Fhea rai w_revisions_8.28.14

• 1. GROWING EQUITY & OPPORTUNITYIN SOUTHEAST FLORIDAFair Housing and Equity Assessment +Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair HousingA U G U S T 2 0 1 4

2. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. iiCONTACTC A R R A S C O M M U N I T Y I N V E S T M E N T , I N C . ( C C I , I N C . )CCI, Inc. is a nationally recognized leader in implementing asset-based strategies for housing andcommunity development. Our professional expertise in affordable housing, fair lending, andeconomic development includes advisory services in market analysis, strategic planning, andfinancing. Over the past thirty years, CCI, Inc. has provided planning services to over 200 clientsacross the country, resulting in over $10 billion of investment in underserved communities.954.415.2022 | [email protected] A J O R C O N T R I B U T O R SURBAN LINKS CONSULTINGAnna McMaster | 619.436.7548 | [email protected] REVITALIZATION STRATEGIESRebecca Walter & Serge Atherwood | [email protected] [email protected] 3. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T SExecutive Summary ....................................................................................................... v1| Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1WHY ANALYZE OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY AT THE REGIONAL SCALE ............................ 1AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING .................................................................. 2PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 3Regional analysis of impediments (RAI) to fair housing .......................................................... 3Social Equity Analysis and Opportunity Index ..................................................................... 62 | Southeast Florida Context ..................................................................................... 10THE REGION AT A GLANCE ......................................................................................... 10AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA .......................................................... 12RACE, ETHNICITY, + POVERTY ...................................................................................... 143 | Measuring Opportunity & Equity .......................................................................... 16ECONOMY ................................................................................................................. 18Income ..................................................................................................................... 18Poverty ..................................................................................................................... 19Labor Force ............................................................................................................... 21Nutritional Assistance .................................................................................................. 22DEMOGRAPHICS ......................................................................................................... 23Race and Ethnicity ...................................................................................................... 23Linguistic Isolation ....................................................................................................... 24NEIGHBORHOOD ........................................................................................................ 25Access to a Super market ............................................................................................. 25Housing Indicators ...................................................................................................... 26Fair Housing analysis .................................................................................................. 32MOBILITY ..................................................................................................................... 44Access to a vehicle ..................................................................................................... 44Commuting ............................................................................................................... 45EDUCATION ................................................................................................................ 48Attainment ................................................................................................................. 48School Grading Scores ............................................................................................... 49Lunch ....................................................................................................................... 50Minority concentration ................................................................................................. 50OPPORTUNITY INDEX FINDINGS ................................................................................... 51 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. iii 4. 4| Deliberation .......................................................................................................... 585| Recommendations ................................................................................................. 60FAIR HOUSING EQUITY ................................................................................................ 60GREATER ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY ............................................................................ 61AFFORDABLE HOUSING ............................................................................................... 62Appendix ................................................................................................................... 63FHEA INDICATORS DEFINITIONS AND MAPS .............................................................. 63Economic Indicators .................................................................................................... 63Race, Ethnicity and segregation Indicators ....................................................................... 71Neighborhood Indicators ............................................................................................. 77Mobility Indicators ...................................................................................................... 92Education Indicators .................................................................................................... 97OPPORTUNITY INDEX INDICATORS ............................................................................. 104OPPORTUNITY INDEX MAPS ....................................................................................... 107Opportunity Index A Equally weighted Categories ....................................................... 107Opportunity Index B Equally weighted indicators .......................................................... 112HUD Tri-County (MSA) Opportunity Index ...................................................................... 120RAI FAIR HOUSING DATA ........................................................................................... 125This report identifies, explains, and analyzes social equity indicators and a derivedopportunity index for the seven-county Southeast Florida region. It representscompletion of the Fair Housing Equity Assessment (FHEA) requirements of theSeven50: Southeast Florida Prosperity Plan developed by the Southeast Florida RegionalPartnership (Partnership); a consortium led by the South Florida and Treasure CoastRegional Planning Councils. U.S. HUDs FHEA requirements mandate that acomprehensive review of housing equity and impediments to fair housing beundertaken with extensive community input as part of the Partnerships SustainableCommunities regional plan. This report summarizes the key findings andrecommendations of these elements. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. iv 5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYOver the past three years, Southeast Florida stakeholders haveundertaken a collaborative, large-scale effort to shape the future ofthis region. The Southeast Florida Regional Partnership(Partnership) formed as the guiding force of this regionalcollaboration, through which the Seven50 Southeast FloridaProsperity Plan, a Regional Analysis of Impediments to FairHousing, and a Social Equity Analysis and Opportunity Index forthe Seven Counties of Southeast Florida have been produced.This effort included numerous opportunities for citizenengagement, input, and collaborative visioning for a betterSoutheast Florida that is inclusive, sustainable, economicallycompetitive, and offers a high quality of life for people in allcommunities.Social equity can be broadly defined as equal opportunity for allpersons. The Presidents Council on Sustainable Developmentdefines social equity as equal opportunity, in a safe and healthyenvironment. Another popular conceptualization of social equityplaces it as one of three fundamental, interlinked factors ofsustainability; the other two being environment and economy.While there are different interpretations on the definition of socialequity, most center on concepts of social organization,demography and, to a lesser extent, culture. In so doing, theconcept of social equity seeks to address how individual persons,households, and communities interact with each other, how fairlyeach member of society can access and share in lifesopportunities and amenities, and how integrated all persons are,regardless of differentiating variables such as race or educationlevel.This report reflects data, analysis and findings from two regionalfair housing and opportunity analyses, as well as extensivecommunity input. It has been developed in fulfillment of the FairHousing Planning requirements for the Seven50: Southeast FloridaProsperity Plan developed as part of the HUD SustainableCommunities Regional Planning Initiative. The two documentswhich form the basis of this report are the Regional Analysis ofImpediments to fair housing (RAI), which identifies, explains, andanalyzes the fair housing milieu in Southeast Florida and a FairHousing Equity Assessment (FHEA) that, through an analysis of 33indicators, identifies areas of high, moderate, and low opportunityat the census tract level. Together, the RAI and FHEA represent arobust body of data and analyses and inform the current state ofsocial equity and opportunity throughout the region. