Since the Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 was released in June 2013, several thousand stakeholders have participated in workshops and trainings to learn how to use the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps and data to analyze regional conditions and explore equity issues from the perspective of their own communities and constituencies. CLF is also working directly with community-based organizations and government agencies to support them in using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to inform their investments and decision-making. The following examples illustrate some of the ways that these groups are using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to turn data into action:
Institutionalizing an equity lens within local government:
- Portland’s regional government, Metro, is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to help it incorporate equity considerations agency- wide, including its planning and decision making related to regional transportation, regional growth management, and climate change.
- The City of Portland’s Office of Equity sponsored a series of Equity Atlas 2.0 workshops and trainings to encourage all City bureaus to integrate equity considerations into their decision-making.
Shaping investment priorities:
- The Oregon Prosperity Initiative used the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps to inform their selection of target communities in the metro area for a pilot project that aims to address and prevent poverty.
- Metro’s Natural Areas Grants program uses the Equity Atlas 2.0 to identify nature-deficient neighborhoods and under- served populations in the region to target for grant opportunities.
- The Portland Bureau of Transportation used the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps to inform the development of a five-year implementation strategy for active transportation projects and programs in one of Portland’s highest poverty areas.
Guiding program and system design:
- Multnomah County’s Schools Uniting Neighborhoods system is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps to assess shifting demographics in the county in order to guide the system’s planning and design of wrap-around services to meet the needs of low-income families.
- The Community Energy Project is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 housing and demographic maps to shape planning and funding for programs to mitigate lead-based paint exposure for low-income children.
- Elders in Action is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to understand issues and conditions in underserved communities in order to guide program development.
- The Portland Brownfields Program is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to understand where particular services are needed and which neighborhoods are impacted by environmental justice concerns.
Informing location decisions:
- The Washington County Women Infants and Children (WIC) program used the Equity Atlas 2.0 transit and demographic maps to inform the location of a new WIC office to help low-income mothers and children to access nutritious food.
- Northwest Housing Alternatives, a nonprofit affordable housing agency, is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps to evaluate sites for locating new affordable housing projects.
- The Oregon Food Bank is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to determine areas of need and to help inform decisions about where new partner agencies and direct service programs should be located.
Supporting advocacy campaigns:
- The Community Alliance of Tenants, a grassroots tenants-rights organization, is using the photos and videos that their members created as part of the Equity Stories project to build support for a policy campaign to improve the health conditions for low-income renters in Portland.
- OPAL Environmental Justice is using the products of their work with the Equity Stories project to support their communications and advocacy work to increase access to public transit.
- The Oregon Public Health Institute and League of Oregon Cities are using the Equity Atlas maps as part of the HEAL Cities Campaign to support changes to cities’ policy and planning priorities to promote healthy eating and active living.
Changing organizational culture:
- Oregon’s Health CO-OP, a member-driven nonprofit health insurance plan, is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 as a training tool with their customer service staff to raise awareness of the impact of the social determinants of health on their members’ health status.
- TriMet, the region’s public transit agency, is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 to incorporate equity as a central consideration in their service planning and policy decisions.
Tracking change over time:
- The Cully Park redevelopment project is using the Equity Atlas 2.0 maps to track chronic disease, compare neighborhood outcomes over time, and educate community members and leaders about health disparities.
- Portland Human Rights Commission used the Equity Atlas 2.0 change-over-time maps to illustrate housing displacement and access to opportunities for communities of color.