EquityBlog

As we get ready for 2012, and continue our work advancing economic and social equity, we have exciting news from Congress!

• Choice Neighborhoods will receive $120 million to create communities of opportunity with stable affordable housing, up from $100 million last year.
• Healthy Food Financing Initiative will receive $32 million–$22 million through the Department of Treasury, and $10 million through the Department of Health and Human Services–to expand access to healthy food in low-income communities. USDA will be able to use additional resources for related efforts.
• New Starts will receive nearly $2 billion to expand public transportation systems across the country, an increase of over $300 million from last year.
• Prevention and Public Health Fund will receive the full $1 billion authorized through the Affordable Care Act, including $280 million for Community Transformation Grants, which support community-level chronic disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellness. This is a $135 million increase from 2011.
• Promise Neighborhoods will receive $60 million to support communities of opportunity centered around strong schools, based on the principles of the Harlem Children’s Zone. That’s up from $30 million in 2011, and $10 million in 2010.
• The Sustainable Communities Initiative, which helps communities plan for their future economies and implement major infrastructure investments, will receive $2.6 million for operations–but will not receive funding for the grant program.
• The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) will receive $500 million to create multi-use transportation hubs.

Today the Brookings Institution released an analysis looking at the number of households in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas without a private vehicle. The report, “Transit Access and Zero-Vehicle Households” revealed that:

• 7.5 million American households do not own a private vehicle

• Nearly 60 percent of households without vehicles have incomes below 80 percent of their regional median income – this is true in both cities and suburbs

• Across the three largest racial categories, Whites constitute the largest share of all “zero-vehicle” households (36 percent), with Latinos (more than 27 percent) and African Americans (25 percent) trailing relatively close behind.

The Brookings study also found that in communities where families do not have a vehicle, many are left stranded due to the lack of investment in public transportation in their regions. More than 100,000 households in Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston that have no vehicles also lack critical access to public transit options.

Findings like these serve as stark reminders of the nation’s urgent need for a new transportation vision, one that is supported by smart policies and strategic investments in quality transportation options aimed at connecting everyone to opportunity, especially those in traditionally underserved communities.

Thankfully the federal surface transportation bill, which is currently being debated in Congress, presents a significant chance for reform. To ensure that America’s transportation systems benefit all people equitably, PolicyLink recommends that the surface transportation bill:

• Promotes the development of transportation plans that will increase access to jobs

• Reforms existing transportation funding programs in order to prioritize public transit projects in areas that preserve and create affordable housing, and that connect low-income people to job centers and community amenities (e.g., New Starts, federal transportation loan programs, etc.).

• Preserves and expands current programs that specifically fund public transit projects, including the expanded use of federal funds for operating transit systems.

According to a recent poll, 80 percent of Americans believe the country would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportation system. Let’s work to ensure that the surface transportation bill is not a missed opportunity. We have the information and ideas needed to make smart, targeted investments that will ensure all individuals and families can participate and prosper in the 21^st Century. Now is the time for change.

Major news today out of the Motor City as Whole Foods announced its plans to move to Detroit’s Midtown in 2013. The news was met with mixed reactions, as some applauded the move while others expressed concerns about food costs and other matters.

Write John Gallagher and Zlati Meyer at Detroit Free-Press:

Angela Kiel, 25, a hotel chef who lives in Midtown, was delighted that Whole Foods will be close to where she lives, although she wondered about Whole Foods’ reputation as being relatively high priced.

“I’m super-excited. … I’m totally geeked about it,” she said, although she wondered about the price tags on those long-coveted groceries. “I’m a little worried. It might be too high priced, so for the average person, it’d be a negative if it’s as high-priced as in Troy.”

Go here to read the full article. Then come back and tell us what you think about Whole Foods’ decision in the comments.