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. v 6. K E Y F I N D I N G SThe fair housing and opportunity analysis reveals significant patterns in the Southeast FloridaRegion (SEFLA) overall and in each of the seven counties. From the analysis, the following ninefindings stand out:1. The Southeast Florida region demonstrates a distinctgeographic economic opportunity schism particularly betweenthe Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA and otherparts of the regionThe Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA comprises the counties of Palm Beach,Broward, and Miami-Dade and contains 5.56 million of the 6.1 million persons residing inSoutheast Florida today. Outside of this MSA are the four remaining counties of Monroe,Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River, each with much smaller populations and lowercomparative extents of urban density. This has the effect of making the region a union oftwo distinct geographies, particularly in light of the stronger social equity performance, ingeneral, of the areas not within this MSA.2. A significant divide based on race exists between the economicperformance of whites and non-whites.Poverty is clearly linked to race and ethnicity throughout the region. While thepredominant race throughout the region is non-Hispanic white, proportionally there areabout half as many white people in poverty in comparison to both African American andHispanic populations.In economic indicators and employment, Southeast Floridas white residents are generallyin a stronger average position, leading to higher opportunity index performance in thosecensus tracts where Caucasians make up the largest share of the population.3. Where people live within the region is related to race andethnicity.Non-Hispanic whites make up the majority of the population in the Treasure Coast andMonroe County, the higher-income census tracts along the Atlantic Coast throughout thetri-county MSA, and along the western urban growth boundary in Broward County. Blackson the other hand, make up more of the population in the Belle Glade area, central BrowardCounty, and north-central Miami-Dade County. These areas exhibit similar concentrationsof low-income census tracts. As for Hispanics, Miami-Dade County is notable for being theonly county of the region where they comprise the majority of the population. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. vi 7. 4. Housing costs are high for many Southeast Florida residentsleading to large gaps in affordability and very high levels ofcost-burdened households.The region has very high levels of cost-burdened households especially for renters. Sixtypercent of renting households, regardless of income, pay more than 30% of their monthlyincome on housing costs while 46% of homeowners pay the same proportion. Thesehouseholds are distributed evenly throughout the seven counties from Indian River toMonroe.5. Housing across the region has notable geographic patterns inregards to location, type, and affordability.In the region, there are 1.5 million owner-occupied housing units in comparison to 750,000renter-occupied units. Spatially, in the urbanized areas of the counties, owner occupiedhousing is prominent in inland, suburban areas. Conversely rental opportunities are morecommon in the eastern and denser portions of the region. Assisted housing units are alsohighly concentrated: 94% of all units within properties that offer assisted units are assistedand while there are 258 Qualified Census Tracts (QCT) for Low-income Housing Tax Credit(LIHTC) deals, only 161 of those census tracts contain LIHTC housing units.6. Concentrations of poverty are evidenced throughout the region.Concentrated poverty inhibits social and economic mobility.From 2006-2010, there were over 850,000 people, approximately 13% of the total population,living at below the poverty level in the region. There were high levels of poverty for childrenunder the age of 18 with 1 out of 5 children living below the poverty line. While the povertyrate for the elderly was only 13.8%, this was well above the national poverty rate of 9.0% forthe elderly. Single female householders with children are also overrepresented. As a region,one third of all single female households with children are living below poverty level.Miami-Dade has the highest proportion of individuals living in poverty at 20.4%. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. vii 8. 7. The strongest economic performing areas of the region tend tobe located in or near a relatively small number ofmunicipalities along the coast or near the urban growthboundary of the South Florida MSA.These include, from north to south, coastal Indian River, Martin, and Palm Beach counties,the census tracts alongside the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm BeachCounty, western Broward County, and the cities of Parkland, Aventura, Coral Gables,Pinecrest, and North Key Largo. Geographically, the extent of high performing areas isoutpaced by that of the moderate and low performing areas, even when excluding theregions westernmost census tracts, which cover a large sector of the region and are mostlyunpopulated.8. Conversely, the weakest economic performing areas of theregion tend to be concentrated in Miami-Dade County, westPalm Beach County, and the exurban western end of theTreasure Coast.These areas are characterized by the dominant presence of non-whites, a lower averageeducational attainment, lower incomes, and greater unemployment. Many of the censustracts in these areas are large in size but small in population. Within the MSA, centralMiami-Dade County is the largest and weakest performing area.9. A significant part of the region experiences moderateperformance indicating potentially negative trends andvulnerability to poorer outcomes if there is continued economicuncertainty and/or natural disasters.These areas deserve additional attention because they can either improve into betterperforming areas or decline. Most of the land area of the Treasure Coast counties (apartfrom the coastal census tracts), the middle region of Palm Beach County and most ofMonroe County perform moderately on the opportunity index. Throughout the Miami-FortLauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA, the distribution of moderate-performing census tracts ismixed, with such tracts equally likely to be found next to higher and lower performingtracts. This is especially the case in central Palm Beach County, western and coastalBroward County, and the Census Designated Places (CDPs) adjacent to Pinecrest in Miami-Dade County. What makes moderate performing census tracts significant is theirsusceptibility to becoming a low performing tract. Small improvements or declines in socialequity indicators could spell the difference between weakening into a low performing areaor strengthening into a high performing area. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. viii 9. S UMMA R Y B Y C O U N T YThe counties included in this analysis, listed in order from north to south, are: 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. ix+ Indian River+ Martin+ St. Lucie+ Palm Beach+ Broward,+ Miami-Dade+ MonroeThe Treasure Coast region consists of Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie and Palm Beach counties.Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties form the South Florida region. Together, for the purposeof the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant and the studies discussed herein, theseven-county area is the Southeast Florida region.Certain trends are observed across the entire region. For instance, most workers commute by car;there is no county that shows a significant deviation from this. The same applies to the incidenceof cost-burdened households (owners and renters alike) and the fact that highly educated personstend to live on the eastern or western urban fringes more than in the middle of the counties. Inother factors, the counties show variability, as described below.INDIAN RIVER COUNTY:The regions northernmost county shares much in common with St. Lucie and Martin Counties toits south. The population is largely non-Hispanic white and native in the English language.Relatively large numbers of seniors live in the county. Unemployment is higher outside of theurbanized east, with the dividing line being I-95. Few census tracts are qualified as low income forQCT designation purposes.ST. LUCIE COUNTY:In demographic composition, St. Lucie has a stronger representation of Blacks and Hispanics in theFort Pierce area. Otherwise, it is predominantly non-Hispanic white and home to a large seniorcontingent. Similar to the other Treasure Coast counties, St. Lucie qualifies few census tracts forQCT status and its residents largely speak English. Unlike its neighbors to the north and south, thiscountys labor force is less college-educated with lower incomes. St. Lucie County is a residentialcommunity for workers in Martin and Indian River counties.MARTIN COUNTY:Martin County closely resembles Indian River and St. Lucie in overall demographics, Englishfluency, and presence of QCT tracts. Additionally, it ranks generally higher in average incomes andregisters lower unemployment rates. 10. PALM BEACH COUNTY:Palm Beach is the northernmost county in the MSA and is significantly larger than Martin, St. Lucieand Indian River counties combined in census tract count and population. It is more heterogeneousin demographic composition, economic opportunity, and educational attainment than any of itsnorthern neighbors, in part because its land area includes the chronically underperforming BelleGlade area in the west and consistently strong-performing coastal communities. The county hasone of the highest median incomes but also a higher incidence of family poverty, with awidespread need in the Belle Glade area for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)benefits and a low incidence of households with vehicle access.BROWARD COUNTY:Much like Palm Beach County, Broward County is significantly more populated and urbanized thanthe three northernmost Treasure Coast counties and it exhibits wide variability in indicatorperformance. Demographically, Broward is the most evenly balanced county. Non-Hispanic whites,the majority of the population, do not represent a significant majority of the population as in thenorthern counties and Monroe. Broward County is home to the regions largest population of Asianresidents and a large Hispanic contingent in the southwest quadrant. African Americans arelargely concentrated in central Broward, an area with poor economic performance, as in PalmBeach County. A tendency observed here, as the rest of the MSA, is for better-educated persons toreside in the countys coastal areas or in the western areas along the urban growth boundary.MIAMI-DADE COUNTY:The regions largest county by population and census tract count, Miami-Dade bucks the trenddemographically by being predominantly Hispanic/Latino, with non-Hispanic whites representinga small minority of the total population. The county is comparable to the rest of the MSA in terms ofthe concentration of Blacks in its economically poorest census tracts and the tendency of thewealthier and better educated to live either in the west or along the ocean. Miami-Dadeunderperforms more intensely and widely on economic indicators, with higher rates of poverty anda greater need for SNAP benefits than in Broward or Palm Beach.MONROE COUNTY:Overall, Monroe County is a strong performer in many social equity indicators. It resembles thethree northernmost Treasure Coast counties, particularly in terms of demographic composition. Itsresidents have better than average incomes compared to the rest of the region and lowerunemployment rates. Notably, Monroe County also shows the highest incidence of vacant housingunits, most of which, presumably, are vacation or second homes. Like Martin and Indian Rivercounties, Monroe County has a wide disparity between high income and low income residents, withfewer middle income residents. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. x 11. 