1. Using Data to Assess Fair Housing
NCSHA Conference, Denver, October 16, 2017 Advances in Fair Housing Strategies
Using Data to Assess Fair Housing
Peter A. Tatian
Urban Institute

2. This report was funded by the Ford Foundation.
Divided into 2 main sections. Part I introduces how community organizations can use secondary data to improve access to opportunity and support fair housing. Provides examples from three communities. Describes types of secondary data and the resources available, including online tools and platforms and potential institutional partners, to help organizations navigate and find the right information.
Part II of this guide delivers more detailed information about data sources related to fair housing and access to opportunity, including demographics, housing, and land use, but also things like environment, health, and public safety. Under each topic appropriate sources of national and local data are described along with potential indicators.

3. How can data inform strategy?
What is your organization’s primary goal?
Examples: provide evidence of disparities, hold institutions accountable, target programs and resources
Who are you trying to influence, that is, who is the intended audience?
What is the key message to convey?
What information gaps must be filled so your organization can meet its objectives?
How can your audience be engaged to share the data?
Part 1: Data in action

4. What are the trade-offs?
Geographic level
Address, parcel, census tract/block group
Geographic coverage
Timeliness
Accessibility
Online platforms, open data portals, data use agreements
Ease of use
Costs
Purchase data; labor to obtain, clean, and analyze data

5. What resources aid in finding and analyzing data?
State and Local Institutions
State, regional, and local agencies
Local data intermediaries
Example: National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP)
Universities and colleges
State data centers
Federal Reserve Banks
Community-based organizations

6. What resources aid in finding and analyzing data?
Data Platforms
American FactFinder
Community Commons
HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Tool
HUD CPD Maps
National Equity Atlas
PolicyMap

7. Demographics and Segregation
Rich, easily accessed demographic data from the American Communities Survey
Many data platforms provide diversity indices
Potential for more timely local data
Vital Statistics
Public School Enrollment
Part 2: Data sources for fair housing and access to opportunity

8. Subsidized Housing National Sources Sources on subsidized units
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS)
A Picture of Subsidized Housing
Sources on subsidized units
National Preservation Database
Departments of Housing and Community Development
State Housing Finance Agencies
Local Property Data
National Preservation Database – Extensive database of federally-subsidized housing.
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) – Special tabulation of ACS data, usually 1-2 years behind. Detailed disaggregation by multiple variables. (but can still get basic level of cost burden from ACS)
Departments of Housing and Community Development/State Housing Finance Agencies – Sources of administrative data on state and locally subsidized housing.
Local property data covers much more than subsidized housing, but can be matched to data on subsidized units to provide more detail.
[MYCHAL – we should mention the local property data here too – we can say it’s advanced…] - Multifamily housing isn’t a category though for us right? Can you reframe the slide to match a category in the report?

9. Residential Mobility and Displacement
Difficult to track directly, multiple proxies
ACS variables on recent movers
Foreclosures
Evictions
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
Foreclosure data – legal records, recorder of deeds
Eviction data – court records, sheriff’s offices, difficult to obtain
HMDA – data on who is entering neighborhood
Reference Lisa K. Bates gentrification risk work? - [LH – sounds like a good idea or at least mention a few of the indicators that it uses?]

10. Poverty and Social Services
ACS is a strong national source for data on poverty
Limited national small-area data on services
Tax returns receiving earned income tax credit
Old-age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance
Richer local data on services, high degree of difficulty
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Unemployment Insurance

11. AFH Supplemental Data Use
Analysis of 26 assessments of fair housing on common sources and uses of data:
Local
Public transportation utilization (local departments of transportation)
School and student performance (local and state departments of education)
Public housing and housing choice voucher recipients (housing authorities)
Local data and studies on employment, health, housing, etc. (local universities)
Community health needs assessments, lead testing (local health department)
Supplemental
Demographic data from platforms such as the National Equity Atlas
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data on home loans
Additional tables from the American Community Survey

12. Segregation in the HCV Program
Map courtesy Maxwell Ciardullo, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center

13. New Orleans Local Health Data
Maps courtesy Maxwell Ciardullo, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center

14. Guide appendices
Appendix A. Small-Area Data Inventory Appendix B. Data Crosswalk for the Assessment of Fair Housing
Data Guide Category
Data Guide Topic
AFH Category
AFH Section
AFH Topic Description
Demographics and Segregation
Demographic Summary
A.1
Describe demographic patterns in the jurisdiction and region, and describe trends over time (at least since 1990).
Segregation/Integration
B.i.1.a
Describe and compare segregation levels in the jurisdiction and region. Identify the racial/ethnic groups that experience the highest levels of segregation.
B.i.1.b
Identify areas in the jurisdiction and region with relatively high segregation and integration by race/ethnicity, national origin, or LEP group, and indicate the predominant groups living in each areas.
B.i.1.c
Explain how these segregation levels and patterns in the jurisdiction and region have changed over time (since 1990)

15. Download the guide at http://urbn.is/2yFgvIb
Peter A. Tatian
Senior Fellow
@PeterTatian
Guide and appendices are available for download from Urban.org. Also a webinar by the authors and presenters from Philadelphia and New Orleans.