CSC and City of Tulsa Release First Equality Indicators Report

CSC and City of Tulsa Release First Equality Indicators Report

CSC’s Equality Indicators was featured twice in the Tulsa World after its April release:

VIEW THE REPORT VISIT THE WEBSITE

First Year Scores Will Act as Baseline to Measure Progress Toward Equality

TULSA, Okla. – The City of Tulsa and the Community Service Council released the first Equality Indicators report today at Tulsa City Hall, which uses data to measure equality using a tool developed in partnership with the City University of New York Institute for State and Local Governance and 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.

The primary goal areas within Tulsa’s report are economic opportunity, education, housing, justice, public health and services.

“The Equality Indicators set a baseline for the work we face as a community,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “The issues we aim to address do not have easy solutions, but quantifying the problem is a critical starting point as we develop strategies to address problems that have plagued our city for generations.”

The City intends to utilize the Equality Indicators data collected and analyzed by the Community Service Council to demonstrate commitment, transparency and accountability to improve the conditions for underserved Tulsans through the Tulsa Resilience Office led by DeVon Douglass.

“The Equality Indicators Report will work hand in hand with our resilience framework that will be unveiled this summer. The resilience plan will drive policy changes and measurable actions for positive change in our community,” said DeVon Douglass, Tulsa’s Chief Resilience Officer.

The 2018 Equality Indicators score for the city of Tulsa is 38.93 out of 100. Of the six themes, Public Health has the highest score (47.00), followed by Services (42.78), Economic Opportunity (38.89), Justice (35.33), Education (35.22), and Housing (34.33).

The topics within the themes show more variance, with scores ranging from 61.67 in the Public Works topic to 16.67 in the Impediment to Learning topic. At the indicator level, scores range from one (representing the greatest inequality) for the indicators Race & homelessness, Race & overcrowding, and Geography & bikeability, to a high of 100 (representing the greatest equality) for Geography & housing choice vouchers and Geography & public city parks with playgrounds.

A public website has been created to help citizens explore Tulsa’s score and the data behind the report.

“Mayor Bynum and Chief Resilience Officer DeVon Douglass have shown great leadership in addressing disparities and fostering a more equitable Tulsa,” said Otis Rolley, regional director
for North America at 100 Resilient Cities. “By participating in the Equality Indicators project, the city is continuing its data-driven and open approach toward confronting its challenges—an approach that will result in a more resilient city for all Tulsans.”

Tulsa Equality Indicators uses the methodology developed by CUNY ISLG, the originators of Equality Indicators, to score each indicator, topic and theme. This first year of data provides baseline, static scores. Following years will produce change scores for each level of data based on the difference in scores from one year to the next. Scores range from one to 100, with lower numbers representing greater inequality.

The data from the Equality Indicators have created a framework tailored to Tulsa-specific disadvantaged populations and equality gaps,” said Kevin Burr, CEO, Community Service Council. “Through this process, Tulsa can design policy solutions to address the greatest inequalities we face as a community, to make Tulsa a better place for all.”

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance applies a data-driven approach to the challenges and opportunities confronting government. ISLG focuses on government at the state and local levels, working both nationally and internationally, because cities and states are ideal laboratories for developing new approaches to longstanding social problems.

“At this moment, cities and local government have an extraordinary opportunity to lead the way and demonstrate commitment to making progress toward greater equality in their communities,” said ISLG Executive Director Michael Jacobson. “Working with the Community Service Council and local residents to develop this Equality Indicators tool, the City of Tulsa has taken a significant step and is leveraging its resources and data to more effectively address inequalities.”

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