1| INTRODUCTIONWHY A N A L Y Z E O P P O R T U N I T Y A N D E Q U I T Y A TT H E R E G I O N A L S C A L ESoutheast Florida is a beautifully unique, socially and environmentally diverse region. Over the pastthree years, the Seven50: Southeast Florida Prosperity Plan development effort has beenundertaken by the Southeast Florida Regional Partnership to unite the regions seven countiesunder a shared vision for how to encourage and accommodate 50 years of future growth anddevelopment in a sustainable way. The goal is to ensure the development of a prosperous andsustainable region in an increasingly globalized economy by addressing economic, environmental,and social elements in tandem. A point of paramount priority in this process is the elucidation ofprosperity. What does prosperity of the region look like for Southeast Florida? Is it equitable? Is itsustainable? How is it measured? What defines it and at what scale? These questions are greatlyinformed by analyzing existing conditions of social equity and opportunity.The broad purpose of analyzing opportunity and equity at theregional scale is to increase housing choice throughassembling fair housing information and identifying barriersto equal opportunity. More specifically, focusing on furtheringfair housing on a regional scale gives the region opportunity tounderstand and overcome spatial segregation and its adverseimpacts. Additionally it is an opportunity to secure thecooperation and engagement of important public, private, non-profitand philanthropic stakeholders whose impact upon fairThis report reinforcesnotions that quality oflife derives frommultiple interrelatedfactors of daily livingand long-term goalattainmenthousing is substantial through their investments andadvocacy for transportation, education, social services, healthyfoods, job training, employment and other communitynecessities.This report reinforces the notion that quality of life derives from multiple interrelated factors ofdaily living and long-term goal attainment. In the FHEA, an opportunity index was developed tomeasure the geography of social equity in the region by analyzing 33 community indicators in fivecategories (demographic, economic, education, neighborhood, and mobility) as a means to properlycapture the dynamic nature of social and economic equity. Likewise, the RAI inventoried existingsocial, economic, and transportation patterns and barriers to affordable housing including unfairlending practices. Together, the results of these studies provide insight into the disparate burdensand benefits experienced by different groups across the region.Social equity contributes significantly to any assessment of fair housing because many of thethings that limit housing opportunity stem from social, demographic, and/or economic factors.Ultimately, social equity analysis examines how and why different opportunities exist for people indifferent places. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 1 12. A F F I RMA T I V E L Y F U R T H E R I N G F A I R H O U S I N GThe right to fair housing choice is among Americas most basic civil rights as defined by federal,state and local laws, and as such it is structurally integral to the Sustainable Communities RegionalPlanning Grant program. These laws are the legacy of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 whichprohibits discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race,religion, national origin, sex, and as amended, handicap and family status.Specifically, HUD defines impediments to fair housing choice as:+ Any actions, omissions, or decisions taken because of race, color, religion, sex, disability,familial status, or national origin which restrict housing choices or the availability ofhousing choices+ Any actions, omissions, or decisions which have the effect of restricting housing choices orthe availability of housing choices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familialstatus, or national origin.All households, regardless of arbitrary factors such as familial status and race are guaranteed equalaccess to housing opportunities, yet disparities in the receipt of these opportunities based in suchgrounds are still commonplace. The seven-county Southeast Florida region is no different in thisregard. Sustainable Communities Grantees are required to complete a Fair Housing and EquityAssessment (FHEA) and encouraged to produce a Regional Analysis of Impediments to fair housing(Regional AI) to assist efforts to address existing disparities.Although HUD has not released an official definition of affirmatively furthering fair housing, anofficial rule is under development. For now, and as outlined in the U.S. Department of Housing andUrban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Fair Housing Planning Guide,recipients of HUDs housing and community development grants must certify that they willaffirmatively further fair housing by:+ Conducting an analysis to identify impediments to fair housing choice within the 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 2jurisdiction;+ Taking appropriate actions to overcome the effects of any impediments identified throughthe analysis; and+ Maintaining records reflecting the analysis and actions taken in this regard.This report goes beyond traditional methodology of affirmatively furthering fair housing byfollowing the standards in the proposed rule. Proposed rule revisions focus our analysis on fourprimary goals: 1) improving integrated living patterns and overcoming historic patterns ofsegregation; 2) reducing racial and ethnic concentrations of poverty; 3) reducing disparities by race,color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability in access to community assets suchas education, transit access, and employment, as well as exposure to environmental health hazardsand other stressors that harm a persons quality of life; and 4) and responding to disproportionatehousing needs by protected class. 13. P R O C E S S A N D ME T H O D O L O G YThis report is the culminating product of two fair housing and opportunity analyses and numerouscommunity outreach events that were held to develop recommendations for inclusive growth ofthe region. These analyses and community outreach were undertaken in fulfillment ofaffirmatively furthering fair housing requirements for the HUD Sustainable Communities RegionalPlanning Initiative, The first report is the Seven County Southeast Florida Regional Analysis ofImpediments to Fair Housing. The second report is the Social Equity Analysis and OpportunityIndex for the Seven Counties of Southeast Florida and part of the Fair Housing Equity Analysis(FHEA) of the Seven|50 Southeast Florida Prosperity Plan.1 The following describes the process andmethodology that went into the production of the reports and the corresponding communityoutreach that followed.REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS (RAI) TO FAIR HOUSINGREGIONAL PROFILEThis section analyzed background data on the seven-county area to serve as the basis foridentifying and contextualizing impediments. Variables chosen related to the degree of segregationand restricted housing by race and ethnicity, and families with children in particular (see Table 1).Variables and data sources were also chosen to parallel as best as possible a dataset compiled byHUDs office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R). This HUD dataset was intended to provideprogram participants with data to support this analysis and additional fair housing research.However, the data package provided for the Southeast Florida region was incomplete and did notinclude Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties. 2 As a result it was necessary tocreate a separate seven-county dataset for the referenced studies.Table 1, Data Sources for the RAI Regional Background Profile SectionSection Variable Data Source 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 3DEMOGRAPHICSPopulation totals and density 2010 CensusAge SF1SEGREGATIONRace and Ethnicity 2010 CensusSF1HOUSINGTenancy ACS 2006-Cost Burdon 2010POVERTYFamily Poverty Rate ACS 2006-Poverty By Race & Ethnicity 2010LABOR ANDCOMMUTINGUnemployment ACS 2006-Labor force Participation Rate 2010Commute TimeCommute ModeThe majority of data comesfrom the AmericanCommunity Survey 2006-2010 estimates. Where 2010Census data is availablehowever it is used in placeof ACS data to allayconcerns about samplingerror. Table 2 lists thespecific data source forvariables within theRegional Profile section.1 Both reports, completed by Carras Community Investment, Inc., are available at http://seven50.org/resources/fair-housing-analysis/2 This data is summarized in the Appendix under the HUD PD&R Data Package section. Descriptions of their variables andmethodology are cited directly from the FHEA 2012 Data Documentation guide provided to all entitlement regions throughHUDs regional planning grant program. 14. Data within this section was collected at both the census tract and county level. Given the largearea analyzed in this report the majority of information is summarized at a county level. Per the2010 Census, a total of 1,333 populated census tracts exist across the seven counties of SoutheastFlorida: 29 in Indian River County; 43 in St. Lucie County; 34 in Martin County; 331 in Palm BeachCounty; 360 in Broward County; 508 in Miami-Dade County; and 28 in Monroe County.FAIR HOUSINGThe process of creating a Fair Housing Profile included the review of national and localstudies/reports, and data gathered from local agencies and organizations. Major data sourcesinclude:+ The regions most recent existing AIs produced by local jurisdictions within SEFLA (see 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 4Table 2)+ Florida Housing Data Clearing House (Existing Assisted Housing Inventory)+ Data from various state and local Fair Housing Agencies Including:- Florida Commission on Human Relations- Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity- Broward County Office of Equal Opportunity | Civil Rights Division- Miami-Dade Office of Human Rights and Fair Employment PracticesLENDING PROFILELending data for this section was retrieved from the University of Florida Housing DataClearinghouse. Racial lending data and overall 2010 lending data by county and for the State ofFlorida were analyzed to identify disparities and trends in lending patterns by race, ethnicity andcounty. The data used for the county lending analysis is original research, due to the fact that themost recent lending data in the existing county-level Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housingdocuments available for Miami-Dade & Broward County are from the years 2008 & 2009. The dataused in this analysis is more recent, from the year 2010.IDENTIFIED IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSINGTo identify impediments to fair housing choice an examination of already existing analyses ofimpediments (AIs) for entitlement communities within Southeast Florida was undertaken. Threecountywide and twenty-eight municipal-level AIs were reviewed in this analysis. Two counties inthe region, Martin County and Monroe County, lack entitled communities and information on theimpediments to fair housing within these counties is not included within this analysis. Even so,since the issues highlighted in the other counties and municipalities in the region are largelysimilar, it is likely that the non-entitled counties experience impediments similar to thosediscussed in this analysis. 