Local and National Resources on Equity
MVRPC’s Miami Valley Equity Initiative provides an extensive list of resources and tools on equity. These resources are intended to help planners and policy makers become better informed on how Equity is related to specific planning and policy areas. Click on the topic areas below to view their respective tools and resources
General
- Racial Equity Tools
This resource is a toolkit with over 1900 tools for individuals and communities to use to address racial equity. These tools include strategies for planning, executing, and evaluating racial equity initiatives. - Equity Resources
American Planning Association
This site provides extensive educational material on how equity relates to areas such as food systems, housing, community planning, and growth, among others. - Building a Cultural Equity Plan
PolicyLink
A cultural equity plan can help a community focus on practices and benefits of equitable planning. This guide is a resource for those who want to develop a cultural equity plan. - Center for Law and Social Policy
The Center for Law and Social Policy provides policy analysis resources on policy solutions for low-income individuals and communities. - Know the Gap, Close the Gap
Learn to Earn Dayton
This report shows the race-based disparities that exist in educational achievement among students in Montgomery County. - The State of Black Dayton: Opportunities Lost
Miami Valley Urban League
This report details the current state of housing, health, economic development, educational outcomes, and criminal justice for Black residents of Dayton. - The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
This applied research organization, hosted by The Ohio State University, provides extensive research and reports on issues related to race and ethnicity. These issues include implicit bias, housing, opportunity, and food access, among others. - Race & Equity
National League of Cities
This site provides resources and news on racial equity initiatives in cities across the country. - Government Alliance on Race and Equity
This organization is a coalition of governments interested in pursuing racial equity within their jurisdictions.
Data
- National Equity Atlas
This atlas provides data to foster an equitable economy. It uses measures of economic equity through economic vitality, readiness, and connectedness as well as economic benefits of equity. - Measure of America
This resource provides data and analysis on variables related to health, education, and living standards. It uses the “American Human Development Index” which tracks overall wellbeing of Americans.
Housing
- National Fair Housing Alliance
Resources from the National Fair Housing Alliance include fair housing research and reports, an equitable housing mapping tool, and information on key fair housing legal cases. Additionally, they provide contact information for organizations that can provide local support. - Housing for Equity and Inclusion
The Urban Institute
This site provides educational reports on four aspects of the housing system: Housing as a safety net; Housing as a platform; Housing as a building block for inclusion; and Housing as an asset class. - Fair Housing Policy Guide: Best Practices to Help Government Further the Commitment to Equitable, Dignified Homes for All
Metropolitan Council, Housing Justice Center
This guide contains legal fair housing requirements as well as best practices, case studies, and recommendations for cities to use to draft and enact fair housing policies. - Challenging Race as Risk: Implicit Bias in Housing
The Kirwan Institute
Historically, race-based housing segregation has been both the direct and indirect result of various laws and policies. This report explains the record of these policies and their implications today. - What About Housing?: A Policy Toolkit for Inclusive Growth
Grounded Solutions Network
This toolkit aids community leaders and policymakers in creating policies which encourage inclusive housing for low-income residents and residents of color. These tools are customizable based on local regulations and context.
Transportation
- Transportation Equity Caucus
The Transportation Equity Caucus is coalition of organizations with four key principles: Create affordable transportation options for all people; Ensure fair access to quality jobs, workforce development, and contracting opportunities; Promote healthy, safe, and inclusive communities; and Invest equitably and focus on results. - Inclusive Transit: Advancing Equity through Improved Access & Opportunity
Transit Center
This report outlines research on transportation and accessibility and offers evidence-based recommendations for inclusive transit planning. - Equity and Transportation webinar
State Smart Transportation Initiative
In order to determine if equity initiatives in transportation planning and policy are successful, appropriate evaluation tools must be used. This webinar addresses how to select and use suitable measurement tools. - Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy: Recommendations and Research
Policy Link/Prevention Institute
This report examines the connection between transportation policy, equity, and health. It uses national-scale research on public transit, cycling, and walkability in order to provide recommendations for policy makers.
Health
- What is Health Equity?
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This report offers a definition of health equity and a step-by-step process for advancing health equity in a community, including identifying health disparities, creating policy, measuring success, and reassessing strategies. - Health Equity Data
Ohio Department of Health
This website provides data sets on selected variables related to health outcomes in Ohio. These variables include social determinants of health, early childhood health, and behavioral risk factors, among others. - Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity
Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation
This report defines social determinants of health as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.” It outlines various initiatives being used to influence these determinants in order to indirectly improve health outcomes. - National Collaborative for Health Equity
This collaborative is a coalition of organizations working to promote health equity. Their website includes research and resources on various topics related to health equity. - American Public Health Association: Health Equity
This site provides fact sheets and resources on taking an approach to health equity through the lens of public health.
Food
- An Equitable Food System: Good for Families, Communities, and the Economy
PolicyLink
This issue brief explains the challenges of food security and policy and planning strategies to achieve an equitable food system. It also provides further resources for learning about recommendations for food equity. - Building the Case for Racial Equity in the Food System
Center for Social Inclusion
There are a number of policies that currently influence racially-oriented inequities in the food system. This report provides an explanation of these policies and identifies strategies for remedying inequities. - Food System Racial Equity Assessment Tool: A Facilitation Guide
University of Wisconsin Extension
This tool is for community leaders who are working on food system policy and initiatives. It provides a step-by-step process for identifying areas where racial inequality and the food system overlap.
Environmental Justice
- U. S. EPA: Environmental Justice
The EPA defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” This site provides resources about grants, strategic planning, and collaborative partnerships. - Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool
EPA
This mapping tool allows users to explore the geography of environmental issues such as hazardous waste proximity, ozone, and wastewater discharge, among others. Users can also see how these variables overlap with demographic variables. - U.S. Federal Highway Administration: Environmental Justice
This site provides FHWA resources, policy documents, training, and case studies on environmental justice issues.
Education
- Equity of Opportunity
U.S. Department of Education
This site details federal initiatives for equity in education. It also provides resource for localized education equity initiatives. - Educational Equity Research Brief
Center for Public Education
This research brief explains the structural and social barriers to achieving educational equity along with what would need to change in order to eliminate those barriers. - Education Equality Index
This tool maps educational inequity across the country by showing disparities in select achievement categories. Users can see where inequity exists between low-income students and their more advantaged peers.
Criminal Justice
- Incorporating Racial Equity into Criminal Justice Reform
The Sentencing Project
This report outlines the current state of racial inequity in the criminal justice system, best practices for remedying inequity, and strategies for implementing effective policies. - Criminal Justice Policy Solutions
Transforming the System
This report provides solutions for current inequities in the criminal justice system such as alternatives to incarceration, creating effective policing practices, and encouraging equitable sentencing, among others.
Neurodiversity
- Autism Planning and Design Guidelines 1.0 Webinar
American Planning Association
This webinar explains how urban form can be hostile to individuals with autism and how planners can design streets and sidewalks to be more inclusive of neurodiversity.
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