New Report by the Urban Institute: A Vision for an Equitable D.C.

12 December 2016

The Urban Institute has released a new report entitled 'A Vision for an Equitable D.C.' which asks us to consider the following:

"What would an equitable DC look like? Communities of color have faced decades of systemic racism and discriminatory policies and practices. These actions have barred people of color from certain jobs and neighborhoods and from opportunities to build wealth, leaving a legacy that persists today. If the nation’s capital were free of its stark racial inequities, it could be a more prosperous and competitive city—one where everyone could reach their full potential and build better lives for themselves and their families."

The inequality that the report examines is heavily correlated with race; and the report also expounds upon how the amelioration of racial disparities would benefit not only people of color, but the District of Columbia as a whole. Specifically, the report cites the National Equity Atlas which predicted that if black and brown DC residents had income parity with white DC residents, the DC economy would have been more than $65 billion larger in 2012. Not to mention the savings to be had by the transfer of residents off of publicly funded assistance, and expansive growth in human capital that comes along with more affluent environments for the city's children which would surely translate into increased earning power over time.

We at CLiME applaud the Urban Institute's hard work to compile the hard data on how we can measure inequality, and project metropolitan equity. And in turn we have been inspired to ask: What would an equitable Greater Newark area look like?