15. Table 2: Local AIs used in RAICounty Entitlement JurisdictionINDIAN RIVER COUNTY None 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 5ST. LUCIE COUNTY City Of Port Saint Lucie City Of Fort PierceMARTIN COUNTY NonePALM BEACH COUNTY City Of Boca Raton City Of Boynton Beach City Of Deerfield Beach City Of Delray Beach City Of West Palm Beach Town Of Wellington Town Of JupiterBROWARD COUNTY Broward County City Of Coconut Creek City Of Coral Springs City Of Hollywood City Of Fort Lauderdale City Of Lauderhill City Of Miramar City Of Margate City Of Pembroke Pines City Of Plantation City Of Pompano Beach City Of Sunrise City Of Tamarac City Of Westin Town Of DavieMIAMI-DADE COUNTY Miami-Dade County City Of Miami City Of Miami Beach City Of Miami Gardens City Of North Miami City Of Homestead City Of HialeahMONROE COUNTY None 16. SOCIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS AND OPPORTUNITY INDEXOPPORTUNITY INDEXThe opportunity index in this report is calculated from an aggregation of 14 eligible social equityindicators and converted into a gradated scale that correlates the performance of aggregatedindicators to opportunities (that is, opportunities that increase the chances of an individual tosucceed, improve themselves, or achieve more). The index is mapped by census tract andgradations range from very low to very high based on an equal interval classificationencompassing the full range of index values. Its purpose is to reveal which areas in SoutheastFlorida contain strong, weak, and average combinations of opportunity-generating structures andconditions.Construction of the opportunity index was a multistep process that formulated two versions of theopportunity index from the same set of indicators. Data for the regions 1,333 census tracts werecombined and measured on the same scale for true regional evaluation.Indicators were then adjusted to move in the same direction to show a positive correlation; as theindex number gets larger, opportunities expand. No change was necessary for the three indicatorsalready exhibiting a positive relationship. For the 11 indicators revealing an inverse relationship,adjustment was accomplished by subtracting 1 from the statistic to obtain the opposite conditionfor percent data, or by multiplying by -1 to reverse the direction for interval data.After conversion, all data for each indicator was normalized. Z-scores were calculated for eachindicator by subtracting the mean value of the entire data set for each variable from an individualraw score and dividing the difference by the standard deviation. Z-scores allow disparate sets ofdata to be measured on a common scalea necessary condition to produce a single index from 14different indicators.The formula for producing a z-score from a raw score x is:where is the mean of the population (total data points) and is the standard deviation of thepopulation.The opportunity index was calculated in two iterations. In the first, the average of all z-scores foreach of the 14 indicators was calculated for each census tract to derive the index. All 14 indicatorsare weighted equally in this iteration. In the second, an average z-score for each of the fiveindicator categories was calculated, whereupon the z-scores were averaged to produce theresultant index. All indicator categories are being weighted equally in this iteration, helping tocompensate for any skewness caused by the predominance of indicators of a particular type. (Forexample, there are five economic indicators in the population but only two for education.)The results for both iterations were mapped by census tract with gradations classified by five equalintervals on a scale of approximately -1 to +1. The quintile divisions are very low (-0.5 or less), low (-0.4999 to -0.001), moderate (0 to 0.4999), high (0.5 to 0.9999), and very high (1 or higher). Thesedivisions do not refer to any nationally recognized or agreed definition of social equity or lifeopportunity, insofar as such a thing exists, but rather represent the gamut of opportunity availablewithin the region. That is to say, those census tracts with a very high opportunity index ratingexperience the best combination of life opportunities within Southeast Florida, which may or may 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 6 17. not compare equally to very high ranked census tracts from another region in the U.S. studiedunder methodologically identical conditions.The category-equally-weighted map (Map A) shows the distribution of opportunity as calculated forall five indicator categories weighted evenly, whereas the indicator-equally-weighted map (Map B)shows the distribution as calculated for all 14 social indicators weighted evenly. Categorical equalweighting may be considered more valid than indicator equal weighting because it deemphasizesthe ability for a group of related indicators to improperly skew the index in a particular direction.Categorical equal weighting implies that each of the five indicator categories (demographic,economic, education, neighborhood, and transportation) is equally important in the index. However,it also deemphasizes equality within each category; the single demographic indicator in the index(linguistic isolation), for instance, is treated as equivalent to the indexs five economic indicators,which are averaged into a single score for the category. Hence the creation of an indicator-equally-weightedmap that counters any skewness that may be caused by unequal categoricalrepresentation. As it happens, the two maps show similar results. Both Map A and B can be found inthe appendix; however only Map A is discussed in the body of the report.INDICATORS AND DATA SOURCESThe report incorporates findings and analysis of 33 indicators, many of which serve as proxies forclosely related phenomena. Each of the indicators is mapped at the regional scale across all sevencounties. Twenty-seven of the indicators are derived from the U.S. Census Bureaus AmericanCommunity Survey. Three school ranking indicators are derived from the Florida Department ofEducation. Two HUD indicators address Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units and QualifiedCensus Tracts. An additional indicator, for supermarket access, is derived from The ReinvestmentFund.Many indicators can inform the analysis of different perspectives. For instance, not having accessto a vehicle can directly impact a households ability to participate in the labor market and suggesteconomic hardship if that household is located in a low-income community. For this reason, eventhough the findings of all indicators are shown individually, the report also examines therelationships between indicators and categories through an opportunity index that analyzes thenatural affinity that many indicators share with each other.Importantly, this report calls attention to situations of limited or absent social equity as well assituations of high-performing, integrated communities with strong social equity. Areas withmiddling performance are particularly noted since they represent communities that may joineither the stronger-performing or weaker-performing ones.Information about each resource is provided below:+ AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEYThe most extensively used data resource in this report is the American Community SurveysFive-Year Estimates for the years 2006 to 2010. This is the most recent and comprehensive ACSsampled dataset available at the time of the report. For demographic, economic, social, andhousing data, the ACS collects household data for a range of indicators appropriate for a socialequity analysis.ACS data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability with a 90 percentmargin of error. This margin of error can be interpreted as providing a 90 percent probabilitythat the interval defined by the estimate, plus and minus the margin of error, contains the truevalue. In addition to sampling variability, ACS estimates are subject to other errors that are not 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 7 18. represented in the margin of error. Further information on the accuracy of data is available athttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/documentation_main/.+ FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:The Florida Department of Education ranks schools statewide within the following categories:elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, combination schools that include highschool grade levels, and combination schools that do not include high school grade levels.Schools are ranked by the number of school grade points they received for the 2010-2011 schoolyear. For elementary and middle schools these points are derived from Florida ComprehensiveAssessment Test (FCAT) scores. Schools are awarded one point for each percent of students inthe school who were enrolled for the full year who score on grade level or higher on the FCATand make annual learning gains. High schools are graded using the FCAT componentsdescribed in the grading criteria for elementary and middle schools, plus several non-FCATcomponents, including graduation rates, accelerated coursework performance, andpostsecondary readiness. Further information is available athttps://app2.fldoe.org/Ranking/Schools/Default.aspx.+ DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD):HUD maintains a database of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects athttp://lihtc.huduser.org/. LIHTC projects are affordable rental housing units financed through afederal tax credit subsidy. The LIHTC program provides a dollar-for-dollar credit against the taxliability of investors who invest in qualified housing projects. HUD also maintains a database ofcensus tracts wherein 50 percent or more of households earn below 60 percent of the areamedian gross income of the local Metropolitan Statistical Area or county. HUD defines 60percent of area median gross income as 120 percent of HUD's Very Low Income Limits, whichthemselves are based on 50 percent of area median family income, adjusted for high cost andlow income areas. More information is available athttp://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/qct.html. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 8+ THE REINVESTMENT FUND:The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a Philadelphia-based community development financialinstitution, provides data on the proximity of households to supermarkets through a Web-basedGIS and marketing tool called PolicyMap, which assists policy makers and developers indeciding on market location and accessibility. Data on the supermarket indicator in this reportwas obtained from Policy Map/TRF. See http://www.trfund.com/TRF-LSA-widget.html for moreinformation.All 33 social indicators are grouped into one of five categories: demographic, economic, education,neighborhood, and mobility. These categories organize the reporting of findings. Demographicindicators include race and linguistic isolation. Economic indicators represent income, benefits,and unemployment. Education indicators show levels of educational attainment as well ascharacteristics of public schools. Neighborhood indicators address aspects of housing andhousehold composition. Lastly, mobility indicators examine vehicle access and commutingpatterns. 