NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES Fair Housing & Equity Assessment & Regional Planning Enhancement November 12, 2013 Yonkers Public Library
Federal grant to improve regional planning to support sustainable communities The Partnership for Sustainable Communities works to coordinate federal housing, transportation, water, and other infrastructure investments to make neighborhoods more prosperous, allow people to live closer to jobs, save households time and money, and reduce pollution.
Promote equitable, affordable housing Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance economic competitiveness LIVABILITY PRINCIPLES Coordinate policies and leverage investment Support existing communities Provide more transportation choices
What the Consortium can and cannot do The NY-CT Consortium produces plans and recommendations for the region and specific locations based on a work program in an agreement between the consortium partners. Implementation of any plans or recommendations must go through the normal approval processes of the towns, villages, counties and states where proposals are located.
Growing the economy, expanding choice Build mixed-income housing and jobs within walking distance of transit
Placespecific projects
Growing the economy, expanding choice Bring opportunity to all communities and all communities to opportunity Number of affordable, energy -efficient homes built in our good school districts Number of good, accessible jobs in our urban areas Access to grocery stores, fresh foods, health care and other needs
Growing the economy, expanding choice Develop climate resilient buildings and infrastructure
Growing the economy, expanding choice Coordinate federal, state, regional, and local regulatory reforms Identify specific gaps in existing regional plans Analyze regulatory and program impediments to on-the-ground projects Recommend reforms Adopt an Execution Plan for Regional Sustainable Development
16 regional and place-specific projects REGIONAL PLANNING ENHANCEMENT AND INTEGRATION SPECIFIC PLACE-BASED AND AREA-WIDE PROJECTS Transportation Plans Northern Sector Place- Based Sustainability Projects New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, New Rochelle Bronx Stations I-287 and Cross County Parkway corridors Sustainability Plans Regional Plan for Sustainable Development Economic Development Plans East New York Nassau Centers Suffolk Transfer-of- Development Rights Long Island Housing Strategy Master Plans Housing Plans Areawide Policy Projects Regional Planning Enhancement Regional Fair Housing & Equity Assessment NYC Climate Resilience
Addressing Equity & 0pportunity: The Regional Fair Housing and Equity Assessment (FHEA)
What is the Fair Housing and Equity Assessment (FHEA)? An analysis of the segregation patterns and disparities in the region An inclusive deliberation process to identify the factors contributing to these patterns and strategies to overcome them A bridge to decision-making and investments
Outcomes FHEA will be incorporated in the NY-CT consortium s Regional Execution Plan for Sustainable Development to: Include strategies to address fair housing barriers and other issues identified in the FHEA, including actions for consortiumled projects Improve regional planning to support access to opportunity Information in FHEA can also be used to: Assist states and municipalities in developing their housing analyses and plans Assist other fair housing and community development efforts
Suburbs are becoming increasingly diverse, but African-Americans and Hispanics remain concentrated in cities
African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians represent nearly half the region s population
but we remain one of the most segregated regions in the nation Dissimilarity index measures how evenly two groups are distributed across an area On a scale of 0 (completely integrated) to 1 (completely segregated), the region scores.78 for black-white segregation, nearly twice the average for all metropolitan areas Source: Brown University, http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/data/download1.htm
Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty Mostly in Cities Racially/Ethnically- Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAP) Majority non-white population (>50%) high poverty rate (percent of population in poverty>=40% or 3X area average) Intended to identify areas of most intense need Does not capture all areas of poverty or racial segregation
Most African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians, as well as ¾ of all races living in poverty, live outside of R/ECAPs 20% of Hispanics 16% of African- Americans 4% of Asians 1% of Whites 24% of those in poverty 29% of federally subsidized housing units
A few more R/ECAPs are identified using average Hudson Valley poverty rates 24
44% of lower Hudson Valley lives in census tracts that are over 75% white 25
compared to 11% of federally-subsidized housing in primarily white census tracts 26
