Measuring Regional Equity
David Rusk
29 January 2015
The ultimate objective of regional equity activities is to reform those policies and practices that create and sustain social, racial, economic and environmental inequalities among cities, suburbs and rural areas -- and to bridge the gap between marginalized people and places and the region’s structures of social and economic opportunity. In my book Inside Game/Outside Game, I described three domains of work:
Revitalizing neighborhoods and urban markets as assets and key building blocks of a healthy region (Inside Game)
Reforming local, regional and state policies and practices in order to advance social and economic equity within a region (Outside Game)
Linking the needs of a region’s economically isolated and racially segregated residents with opportunity structures throughout a region (Regional Equity)
Too often, however, such statements are translated into ―input goals (e.g. dollars spent) or ―process goals (e.g. institutional capacity enhanced). Even ―output goals (e.g. affordable housing built) may not be clearly related to achieving greater equity or (for example, depending on where affordable housing is built) may even be counterproductive.
This paper will define specific, measurable ―outcome goals‖ for achieving greater regional equity. Its primary concern will be people: ―economically isolated and racially segregated residents. Its secondary concern will be places: the political jurisdictionsthat divide up a region. Its focus will be on reducing ―inequalities between those persons and places and both the rest of the society and the matrix of local governments within which they are largely isolated. However, I will also pay attention to tangible measures of improved well being for the entire society. It would be a hollow victory to achieve greater regional equity through impoverishing the many rather than lifting up the few.
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