansion and targeting of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in Columbus, OH.

• Targeting of more than $10 million in revitalization program funding directed by the philanthropic community in Columbus, OH to marginalized neighborhoods.

• Adoption of opportunity- based school desegregation plans in Montclair, NJ and Louisville, KY.

• Revision of Ohio’s Equal Education Opportunity Policy to reflect contemporary legal parameters, including recommendations for diversifying K-12 schools and reducing racial isolation, all unanimously approved by the State’s Board of Education.

• Utilization of the opportunity and asset mapping framework to HUD funded regional sustainable communities’ plans in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, the Puget Sound Region and Connecticut.

• Adoption of the opportunity mapping methodology by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist with fair housing goals.

Want to Learn More?Resources & Reference Materials

Mapping for Social Justice– The Kirwan Institute Study:

• Utilizing GIS to Support Advocacy and Social Justice

More on Opportunity Mapping– The Kirwan Institute Reports

• Communities of Opportunity: A Framework for an Equitable & Sustainable Future

• The Geography of Opportunity: A Review of Opportunity Mapping Research Initiatives

– These resources and more available on-line at: kirwaninstitute.org

Want to Learn More?Resources & Reference Materials

Mapping & Advocacy – From Clearinghouse Review– Jason Reece and Eric Schultheis. Poverty’s Place: The Use of

Geographic Information Systems in Poverty Advocacy. Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. January-February 2009.

– Maya Roy and Jason Reece. Poverty’s Place Revisited: Mapping for Justice & Democratizing Data to Combat Poverty. Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. July/August 2010.

To access, visit Clearinghouse Review at:– www.povertylaw.org/clearinghouse-review

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