How do planning decisions impact poverty and segregation? Share of Population Below Poverty Level R/ECAP Open Space Poverty Rate >= 18% (bottom 30%) 5.2-18% (middle 40%) <= 5.1% (top 30%) 27
How can housing and land use improve access to good schools and services? School proficiency by 8 th grade test scores Average Test Score 8th Grade Math & Reading, 2012 Bottom 30% Middle 40% Top 30% No 8th Grade (Scores) Open Space 28
IN PROCESS: Evaluating causes and solutions with help of an Advisory Committee HUD s examples of causes of segregation Siting of affordable housing Zoning /land use barriers Local residency preferences Lack of HCV landlords Land/infrastructure availability Source of income discrimination Community opposition/nimbyism Realtor steering by race HUD s examples of issues to explore in RCAPs Housing quality Opportunities to stabilize existing housing Job access (especially lowwage/entry level) Access to effective transportation Bank/loan presence or absence Availability of infrastructure, such as sidewalks, street lights School quality
IN PROCESS: Recommendations for improving meaningful engagement in planning processes, such as Including more community leaders and organizations in planning meetings and outreach Using clear, non-technical language to describe problems and proposals Providing materials in advance of meetings Conducting more than one meeting on topics so individuals have an opportunity to think and confer about the issues and come back with responses and recommendations Translating materials into languages other than English and providing interpreters at the meeting Explicitly asking for concrete solutions, and not just problems Providing timely feedback on how ideas are considered and used
Questions What prevents you or others in your community from obtaining the type of home that you need, such as: not enough homes that you can afford being denied an apartment, house or mortgage because of race or color, where you come from, your family status, disability or other reasons being made to feel unwelcome in a neighborhood you want to live in What problems should FHEA prioritize, such as: where affordable housing gets built transportation access to jobs funding for sewers and other infrastructure services to investigate and file complaints about discrimination zoning that doesn t allow rental or multi-family homes community opposition to new housing or residents What are the most important actions that should be taken?
Planning Enhancements for Sustainable Development Preliminary Findings & Potential Approaches November/December 2013
What is sustainability planning?
Assessment of current planning practices Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multicounty (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) HUD consolidated plan Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) HUD consolidated plan Coordinated public transit-human services plan (NY) Strategic economic development plan (NY) HUD consolidated plan Energy plan (NY) and energy strategy (CT) Coordinated public transit-human services plan (CT) Multi-hazard mitigation plan Multi-hazard mitigation plan Sustainability plan (NY) Multi-hazard mitigation plan
What broad themes emerged from the Consortium members plans?
What specific barriers to implementation emerged from the place-based projects?
What primary planning gaps emerged from the analysis of relevant plans? Coordinating Regional and Local Transportation Planning Prioritizing Areas of Growth and Conservation Linking Transportation, Housing, and Economic Development with Transit-Oriented Development Linking Job Access and Economic Opportunity Incorporating Hazard Mitigation and Resiliency
Coordinating Regional and Local Transportation Planning Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multi-county (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (NY) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (CT)
Potential Approaches for Regional & Local Transportation A cross-acceptance process for transportation plans is one potential mechanism for better integrating transportation planning at multiple levels. Cross-acceptance is a process by which municipal, regional, and statewide plans could be compared and integrated in an effort to achieve greater consistency and compatibility. A cross-acceptance process could be established as a formal legislated process or a more informal clearinghouse-type arrangement.
Potential Approaches for Regional & Local Transportation (cont.) Another, more spatially-specific approach to better integrating transportation planning at multiple levels could involve: Partnerships convened by counties in New York and regional planning organizations in Connecticut -- To include transportation service providers and local municipalities That are organized around critical transportation corridor and projects. Statewide and MPO transportation plans can be used to target. Federal and/or state planning resources can be made available as an added incentive for local participation in these targeted planning initiatives.
