2024 AFFH Mapping Tool


The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Mapping Tool is designed to assist in advancing multiple AFFH objectives. The purpose of each of the three mapping tool layers is described below.

Neighborhood Opportunity: The Neighborhood Opportunity layer identifies areas in every region of the state whose characteristics have been shown by research to be associated with positive economic, educational, and health outcomes for low-income families—particularly long-term outcomes for children. As such, the layer is intended to inform efforts to advance the AFFH objective of increasing access to opportunity.

High-Poverty & Segregated: The High-Poverty & Segregated layer identifies areas that meet standards for both high or “concentrated” poverty rates and racial segregation. The use of this layer is grounded in two guiding AFFH objectives: to avoid further segregation and poverty concentration, and to increase access to opportunity.

Neighborhood Change: The Neighborhood Change Map identifies places where demographic change presents both challenges and opportunities for advancing several AFFH objectives, including advancing racial and economic integration and addressing disproportionate housing needs. The map captures both substantial racial/ethnic demographic change (growth in the non-Hispanic white share of the population) and economic demographic change (growth in the share of high-income households), as well as markers of disproportionate housing needs (rising median rents and the home value/income percentile gap).

2024 AFFH Mapping Tool

Neighborhood Opportunity
Each indicator value that falls above the regional median adds one point to the overall opportunity score. To account for areas with high levels of environmental burden, one point is deducted if a tract ranks in the highest 5% of regional environmental burden. Using this method, the final scores are divided into four primary categories:

● 9 or 8 = “Highest Resource”
● 7 or 6 = “High Resource”
● 5 or 4 = “Moderate Resource”
● 3 or lower = “Low Resource”

See the methodology document for more details.

Economic
Education
Environment
The Environmental Burden Flag represents a subset of data from the CalEnviroScreen 4.0 tool and is utilized to identify the geographies that have the highest potential – defined as ranking in the highest 5% of regional environmental burden - to expose vulnerable populations to nearby health and safety threats. See the methodology document for more details.
Environmental burden flag: Yes No N/A
Neighborhood Opportunity Key:
Regional median threshold for opportunity indicators
High-Poverty & Segregated
The High-Poverty & Segregated layer identifies areas that meet standards for both concentrated poverty (defined as 30% of the population below the federal poverty line) and racial segregation (overrepresentation of Black, Hispanic, Asian, or all people of color relative to the county). Due to data unreliability at the block group level in the poverty indicator, “High-Poverty and Segregated” is designated at the tract level in rural areas. See the methodology document for more details.

Poverty

Race/Ethnicity
High-Poverty & Segregated Key:
Threshold for high-poverty or racial/ethnic segregation
Neighborhood Change
To be eligible for the Neighborhood Change definition, a tract must in the base year have been low- or moderate-income (LMI) and have a higher share of people of color (POC) than the county. Rural areas are not eligible. Eligible tracts can meet the definition via either Pathway 1: A census tract that meets criteria for both racial/ethnic change and economic change between 2000-2021 (Pathway 1A) or between 2013-2021 (Pathway 1B); or Pathway 2: A census tract that is within ½ mile of a tract that meets Pathway 1A and meets criteria for racial/ethnic change or economic change between 2013-2021, and meets the criteria for rising rents or the home value/income gap. See the methodology document for more details.
Pathway 1A: Substantial Racial/Ethnic and Economic Change (since 2000)
POC neighborhood in
2000 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
LMI neighborhood in
2000 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
Pathway 1B: Substantial Racial/Ethnic and Economic Change (since 2013)
POC neighborhood in
2013 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
LMI neighborhood in
2013 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
Pathway 2: Change since 2013 in Proximity to Pathway 1A Tracts
A half-mile buffer is utilized to account for boundary effects of neighborhood change. See the methodology document for more details.
Within 1/2-mile of a
Pathway 1A tract: Yes No N/A
POC neighborhood in
2013 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
LMI neighborhood in
2013 (baseline criteria): Yes No N/A
Neighborhood Change Key:
County Threshold for Neighborhood Change

Additional Information

Neighborhood Opportunity: Methodology | FAQ

Neighborhood Change: Methodology | FAQ

  • Highest Resource
  • High Resource
  • Moderate Resource
  • Low Resource
  • Insufficient data
  • High-Poverty & Segregated
  • Neighborhood Change