National Equity Atlas
PolicyLink, University of Southern California Program for Environmental and Regional Equity
National Equity Atlas is an online resource for data on race, and publications that make an economic case for racial equity.
The National Equity Atlas is a website with data on more than thirty indicators related to racial equity and the economy. It also provides reports and case studies to support local efforts to improve racial equity. It presents data in relatively plain language.
The site has five major sections, including:
- About: This section contains background on the project, including helpful language for communicating why racial equity is important for a strong economy.
- Data summaries: This section offers a brief data summary of racial equity in the U.S., and offers the user the ability to request a data summary for a specific state or large city.
- Indicators: This section is the most complex. It offers direct access to data for more than 30 indicators of racial equity. Users are invited to select an indicator; enter a city, state, or region; and generate charts for download. Currently available data includes national data, statewide data for Minnesota, data for Minneapolis and St. Paul, and data for the Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area. For a small number of indicators, users can generate maps with information available at the county level, including demographic data (people of color, race/ethnicity, unemployment, and disconnected youth).
- Reports: This section includes reports on specific topics related to racial equity, as well as racial equity case studies for cities across the United States. It includes a report about racial equity in Minnesota published in 2014.
- Data in action: The final section shares information about how the data has been used, through news snippets, blog posts, and the chart of the week feature.
When to use
Use this website to:
- Provide statewide context for a community health assessment, or, for Twin Cities Metro cities, data on racial equity in the local economy
- Find data to spark conversations with staff or community partners
- Find words for making the case to county boards or community partners about why (and how much) equity matters
- Inform the development of policies, plans, strategies, and investments to support economic growth
- Learn from case studies about how to use data to inform actions or policies.
Users can generate charts, graphs, and maps to share with colleagues and add to presentations, fact sheets, reports, or funding proposals, but the data currently available is limited (see above).
Things to consider
The website is extensive. It takes time and a moderate level of confidence with technology to explore the site and learn how to generate data. You can find a one-hour webinar that provides an overview of the atlas at Introducing the National Equity Atlas data and policy tool (YouTube).
As previously mentioned, there is currently data for Minnesota, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington region. As you start to enter a city or state name, if there is data available, the name of the city or state will pop up underneath the text box. You can also sign up on the website to receive notices when the Atlas is updated.
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