Prioritizing Areas of Growth & Conservation Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multi-County (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (NY) HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan Strategic economic development plan (NY) Energy plan (NY) and energy strategy (CT) Multi-hazard mitigation plan Multi-hazard mitigation plan Sustainability plan (NY) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (CT) Multi-hazard mitigation plan
Potential Approaches for Growth & Conservation More robust linkages between transportation and development plans at all levels could be established through a cross-acceptance process to better align and rationalize planning for conservation and growth.
Linking Transportation, Housing, and Economic Development with Transit-Oriented Development Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multi-county (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) Strategic economic development plan (NY) HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan Sustainability plan (NY) Multi-hazard mitigation plan Multi-hazard mitigation plan
Potential Approaches for Linking Transit- Oriented Development Mixed income, energy efficient TOD is most achievable when potential TOD projects are incorporated in: Local municipal and county (or regional planning organization) comprehensive plans (and plans of conservation and development) HUD-required consolidated plans at these levels Metropolitan planning organization regional transportation plans and Regional Economic Development Councils strategic plans (in New York State) Statewide consolidated plans, transportation plans and economic development plans.
Potential Approaches for Linking Transit- Oriented Development (cont.) To best achieve this, each of these plans should contain specific TOD components that are: Coordinated across all levels and functional areas and Drawn from cross-accepted plans as described in previous sections.
Potential Approaches for Linking Transit- Oriented Development (cont.) Other, more spatially-specific approaches include the use of overlay zones and generic environmental assessments to incent and establish equitable TOD in specific locations. These approaches can offer communities significant advantages for pursuing equitable TOD in the context of larger-scale plans and requirements.
Linking Job Access & Economic Opportunity Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multi-county (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (NY) Coordinated public transithuman services plan (CT) Strategic economic development plan (NY) Sustainability plan (NY)
Potential Approaches for Linking Job Access & Economic Opportunity More effective job access planning for communities will require a greater integration of economic development and transportation planning at multiple levels. At a minimum, coordinated job access components should be included in HUD consolidated plans at all levels, as well as MPO regional transportation plans. Better integration of economic development planning at local, regional and statewide levels would also enhance planning for both job access and for community economic development.
Incorporating Hazard Mitigation & Resiliency Local municipal County (NY) or RPO (CT) Multi-county (NY) or MPO Statewide Comprehensive plan (NY) Master plan or vision plan (NY) Transportation plan Transportation plan Plan of conservation and development (CT) Regional plan of conservation and development (CT) Strategic economic development plan (NY) HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan HUD consolidated plan Sustainability plan (NY) Multi-hazard mitigation plan Multi-hazard mitigation plan Multi-hazard mitigation plan
Potential Approaches for Hazard Mitigation & Resiliency Hazard mitigation planning should be fully merged across all governmental levels through a cross-acceptance process. Local, county/rpo, multi-county MPO and statewide functional plans should contain a specific hazard mitigation component drawn from the cross-accepted hazard mitigation plans.
A recap of potential approaches... Cross-accepted plans Transportation Linked plan sections Comprehensive, master and vision Conservation and development Transportation & Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Spatially-specific approaches HUD consolidated Hazard mitigation Transportation, energy, economic development and sustainability Critical transportation corridor/project partnerships Overlay districts Generic environmental impact statements
Other areas of planning enhancement currently under development... Fair Housing & Equity (through the FHEA) Regional Strategies for Energy Efficiency Preserving Open Space and Reducing Pollutants
Discussing the potential approaches... Of the planning needs identified, which are most important to address? Is anything missing? How can community members meaningfully participate in local and regional planning processes? What type of meeting and outreach would encourage participation? What kind of information would be useful? What would build trust that ideas are heard and influence outcomes? Does the cross-acceptance proposal make sense? What other information is needed to evaluate it? What other actions are needed to create more sustainable and equitable development?
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Contact Brian Dennis, bdennis@rpa.org, with questions or comments on the presentation, or visit www.sustainablenyct.org for general information on the initiative.