Denver’s Equity Atlas is a pioneering effort between private, public, and non-profit interests to visualize a variety of statistics for the Denver metro area.
According to Mijin Cha of the National Equity Atlas, the Denver Equity Atlas is "an online interactive tool that creates custom maps and summaries of statistics for particular interest areas in the region. The online tool was launched in partnership between Mile High Connects and the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the regional planning office. A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sustainable Communities Initiative Grant allowed the planning office and Mile High Connects to deepen their relationship and have joint ownership over the Atlas."
The Mile High Connects group, a creator of the original Equity Atlas tool, sees it as their most important tool within their box. Mile High Connects uses the toolbox to spur new relationships with many more interested organizations.
By overlaying information on education, income, health, and other equity metrics, the Denver Equity Atlas helped fight for better transportation access. For example, advocates used the tool to show the dependence of low income communities on a certain bus route slated for closing due to the opening of the city’s new light rail system.
FULL STORY: Denver's Equity Atlas: Improving Urban Planning With Equity Data
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research