3 Backup - Equity Overview — original pdf

Backup

Water Forward 2024 Equity Grounding December 12, 2022 Reflection What are the values of the Water Forward Task Force? What are the realities you see? The History of the Equity Office 2015 Headlines Capture Drive for Community Organizing Austin is the best place to live in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report & One of the most economically segregated cities in the U.S. according to the Martin Prosperity Institute And Led To… • 2015: City Council resolution creating Equity Office to administer Equity Assessment • 2016: Chief Equity Officer Brion Oaks hired in October after national search • Equity Assessment tool co-created with community members, 900+ hours of volunteer time City Equity Definition Racial equity is the condition when race no longer predicts a person’s quality of life outcomes in our community. The City recognizes race is the primary determinant of social equity, therefore we begin the journey toward social equity with this definition. The City of Austin recognizes that alleviation of historical and structural disparities are won by critically transforming institutions and creating a culture of equity. A Framework for Equity Equity Lens Thinking & Talking about Power Power is 1. possession of control, authority, or influence over others. 2. the ability to act or produce an effect - “It's in your power to change things”. 3. the right to do something. 4. physical might​ SYSTEMIC POWER is the legitimate/legal ability to access and control those institutions sanctioned by the state. Our Disparities, Our Gaps Map of Poverty Racial Wealth Gap American Community Survey data (2019) created by City staff Planning Data Who Pollutes, Who is Impacted? 2019 Academy of the Sciences study found while white Americans are majority polluters, Black & Latinx people are impacted by... • increased risk of cardiovascular disease respiratory illness • • diabetes • birth defects What do you know about Austin's racial history? Indigenous Peoples in Texas Indigenous Peoples in Texas Indigenous Peoples in Texas Indigenous Peoples in Austin 1928 Plan “There has been considerable talk in Austin, as well as other cities, in regard to the race segregation problem. This problem cannot be solved legally under any zoning law known to us at present. Practically all attempts of such have been unconstitutional.” pg. 66 Housing Act of 1937 1930s: City of Austin built Rosewood Courts through eminent domain, destroying Emancipation Park, to the dismay of East Austin residents. Urban Renewal/Removal Who benefited from urban renewal projects? How does “urban redevelopment” continue to impact communities of color? 1956 Master Plan “The East Austin area… is presently the primary industrial area of Austin” Over 1/3 of this industrial land designated for residential and commercial purposes • How did this happen? • What does this say about city planning? • What does this mean for people living in East Austin? Austin Tomorrow Plan (1980) “Discourage development in areas of greatest environmental or agricultural value” • Where were these areas? • Who lived there? • What did we value as a city? • Has this changed? Shifting Demographics Top Reasons for Leaving Austin The Tank Farms “I get real bad headaches, my hair is falling out, my house shakes from the vibration of the tanks. All of the trees are dead…” The Tank Farms • 52-acre site in East Austin operated by 6 oil companies • Site processed toxic chemicals known to damage bone marrow, liver & kidneys, cause birth defects & brain damage • Facility subject to environmental regulation but rarely enforced • Leaks, emissions, contaminated wells were common, poisoning air, water, and foliage • Surrounding area was residential • 6 schools were within 1 mile of the site The Tank Farms • • • In 1992, companies set to expand the farm even further But community organized and fought back, forcing the State to act After 13 months of fighting, the companies to relocate Sources: A Case Study of the East Austin Tank Farms and Environmental Racism: Tank Farm Update (1992) Austin Water & Tesla's Gigafactory • • • Tesla Gigafactory on 2,100-acre property in eastern Travis County/Del Valle Property divided by State Highway 130 • Eastern tract in Hornsby Bend Utility (subsidiary of SouthWest Water Company) service area • Western tract in Austin Water January 2021: Public Utility Commission approves Tesla’s “expedited release” from SouthWest while low-income neighborhoods closer to Austin, like Garden Valley, remain on private utility Sources: “Tesla urged to use water-saving measures” Jo Clifton, Austin Monitor; “Environmental groups call on city to hold off on approving further development at Tesla gigafactory” Andrea Gúzman, austonia Where are we now? EXPLICITLY RACIST “RACE- NEUTRAL” While most explicitly racist laws and policies have been overturned or replaced, explicitly racist laws have had a profound effect on today’s racial outcomes in wealth, health, lifespan and every other indicator of wellbeing. “Race-neutral” laws, policies and practices like the GI Bill — to name just one example — replicate and worsen existing gaps between People of Color and White people. Where do we go from here? EXPLICITLY RACIST “RACE- NEUTRAL” EXPLICITLY ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY We can create a future in alignment with our values by explicitly, proactively advancing racial equity through rigorous, data-driven strategies. The Racial Equity Here commitment is centered around these strategies, like using a racial equity tool. Closing Reflection Was some of this history new to you? How does this history impact your work? Particularly when thinking about the power you have individually and collectively. How do you think Water Forward teams can address and avoid recreating this history? Slide Library Intros Who are you? What do you do? What lenses do you bring to your work? Our Values vs. Our Realities Of the people, by the people, and for the people... ...yet our leaders across all industries don’t come close to the diversity of our communities. Women didn’t get the right to vote until 1920. People of color weren't granted the right to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. All men are created equal... ...was revolutionary at the time, but when Jefferson spoke these words, they applied to White male property owners. Vision Zero Data Latinx & Black residents are more likely to... • be hit by cars • die from crash injuries Percentage of Those Who Felt Pushed Out Community Sentiments Indigenous Peoples in Austin First Ward Boundaries of Austin’s First Ward or “Austin’s Mexico” • 6th Street to North Colorado River to South Congress Avenue to E Rio Grande Street to the West Many families settled along Shoal Creek Creating the “Negro District” Proposed New Deal program would reinforce segregationist boundaries in Austin and throughout the country. The program, designed to restore household wealth during the Great Depression, used redlining–the practice of denying goods or services to racially determined neighborhoods–to specifically exclude communities of color. Restrictive and Racial Covenants “Hyde Park is exclusively for white people” Rogers Washington Holy Cross Neighborhood Acknowledging How We Got Here Inheriting inequality “As greater Austin booms, the poisonous legacy of segregation continues to cut off the African-American population from economic opportunities and its own cultural anchors, threatening the whole region's potential.” -An American-Statesmanthree-part series http://projects.statesman.com/news/economic-mobility/ Restrictive and Racial Covenants