19. GEOGRAPHIC SCALEThe primary geographic units are the region, the county, and the census tract. Althoughmunicipalities are identified as points of reference, they are not considered primary units hereinbecause of the fluid nature of the geography of opportunity. Areas with strong or weak social equityperformance frequently cross the jurisdictional boundaries of towns and cities, leaving thetraditional city vs. suburb distinction increasingly obsolete. This report prefers to use the politicalboundaries of counties alone, as the county is the most important administrative division below thestate, and many of the initiatives in the Seven50 regional plan will be executed under countyauthority.Data in this report is collected at the census tract level, which is appropriate for two reasons. First,census tracts are generally small in size (usually around 4,000 persons) in metropolitan regions.This allows for a finer level of representation when the data is mapped and allows greater detail toemerge from the spatial patterns. Second, the U.S. Census Bureau collects the full range ofdemographic, economic, and housing data at this level, so the analysis does not exclude significantindicators. Note that the report makes use of full census tracts instead of partial census tracts forthe benefit of increasing the number and variety of indicators that can be used in the opportunityindex. Certain indicators, such as Qualified Census Tract status, are only available at the full tractlevel.Table 3, Composition of the Study Area (2010 Census)COUNTY (NORTH TO SOUTH) AREA (SQ. MILES) POPULATIONNUMBER OF POPULATEDCENSUS TRACTSIndian River 616.9 138,028 29St. Lucie 688.1 277,789 43Martin 752.8 146,318 34Palm Beach 2,386.3 1,320,134 331Broward 1,319.6 1,748,066 360Miami-Dade 2,431.2 2,496,435 508Monroe 3,737.2 73,090 28TOTAL 11,932.1 6,199,860 1,333A caveat about census tracts should be observed when reading the report maps: populationdistribution and density may not be equal throughout the tract. Uneven distribution is likelier tooccur in geographically larger and less urban tracts, such as found in the Treasure Coast countiesor the western half of the region. Care should be taken not to conflate large tract size with largepopulation or higher intensity of an indicator. This will be reiterated as appropriate throughout thereport. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 9 20. 2 | SOUTHEAST FLORIDA CONTEXTT H E R E G I O N A T A G L A N C EThe Southeast Florida Region is diverse andunique both within the seven counties and incomparison to the other major metropolisesacross the United States and abroad. As such,we are faced with a variety of both challengesand opportunities. The region consists ofseven counties. From north to south these are: 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 10+ Indian River,+ St. Lucie+ Martin+ Palm Beach+ Broward+ Miami-Dade+ MonroeWithin this mega-region, three MetropolitanStatistical Areas are encountered: Sebastian-Vero Beach MSA and Port St. Lucie MSA in thenorth (also known as the Treasure Coast andtogether accounting for the regions threenorthernmost counties) and the Miami-FortLauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA in thesouth (commonly referred to as the SouthFlorida MSA or MSA throughout this report)(see Figure 1).Clearly, and by all accounts, Southeast Floridais large with a population of over 6 millionthere are more people living in these sevencounties than in 33 U.S. states. Miami-Dade isthe most populous county with nearly 2.5million residents, or about 40% of the totalregions population (see Figure 2). SoutheastFlorida is also physically large. The drivingdistance from Sebastian at the northern end ofIndian River County to Key West in thesouthern end of Monroe County is more than a300 mile stretch.SOUTH FLORIDA MSA TREASURE COASTFigure 1, 7-County SE Florida Region and sub-regions 21. Understanding the region at the broadest level, it can be viewed as a pair of dichotomies:+ The first is between the urbanized and undeveloped portions of the region, particularlyalong the urban growth boundary that separates Miami-Dade and Broward counties fromthe Everglades. Large parts of Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties extend into theEverglades ecosystem and its various preserves, parks, and wildlife refuges, whererelatively few people live. Further north, in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties, thewestern half is considerably more rural than the urbanized areas in the east portion of thecounties.+ The second dichotomy, meanwhile, separates Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dadecounties from the neighboring counties to the north and south. These three countiesinclude the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach MSA, which is significantly morepopulated and urbanized than the area covered by the other four counties of the SoutheastFlorida region.All this combines to form a pattern in which the eastern half of the region is populated andurbanized and the western half (with the exception of Belle Glade) is not. Housing and populationdensities, as a result, are not consistent throughout each county or across the region. Throughoutthe report, these factors will be identified where appropriate.Southeast Florida Population Levels, 2010138,028277,789146,3181,320,1341,748,0662,496,43573,090Figure 2, Population by County, 20106,199,860The regions current dichotomies, coupled with a demographic growth pattern that is mostly drivenby international migration (largely Hispanic), puts Southeast Florida at the forefront of broadertrends across the Nation. The regions diversity and natural amenities provide a competitiveadvantage in the global economy. However this competitive advantage is predicated on theregions leaders investing in social and physical infrastructure that will support inclusive andshared economic growth, protect the environment and rural areas, and support sustainablecommunity development. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 117-County SE Florida RegionIndian River CountySt. Lucie CountyMartin CountyPalm Beach CountyBroward CountyMiami-Dade CountyMonroe County 22. A F F O R D A B L E H O U S I N G I N S O U T H E A S T F L O R I D AHousing development and the affordability of what is produced is highly influenced both by publicand private forces such as real estate markets, profits, zoning, land use, impact fees, andconcurrency requirements. The existence of a regulatory framework is necessary to promote andprotect fair housing opportunities. This section summarizes existing fair housing laws andprograms at the federal, state, and local level.The 1968 Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination during the sale and rental of housing so that allpeople in the United States have an increased opportunity to maintain stable and healthy lives forthemselves and their families. As amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, it isunlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability andfamilial status. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and on occasion theU.S. Department of Justice, is responsible for investigating and enforcing violations of the FairHousing Act. HUD also provides Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funds annually and on anoncompetitive basis to state and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws substantiallyequivalent to the Fair Housing Act.The Florida Fair Housing Act3, which closely reiterates the Federal Fair Housing Act, was passed bythe Florida Legislature in 1983, and amended in 1989. It declares it illegal to discriminate in the sale,rental, advertising, financing, or brokerage of housing. It goes on further to ensure the accessibilityof all new multifamily developments built within Florida.Preceding sections have highlighted that affordable housing options, which are integral to fairhousing opportunity, are a problem in the region. The issue of affordable housing has been longdebated in Florida and there are a number of programs to fund affordable housing. In Florida,Section 163.3177 Fla. Stat. (2000) and Rule 9J-5 of the Florida Administration Code require that eachcommunity, county in the State of Florida adopt a housing element in their Comprehensive Planwhich must contain standards, plans, and principles to create and preserve safe and healthyaffordable housing options. Of these laws the William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act, passedin 1992, is notably important. The act established one of the largest dedicated trust funds foraffordable housing in the country. Revenues are generated through a documentary stamp tax, a realestate transfer fee levied when registering a deed or mortgage into public records. The SadowskiAct increased the existing documentary stamp tax by 10 cents per $100 (from 60 cents to 70 cents)for the purposes of funding housing programs in Florida. Three years later, the bill reallocated anadditional 10 cents to the housing trust fund. The funds are uniquely tied to the real estate marketso that revenues increase as housing prices, and the subsidy required to house Floridas workforce,increase.The Sadowski Act not only funded existing state housing programs such as the PredevelopmentLoan Program (PLP), the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL), and the HomeownershipAssistance Program (HAP), but also established several new initiatives, including the Low-IncomeEmergency Home Repair Program, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the HOPE Program,the Florida Affordable Housing Guarantee Program, the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program forTechnical Assistance and Training, and the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP).Programs ranged from rental housing, homeownership, special needs, and more recently, disasterrelief and workforce housing.3 State of Florida, Civil Rights Statutes, Title XLIX, Chapter 760.2 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 12 23. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) was designated as the administrator forall of the programs, directing 30 percent of the revenue into a statewide trust fund and the other 70percent into a local housing trust fund. The local funds are distributed to all 67 counties and 48entitlement cities in Florida through the SHIP program. The SHIP program ensures bothaccountability and flexibility. Accountability: In order to receive funding, each local government must adopt a SHIP Planin accordance with state guidelines and local comprehensive plans. Flexibility: Local jurisdictions are able to direct money towards the specific needs of theircommunity. Locally adopted strategies set aside funding for extremely low to moderate-incomehouseholds and support a variety of services, including new construction,rehabilitation, down payment assistance, homebuyer education, and foreclosure prevention.When the Florida House and Senate entered the 2008 session, they were confronted with a majorbudget shortfall of over $1 billion in deficit, and estimates for 2009 were upwards of $3 billion.Legislators were forced to cut programs, limit spending, and search for other sources of revenue.Consequently, the Florida Legislature transferred $250 million from dedicated affordable housingtrust funds to general revenue. They also implemented a $243 million cap on existing and futurefunding for affordable housing. Funds generated through the Sadowski Act above that amount willbe automatically deposited into general revenue. The loss of these revenues drastically cut localhousing programs however, 2014 marks the highest level of funding since the original budget cutsof nearly $1.8 million for housing programs. This appropriation level represents 75% of the fundsestimated to be distributed into the housing trust funds. