the kirwan institute's opportunity communities program
TRANSCRIPT
THE KIRWAN INSTITUTE 5TH ANNIVERSARY
The Opportunity
Communities Program
March 19, 2009
Moritz Law School
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Jason Reece, AICP
Senior Researcher
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
The Ohio State University
Co-hosted by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity and the
Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
Opportunity Communities
Today’s discussion
Opportunity matters
The foundation of our work
The Opportunity
Communities model and
program
What is it
Application and impact
Recent examples
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
4
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
The Opportunity Communities
Model
The “Communities of Opportunity” framework is a model of social justice, fair housing and community development 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 for individuals, communities and our society.
The Communities of Opportunity model advocates for a fair investment in all of a region’s people and neighborhoods -- to improve the life outcomes of all citizens, and to improve the health of entire regions.
Producing Opportunity
Communities
Planning for
Opportunity Communities
Opportunity Based Fair Housing
Neighborhood Revitalization
Equitable Regional Policy
Opportunity Mapping
Systems Analysis
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
(Strategic Intervention Points to produce change)
Section 3
Mapping Opportunity: Why and How
Application and Impact
In the past five years our model has been
utilized in communities across the nation
to promote social justice
Expanding opportunity for marginalized
groups
Recent examples:
Regional equity in Cleveland, OH
Public housing residents and fair housing in
Baltimore, MD
Legal services neighborhoods and racial isolation in
MA
Kirwan’s significant contributions to the
field Subprime lending and race
Mapping and social justice
Opportunity based housing and community
development
Systems thinking and social justice
Opportunity Communities in
Litigation: Thompson v. HUD
(Remedial Proposal) Director powell’s
involvement in both the liability and remedy phases of the litigation, on behalf of NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Maryland ACLU
Used the opportunity community model to identify solutions for a fair housing for the Baltimore region Potential impact on 7,000 public
housing families in the Baltimore region
MA Legal Services and Opportunity Communities
Background on this project
Originated from effort to incorporated structural analysis into legal services
Partners
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, MA Legal Assistance Corp and other Legal Services Entities
Impacts National Consumer Law Center, State
opportunity assessment, Adopt a Zip Code
Section 1
14
To access this report and other resources please
visit us on-line at: www.kirwaninstitute.org