This study examines the spatial distribution of tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) units to understand whether geographic patterns and trends are consistent with climate change and equity goals. The analysis compares the location of HCV units in 2012 and net changes from 2012 to 2019 with a number of transportation, environmental, and racial and economic equity metrics. While the change in units from 2012 to 2019 shows promising trends for reducing vehicle miles traveled and increasing walkability and transit accessibility, there is a cost: higher exposure to pollution and a higher rate of vehicle collisions. HCV units are further concentrated in disproportionately low income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, with worsened access to economic opportunity. The findings reveal an inherent structural dilemma in whether the HCV program is able to simultaneously achieve climate and equity goals.
This study examines the spatial distribution of Low-income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units to understand whether geographic patterns and trends are consistent with climate change and equity goals. The analysis compares the location of LIHTC units in 2012 and net changes from 2012 to 2019 with a number of transportation, environmental, and racial and economic equity metrics. Unit locations are, at best, somewhat more sustainable than the state overall, with slightly lower-skewing vehicle miles traveled and better walkability, though low transit accessibility. What environmental gains there were, though, come at the cost of higher exposure to pollution. LIHTC units are also concentrated in disproportionately low-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, with worse access to economic opportunity. The findings reveal an inherent structural dilemma in whether the LIHTC program is able to simultaneously achieve climate and equity goals.
The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened California’s chronic economic and housing inequalities for low-income and people-of-color households. This brief uses data from the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) and California’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to analyze the experience of renters and their participation in critical emergency rental assistance programs. The authors find significant disparities linked to income class and race/ethnicity among California renters who are experiencing financial distress and who have participated in rental relief programs. Low-income renters and renters of color were more likely to struggle to keep up with rent payments than their white counterparts. Further, although more than 534,000 California renters had applied for the rent relief program, Asians Americans and Latinos were less likely to receive assistance even after accounting for income, age, and metropolitan area of residence.
This report documents UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge’s development of a statewide database and data/mapping portal that displays census-tract level information related to transportation disparities. The selected indicators are based on the existing literature and previous research on the causes, characteristics, and consequences of transportation inequality. The project covers vehicle ownership, public transit, active transportation, and transportation networks. The information is designed for decision makers, public agencies, and community groups that are working to address systematic disparities in transportation access, including their root causes and outcomes.
Access the Transportation Disparities data/mapping tool here.
In this brief, CNK researchers analyze the trends, ownership patterns, and geographic distribution of single-family home (SFH) rentals in San Joaquin County and Stockton. The rise of SFH rentals since the foreclosure crisis (approximately from late 2007 to 2014) has been a major concern to many community groups in low-income neighborhoods because of the loss of the opportunity to homeownership and the inability for families to build wealth through home equity.
Our analysis finds that there are both national and local large-scale corporate investors operating in San Joaquin County, but that a large majority of single-family rentals are owned by smaller entities, including mom-and-pop owners. Many single-family rentals are located in Stockton and in particular, South Stockton, which on average tend to be poorer and majority communities of color. Given the potential dangers, it is critical to diligently monitor foreclosures and the purchasers of distressed properties.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous economic and social impacts. The pandemic also created social problems, particularly the rise of anti-Asian hate. Restaurants and shops in Chinatown were among the first to feel the effects, with owners witnessing a decline as early as February 2020. The origins of the pandemic and anti-Asian racism were very much centered around false beliefs that Chinese American businesses, particularly those in Chinatowns, were a source for the spread of the disease. Given continuing anti-Asian incidents, it is critically important that we have effective strategies and policies to ensure that Asian American businesses are safe places.
This brief is organized into three parts: (1) Prevalence, Causes and Nature of Anti-Asian Racism; (2) Commonalities Among Impacted Asian American Businesses; and (3) Intersection with Personal and Family Anti-Asian Impacts. The brief also includes a preliminary analysis of findings from the ABA Pandemic Survey conducted by the Asian Business Association of Los Angeles, and the findings were published in collaboration with UCLA CNK and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. A report with policy recommendations is forthcoming.
New research from UCLA Luskin collaborators finds that gas bill debt—unpaid bills for heating and cooking gas—is unevenly distributed among many Californians. The report, coauthored by the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge in partnership with the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (LPPI) and the Luskin Center for Innovation, highlights the extent and consequences of this debt.
The study reveals clear patterns of inequity: neighborhoods with high gas bill debt rates also have higher poverty rates, lower incomes, more renters than homeowners, and higher proportions of Black and Latinx residents than the average neighborhood served by SoCalGas.
“When higher-income households stop using gas, lower-income households may be saddled with higher and higher gas costs,” said Dr. González. “It is essential to make electrification equitable, which means households don’t get left behind or stuck with increasingly unmanageable energy costs.”
This study is the third and final in a series examining utility debt inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous policy briefs focused on unpaid utility bills among Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers.
It is critically important that we have effective strategies and policies to ensure that Asian American businesses are able to thrive in the recovery era. To better understand how the pandemic affected Asian American businesses and their needs during the economic recovery, the Asian Business Association of Los Angeles surveyed businesses across the Southern California region. The survey collected information on business characteristics, owner characteristics, pandemic impacts, applying for and receiving assistance, and needs for recovery. This brief is a preliminary analysis of survey findings as of August 2021. A report with policy recommendations is forthcoming.
This Factsheet summarizes the findings from a comparison of population counts for Los Angeles County from the 2020 data for political redistricting (P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data or PL94) and the 2015-19 American Community Survey (ACS). The Census Bureau conducts an enumeration of the population every decade and compiles the information to assist local officials to redraw political boundaries in response to population changes to ensure that electoral districts are equal in population size. While the goal for every decennial census is a complete and accurate count, it has never been perfect, both missing some individuals and double counting others.2 One serious problem with miscounting is a differential undercount, where the enumeration systematically undercounts some populations and overcounts other populations. That is, the inaccuracies are not proportionately the same across groups. This problem has profound implications within the redistricting process, essentially disenfranchising those missed by the census and undermining the “one person, one vote” principle. There are also economic consequences because governmental allocation formulas are based on population. Differential undercount is deeply embedded in and shaped by existing structures of inequality. It is, therefore, not surprising that historically low-income persons and people of color are disproportionately missed by the enumeration, thus disproportionately undercounted.