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 13 24. R A C E , E T H N I C I T Y , + P O V E R T YRace and ethnicity represent fundamental factors in this social equity analysis. Many of theinequalities in our society have strong racial underpinnings that extend in some cases throughgenerations and greatly impact an individuals propensity to live in poverty.Within the regions total population of 6.1 million, nearly 4.5 million are white accounting forroughly two thirds of people living here. Meanwhile 20% of the total population is Black and nearly40% Hispanic. When we look at the race and ethnicity as a percentage to the population living inpoverty however, we see a different breakdown: whites still make up the majority (this makes sensegiven their high presence in SEFLA), but it is a smaller majority, and the opposite can be said forminority Hispanic and Black or African American populations whose portion of the population isgreater when looking at poverty (See Figure 3).Race / Ethnicity as aPercentage of All IndividualsLiving in PovertyRace / Ethnicity as aPercentage of the TotalPopulation60%44%32%71%20%39%Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race)Black or African AmericanWhiteFigure 3, Race and Ethnicity as a Percentage of the Total Population compared to as aPercentage of the Total Population living in PovertyNone of this is particularly surprising there are countless academic and peer-reviewed studies onthe direct relationship between poverty and race or ethnicity. The point to be made here is that thestory is no different here in Southeast Florida even though we have a large and growing minority(and in many places a minority-majority) population. This is perhaps the greatest challenge for ourregion to overcome. How we address poverty, racial segregation and the links between them has ahuge and growing impact on the overall health and prosperity of the region.The spatial and geographic patterns of residence by race, ethnicity, and poverty are also troubling.Figure 4, on the following page, maps socio-economic segregation by looking at census tracts withconcentrations of Black or African American and Hispanic populations compared to areas withpoverty, about 20% of the total population. The relationship between the variables is quite striking.Nearly every census tract with this level of concentrated poverty is also majority minority (seeFigure 4). 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 14 25. Figure 4, Minority and Poverty Concentrations, 2010 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 15 26. 3 | MEASURING OPPORTUNITY & EQUITYThis chapter identifies, explains, and analyzes social equity indicators that were used to derive anopportunity index for the seven county Southeast Florida region. Social equity (also referred to assimply, equity, in this report) can be broadly defined as equal opportunity for all persons. ThePresidents Council on Sustainable Development defined social equity as equal opportunity, in asafe and healthy environment. A popular conceptualization of social equity places it as one of thethree fundamental, interlinked factors of sustainability; the other two being environment andeconomy. Even though there are competing ideas for defining social equity, they all center onconcepts of social organization, demography, and, to a lesser extent, culture. In so doing, socialequity serves to address how individual persons, households, andcommunities interact with each other, how fairly each member ofsociety can share in lifes opportunities, and how integrated allpersons are, regardless of differentiating variables such as race oreducation level.Social equity contributes significantly to any assessment of fairhousing because many of the things that limit housing opportunitystem from social, demographic, and/or economic factors. Ultimately,social equity analysis examines how and why different opportunitiesexist for people in different places.This chapter incorporates findings and analysis of 33 indicators, many of which serve as proxiesfor closely related phenomena. All 33 social indicators are grouped into one of five categories:demographic, economic, education, neighborhood, and mobility. These categories organize thereporting of findings. Demographic indicators include race and linguistic isolation. Economicindicators represent income, benefits, and unemployment. Education indicators show levels ofeducational attainment as well as characteristics of public schools. Neighborhood indicatorsaddress aspects of housing, household composition, access to healthy food and fair housing issues.Lastly, mobility indicators examine vehicle access and commuting patterns (see Figure 5).Many indicators can inform the analysis of different perspectives. For instance, not having accessto a vehicle can directly impact a households ability to participate in the labor market and suggesteconomic hardship if that household is located in a low-income community. For this reason, eventhough the findings of all indicators are shown individually, the report also examines therelationships between indicators and categories through an opportunity index that analyzes thenatural affinity that many indicators share with each other.Importantly, this report calls attention to situations of limited or absent social equity as well assituations of high-performing, integrated communities demonstrating strong social equity. Areaswith middling performance are particularly noted since they represent communities that may joineither the stronger-performing or weaker-performing communities. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 16Social equitycan be broadlydefined as equalopportunity forall persons. 27. Race /EthnicityDEMOGRAPHICLinguisticIsolationNutritionalAssistanceOPPORTUNITYECONOMICUnemploymentEDUCATIONPublicSchoolsNEIGHBORHOODFigure 5, Social Equity Categories and Corresponding IndicatorsHouseholdIncomePovertyEducationalAttainment 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 17HousingOccupancyHouseholdCompositionHousingAffordabilityGapHousingCostBurdonAccess to aSupermarketAffordableHousingMobilityCommutingPatternAccess to aVehicle 28. E C O N OMYIndicators addressing income, benefits, and unemployment are significant to social equity analyses,as many of lifes opportunities depend on economic indicators that reflect an ability to make a goodliving. Within this category, income, poverty, unemployment and nutritional assistance aremeasured. Broadly speaking, Belle Glade, in Palm Beach County, and the wedge between SR27/Okeechobee Road and I-95 in Miami-Dade County stand apart as areas that underperform oneconomic indicators. Conversely, the coastal parts of Martin County and north Palm Beach County,plus the western urban growth boundary zone in Broward County, generally outperform on thesame indicators.INCOMERegion-wide, the average medianhousehold income was $49,730 inthe 2006-2010 period. The highestmedian incomes (above $70,000)were located along the coast andthe western edge of the urbandevelopment boundaries. Alongthe middle of the metropolitanstatistical area, a mix of incomesranging from $30,000 to $70,000represents the majority of censustracts.Martin and Monroe counties haveno census tracts with medianincomes in the lowest mappedcategory. Martin, Broward, PalmBeach, and Monroe counties eachhad average median incomesabove the regional median, at$53,210, $51,694, $53,242, and$53,281 respectively. Notableconcentrations of low-earninghouseholds are located, fromnorth to south, in Fort Pierce (St.Lucie County), Belle Glade (PalmBeach County), Pompano Beach(Broward County), and the Miami-Hialeah-Miami Gardens corridorin Miami-Dade County (see Figure6)4.Figure 6, Median Household Income with Browardand Miami-Dade Inset, 2010The second variable of income that was analyzed is per capita incomes.. The coastal census tractsof Indian River, Martin, and Palm Beach counties are almost entirely within the highest earningbracket (above $75,000), while in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties the highest earning4 Note: Full maps with key and scale available in appendix for all 33 indicators. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 18 29. tracts are more scattered. Low earning census tracts are primarily located in the western portionsof Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties, with additional tracts arising alongthe middle of the urbanized corridor from Palm Beach south to Miami-Dade. Many of the regionslargest cities (including West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hialeah, and Miami) do notexhibit high per-capita incomes. In Miami-Dade County, for instance, the only major cities to have aper capita income above $75,000 are Pinecrest and Coral Gables. In Palm Beach County, only BocaRaton does.POVERTYPoverty indicators show the percentage of individuals or families that are below poverty threshold.The Census Bureau identifies poverty thresholds according to the composition of the household.Different types of households (by age and size) have different poverty thresholds. For this report,Population below poverty level refers to the sum of all people in families plus the number ofunrelated individuals identified as poor.As noted in the previous chapter, poverty5 is a large and looming concern in Southeast Florida. Intotal there are over 850,000 people below poverty level; this is 14% percent of the total population.For families with children stillliving at home, the proportion iseven higher, at 15%. Perhaps evenmore striking is the number of14%children and teenagers below the8%age of 18 living in poverty: one out ofevery five. Miami-Dade has the23%highest proportion of individualsliving in poverty at 17%.16%Furthermore, poverty is clearlylinked to race and ethnicity14%throughout the region. While thepredominant race throughout the13%region is white, proportionally thereare about half as many white people19%in poverty in comparison to bothBlack or African American and13%Hispanic populations. Finally, our16%analysis identifies single femalehouseholders with children asespecially in need. As a region, onethird of all single-femalehouseholds with children are belowpoverty level. In St. Lucie County,the proportion reaches its highest at37%, within other counties thelowest this percentage reaches is32%15%Population for whom povertystatus is determinedWhiteBlack or African AmericanHispanic or Latino origin (of anyrace)65 years and over18 to 64 yearsUnder 18 yearsMaleFemalesSingle Female Mothers withChildren or teenagers at homeFamilies with children orteenagers at homeFigure 7, Poverty Rates for Various Population Subsets, 20105 Poverty indicators show the percentage of individuals or families that are below poverty threshold. The Census Bureauidentifies poverty thresholds according to the composition of the household; different types of households (by age and size)have different poverty thresholds. Population below poverty level refers to the sum of people in families plus the number ofunrelated individuals identified as poor. