We support community-based organizations and local governments to create neighborhoods that are equitable, sustainable, and resilient. We believe everyone should be able to thrive in the community where they live.

Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

Our 2006 H+T Index showed that living near transit can reduce household transportation costs, allowing individuals and families to allocate more income to better quality housing and other needs. This insight continues to inspire us and others, for example in creating new Equitable Transit-Oriented Development strategies.

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Data Analysis

Building on our Equitable Transit-Oriented Development work, our 2023 Where Matters tool, developed for Ohio's Fund for Our Economic Future, allows employers to map the number of potential workers within a 30-minute commute by car, public transit, bike and walk. It also shows the racial diversity of the available labor pool, and the climate impact and cost of commutes in 380 U.S. metro areas

Environmental Justice

The Biden administration enacted federal infrastructure spending expected to exceed $1.5 trillion. We’re working to coach and support grassroots and front-line organizations to access funding for community improvements in various technical assistance programs. We also evaluated the federal government’s plans to target funds to communities that historically received less of such public spending with our Justice 40 data analysis.

Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Green stormwater infrastructure shows how we work to combine economic benefits with climate resiliency. For example, at Pekny Park in Riverdale, IL, a 2022 rain garden manages stormwater that can cause urban flooding while also featuring new state-of-the-art playground equipment. The project also generated new jobs for site maintenance.