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 19 30. 27% in Broward.Geographically, individual poverty is aconcern in all seven counties. Populationswith poverty rates above 30 percent (thehighest mapped category) are found inmultiple census tracts in all counties butIndian River. All major cities and thesurrounding area around Belle Glade haveclusters of census tracts where povertyaffects 20 percent or more of residents.Areas with the lowest poverty rates aregenerally located on the western side of theMSA, particularly Broward and Palm Beachcounties, and the eastern third of MartinCounty. Low poverty is found in most partsof Monroe County, too, except in Key West.In looking at the poverty rate of familieswith children present, across the regionthese households tend to be located in thesame areas where the overall poverty rateis high. The largest concentrations of poorfamilies are generally located within theMSA. The coastal census tracts in IndianRiver and St. Lucie counties notably havesignificantly higher poverty rates forfamilies than for the overall population.Similarly, the I-95 corridor from the city ofWest Palm Beach south to Pompano Beachis lined by census tracts with poverty ratesfor households with children above 20percent. The northern end of FortLauderdale and the greater Miami regionnorth of SR 27/Okeechobee Road are otherlocalized zones containing a larger share ofpoor families.13% 14%10%12% 12%17%11%Figure 8, Poverty Rates by County, 2010Percent of Population0% - 10%10.01% - 20%20.01% - 30%30.01% +0 20 40 MILESNFigure 9, Poverty Rates by Census Tract 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 20 31. LABOR FORCEThe labor force participation rate is arepresentation of the proportion of the areaspopulation in the labor force. This includes bothemployed and unemployed (job-seeking)civilians 16 years and over as well as membersof the U.S. Armed Forces (people on active dutywith the United States Army, Air Force, Navy,Marine Corps, or Coast Guard). Conversely,those not in the labor force includes all people16 years old and over who are not accounted forby the labor force participation rate. These aretypically students, retired workers,homemakers, institutionalized people andpeople doing incidental unpaid family work. Ofthe 7 counties, Broward has the highest laborforce participation rate at 68%. Both Martin andIndian River have the lowest at 55%. The regionon average has a labor force participation of60% compared to 65% in the United State.Over the course of the 2006-2010 period, mosturbanized parts of the region north of the Cityof Miami have experienced unemploymentrates as high as 9 percent, with certain areasexperiencing rates above 12 percent. Becausethis unemployment indicator represents theaverage rate over the five-year period from2006 to 2010, it is not necessarily representativeof post-recession trends in joblessness butrather the general tendency of census tracts tohave low or high unemployment. Throughoutmuch of the MSA and the three counties to thenorth, unemployment rates higher than 6percent have been registered.The highest levels of joblessness (more than 12percent) are found in only a small number ofcensus tracts throughout the MSA region (PalmBeach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties) plusBelle Glade, although around them are tractswith moderate levels of unemployment. CentralBroward County, the greater Miami area,6 andgreater Palm Beach show averageunemployment between 6 and 12 percent.0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%Indian River CountyMartin CountySt. Lucie CountyPalm Beach CountyBroward CountyMiami-Dade CountyMonroe County7-County SE FloridaIn labor force Not in labor forceFigure 10, Labor Force Participation RatesAverage % ofCivilian Unemployed0% - 6%6.01% - 9%9.01% - 12%12.01% +0 20 40 MILESFigure 11, Average % Unemployment6 When referring the greater Miami or Palm Beach areas the report is referencing the cities themselves in addition toadjacent areas experiencing similar circumstances. It is not a specific defined area. For detailed analysis refer tocorresponding maps in the appendix.N 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 21 32. Monroe County shows the lowest average joblessness of the seven counties, followed by MartinCounty. The census tracts directly along the coast and the western urban boundary also feature thelowest joblessness rates. With the exception of Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County, all coastal censustracts have not experienced unemployment rates higher than 6 percent.NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCEHouseholds are eligible for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits if theymeet income and financial resource qualifications, including a gross monthly income not largerthan 130 percent of the poverty level income. The majority of households in Southeast Florida donot participate in SNAP. Two counties, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, have concentrations of SNAP-eligiblehouseholds in the Belle Glade and City of Miami areas, respectively. In Martin and Monroecounties, no census tracts have more than 10 percent of households on SNAP assistance.Throughout the MSA, areas with 10 to 30 percent of eligible households generally are located in themiddle of the urbanized corridor (i.e., away from the coast or the western boundary).Figure 12, Percent of population receiving SNAP benefits in the last 12 months (2010) 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 22 33. D EMO G R A P H I C SRACE AND ETHNICITYSegregation is not only a narrative of the past but one of the present as well. Clear patterns ofsegregation persist in all 7 counties and is perhaps the most telling indication of social (in)equity inthis analysis. A stark contrast exists between the areas where whites and minorities (particularlyBlacks and African Americans) are the most populous, in that they reflect the inverse of the other.Three primary categories of race and ethnicity are discussed within this section (White, AfricanAmerican, and Hispanic/Latino7). These three categories account for the large majority of allpersons living in the region. There are 2.42 million white, non-Hispanic persons in the SoutheastFlorida region, accounting for 39.8 percent of the total regional population of 6.1 million. They arenot evenly distributed throughout the region; the northern counties and Monroe County are highlyrepresented, as are the coastal areas along almost the entire length of the region. Indian River, St.Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties each have predominantly white populations (78.3,62.8, 81.2, 61.7, and 72.4 percent, respectively). Miami-Dade has the smallest, at 15.9 percent. Themajority of census tracts in Martin and Monroe counties are more than 75 percent white. In PalmBeach County, the figure is closer to half, even though almost 62 percent of the countys residentsare white. Miami-Dade County has only one area, in the vicinity of the towns of Surfside and BalHarbour Village, that over the 2006-2010 period was more than 75 percent white. In Broward County,where the racial mix is generally more balanced than in the other counties, areas that arepredominantly white are located almost entirely along the coast and in the City of Parkland.WHITEHISPANICBLACK7 It is important to note, people of Hispanic origin may be any race. This should be kept in mind when comparing race and ethnicity, which is done throughout the report. Someone of Black or Whiterace may also be categorized as Hispanic due to Census methodology. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 23Percent of Population0% - 25%25.01% - 50%50.01% - 75%75%+Figure 13, Comparison of population by race and/or ethnicity 34. A total of 1.21 million African American persons reside in the region, representing 19.6 percent ofthe total population. There are relatively few areas in the region where they make up more than 75percent of the local population and outside of these areas their share of the local population isgenerally less than 25 percent. Their largest concentration is within the three-county MSA and theBelle Glade area on the south edge of Lake Okeechobee. Monroe County is underrepresented byAfrican Americans, at only 6.4 percent of its 2006-2010 average population. None of the countyscensus tracts have any concentrations of African American persons. A similar situation isevidenced in Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties, although in these northern counties thereis a small concentration of African Americans in the vicinity of Fort Pierce. In the MSA, areaswhere African American persons comprise 75 percent or more of the local population include northMiami-Dade County, central Broward County, and the Belle Glade and West Palm Beach areas inPalm Beach County. Central Broward County and north Miami-Dade County both encompass anumber of small municipalities that have historically been African American. These includeLauderdale Lakes and Lauderhill in Broward and Opa-locka and Miami Gardens in Miami-Dade.Hispanics comprise 37.7 percent of the total regional population (2.3 million persons) and themajority of them are concentrated in Miami-Dade County. Above and below Miami-Dade, Hispanicsare highly deconcentrated. Outside of a moderate concentration in southwest Broward County andcentral Palm Beach County, Hispanics comprise less than a quarter of almost any census tractoutside of Miami-Dade. The western tracts of Indian River and Martin counties do exhibit largerpercentages of Hispanics, but these are semirural tracts with relatively small populations.Hispanics and Latinos predominantly reside in Miami-Dade County, with a particular density inand around Hialeah. Smaller aggregations of Hispanic and Latino persons exist in the vicinity ofMiramar in Broward County and Lake Worth in Palm Beach County. Hispanics are not representedin a significant way in Monroe or St. Lucie counties.LINGUISTIC ISOLATIONIn Southeast Florida, linguistic isolation is corollary to the Hispanic/Latino and black races8, asmany people who do not speak English natively or fluently in this region are likely to speakSpanish or Creole instead. Geographically, the majority of the region speaks English well. Mostcensus tracts in which a substantial portion of the population does not (more than 30 percent) arelocated within the three-county MSA, and in Miami-Dade County in particular. The leastlinguistically isolated counties are Monroe, St. Lucie, and Palm Beach (with the exception of BelleGlade and West Palm Beach). There are four areas where a large number of residents claim not tospeak English very well. From north to south, they are the western half of Indian River County, theBelle Glade and West Palm Beach areas of Palm Beach County, and two sectors of Miami-DadeCounty that extend northwest from Miami through Hialeah to Miami Gardens (along SR27/Okeechobee Road and west from Miami to the northern boundary of The Hammocks). In theseareas, 30 percent or more of the population self-identify as not conversant in English.8 Note that in this report, African American represents all persons of black ancestry. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 24 35. N E I G H B O R H O O DNeighborhood indicators in this report revolve around access to supermarkets and housing issues.Housing is notably a much larger segment of the section and incudes a breakdown of not onlyoccupancy, tenure, household composition, and affordability but also of local fair housing laws,complaints, impediments, and potentiallydiscriminatory practices. This includes analyzingvariables by race and ethnicity to understand howvarious groups are impacted differently in the region.This section provides particular insight into thestructure and because housing is generally thelargest single investment and expenditure of theaverage household the financial health of localcommunities.Indian RiverNeighborhood indicators provideparticular insight into the structureandbecause housing is generallythe largest single investment andexpenditure of the averagehouseholdthe financial health oflocal communities.ACCESS TO A SUPER MARKETCountyThere are many ways to define a food desert or tomeasure access to food. The Reinvestment FundSt. LucieCounty(TRF) defines a Limited Supermarket Access (LSA)area as one where the residents must travelMartin Countysignificantly farther to reach a supermarket thanthe comparatively acceptable distance traveledby residents in well-served areas. TRF definescomparatively acceptable as the distance thatPalm Beachresidents of well-served areas (block group withCountyincomes greater than 120 percent of the areasmedian income) travel to the nearest supermarket.TRF established 13 benchmark classifications andBrowardCountycompares areas to those that share similarpopulation density and car-ownership rates. LSAareas range in size and density, with the averageLSA area measuring 6.4 square miles and having apopulation of 9,000.Miami-DadeCountyIn Southeast Florida, most census tracts in theregion are reasonably close to a supermarketoffering fresh and healthful foods. The ones thatare not are distributed throughout six of the sevenMonroe Countycounties (Martin County excluded) and withoutProximity to Supermarketany particular pattern. Because of itsNo Dataunique geography and naturalYesenvironment, the geographic share ofNoMonroe County not located reasonablyclose to a supermarket is larger than0 20 40 MILESNFigure 14, Proximity to a Supermarketthe other counties. Palm Beach Countyhas the largest number of LSA (limitedsupermarket access) census tracts, with 55 of the regions 169 qualifying tracts. Miami-Dade Countyis a close second, with 54, followed by Broward County with 43. Geographically, the largest areas 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 25 36. without supermarket proximity are in the middle keys and the vicinity of Sugarloaf Key in MonroeCounty, Belle Glade and the rural wedge between the Jim Corbett Wildlife Management Area andthe Loxahatchee Slough in Palm Beach County, and the area south of Vero Beach between IndianRiver and St. Lucie counties.HOUSING INDICATORSOCCUPANCY AND TENUREHousing occupancy by tenure relates toneighborhood stability in that high rentalturnover tends to lend itself to fluctuatingneighborhood conditions which aregenerally viewed negatively. A housing unitis considered to be owner-occupied if theowner or co-owner lives in the unit, even if it751,424is mortgaged or not fully paid for.Throughout the region, the vast majority ofhousing units are owner-occupied. Thistrend holds true for the white population, butis actually reversed for Hispanics, Blacks or1,517,837African Americans, and lower incomehouseholds. In the region as a whole, thereare 1.5 million owner-occupied housing unitsin comparison to .75 million renter- occupiedunits.Spatially, in the urbanized areas of thecounties, owner occupied housing isFigure 15, Household Tenureprominent inland in the more suburbanareas. Conversely rental opportunities aremore common in the eastern and denser portions of the region. The majority of census tracts areowner-occupied for more than three-quarters of housing units. Throughout the MSA, averagehomeownership rates decline, even through high rates are seen along the coast and western urbanboundaries. Generally more census tracts appear with lower owner occupation when approachingthe major cities (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach). Owner occupancy is notably lowest inthe downtown centers of three of the regions largest cities (West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, andMiami). Low ownership rates are also seen in Belle Glade.Residential vacancy rate can be used to identify the ability for neighborhoods or districts to absorbnew residents. It can also help identify locations with low permanent populations, which can thenbe correlated to various factors (e.g., whether the neighborhood is a vacation area or losing familiesbecause of foreclosure or unemployment). Vacant units may include housing units for rent, secondhomes occupied only part of the year, and/or foreclosed properties returning to market. Onlyhabitable properties are included. 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 26 37. Owner-Occupied Housing UnitsPercent of Housing Units0% - 25%25.01% - 50%49.01% - 75%75.01% +0 20 40 MILESNEIGHBORHOODIndian RiverCountySt. LucieCountyMartin CountyPalm BeachCountyBrowardCountyMiami-DadeCountyMonroe CountyPrepared By: Carras Community Investment Inc. July 2012Data Source: ACS 2006 - 2010 5-Year EstimatesNote: No data is available for census tracts shaded in grayNFigure 16, Map of Percent of Owner-Occupied Households 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 27 38. Regionally, vacancy rates above 30 percent are observed across the entire seven counties, butRegionally, vacancy rates above 30 percent are observed across the entire seven counties, butalmost entirely along the coast. The largest exceptions are the census tracts along Biscayne Bay. Itshould be noted that units are counted as vacant if they are habitable and are second homes oravailable for sale or rent. Notably, every census tract in Monroe County, except for downtown KeyWest, exhibits a 30 percent or higher vacancy rate. Further inland, small areas with vacancy ratesabove 20 percent can be found north of Vero Beach, in the vicinity of the St. Lucie County Airport,Dania Beach, north Miami-Dade County, and Homestead.COMPOSITIONSingle parent households may or may not serve as an indicator of economic disadvantage,although the highest incomes are often found with dual-earning households and the lowestincomes with single parent households. Analyzed alone, single parenthood in this study does notdirectly indicate hardship. Many single parent households experience no economic hardship andany such determination must be made in relation to other indicators.From Indian River to Miami-Dade counties, single parent households comprise 10 percent or moreof households in a substantial number of census tracts. Concentrations of such households arefound in the Belle Glade area, from West Palm Beach south to Boynton Beach, and from Parklandsouth to North Miami. This represents a geographic reach covering much of the three-county MSA.Only a few census tracts register a concentration of single parent households above 30 percent oftotal householdsthese are located in the vicinity of West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, andKendall in Miami-Dade County.Households with children represent an important indicator when tied with factors such asproximity of schools or family amenities. Across the region, approximately 718,800 householdshave children (representing a total of 31.7 percent of total households). Census tracts with thelargest proportion of such households compared to the overall count are located almost entirelyalong the western edge of the urban growth boundary in the three-county MSA. The cities of BelleGlade, Parkland, and Weston, and the exurban region west of Miami Lakes, each contain censustracts in which households with children make up more than 60 percent of total local households.Households with seniors represent another important indicator when tied with factors such asproximity of senior services, medical facilities, and transit. Census tracts in which householdscontaining persons 65 years of age or more represent more than 40 percent of total households arefound in every county but especially in the northern half of the region (Indian River through PalmBeach counties). Their total number is similar to that of households with children694,600households, or 30.6 percent of the total count. Areas with the least number of such households tendto be located on the western side of the MSA corridor (including the cities of Weston, PembrokePines, and Miramar) and the downtown districts of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.AFFORDABILITYIn looking at affordability two major indicators are used: housing affordability gap (a neighborhood-widemeasurement) and housing cost burden (specific to individual households).A housing affordability gap is used to identify neighborhoods with potentially unsustainablehousing costs. For owners, this is measured by the relationship between house prices and themedian local income. Data for each census tract is derived by comparing three times the medianhousehold income to the average home value (as a rule of thumb, to maintain affordability oflending costs, the purchase price of a home should not exceed three times the buyers annualhousehold income). If the home value is greater than the multiplied income value, the size of the 2014 Carras Community Investment, Inc. 28 39. affordability gap is noted. For renters, affordability gap is measured by the relationship betweenmonthly rent and the median local income. The calculation of this affordability gap involves taking30 percent of the median household income, dividing it by 12 (for the number of months in a year)and comparing the resulting figure to the median gross rent. If the rent figure is higher than thederived monthly rent payment, an affordability gap exists. Thirty percent of the annual income isthe rule of thumb for housing costs.There appears to be an inverse relationship between those areas in the region in which homes aremore affordable to rent and less affordable to buy, based on the affordability gap analysis. Theaffordability gap for homeowners is starkly evident for all seven counties and especially alongvirtually all census tracts along the coast and the western urban boundary. Almost all of greaterMiami and virtually all of Martin and Monroe counties register a gap of more than $100,000. All butsix census tracts along the 300 miles from Key West in Monroe County to Sebastian in MartinCounty, all in the highest gap category. A small number of census tracts demonstrate that homeprices are within affordable ranges for the local median incomes. These are distributed throughoutcentral Broward and Palm Beach counties and a large part of St. Lucie County.Throughout much of the three-county MSA, an affordability gap exists for renting households. Theaverage gap amount is generally less than $500 per month, although in 24 census tracts (including10 each in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties), the ga