The Access to Preventive Care Topic includes two Indicators that measure preventable hospitalizations related to acute and chronic disease, and one that measures health insurance. Non-White Oaklanders are more likely to be hospitalized for conditions that could have been prevented by having better access to preventive care. They are also more likely to be uninsured, which is a major deterrent to accessing preventive health services. Poverty and immigration status may make it even more likely for racial and ethnic minorities to lack insurance and forego needed care.

The Built Environment Topic includes three Indicators that measure the safety, resilience, and quality of Oakland neighborhoods. All three of these Indicators measure geographic disparities based on the majority race/ethnicity of census tracts. The first Indicator in this Topic measures disparities in the location of streets where there have been a high number of pedestrian injuries. The second Indicator measures disparities in the location of soft story buildings, which are prone to collapse in the event of an earthquake. The third Indicator measures disparities in the location of residential addresses that have been vacant for two years or more.

A safe, clean, and healthy environment is a key component of neighborhood quality. The three Indicators in this Topic explored different attributes of neighborhoods that have an impact on resident health. The first Indicator compared park quality in Council District 1 and Council District 7. The second Indicator compared the rates of service request for illegal dumping in majority Latino and majority White census tracts. The third Indicator compared the pollution burden score in majority Asian and majority White census tracts.

Access to high quality housing is an important component of the Housing Theme. Substandard housing can have negative impacts on residents’ health and their ability to engage in different aspects of their lives outside of the home. The three Indicators in this Topic measure geographic disparities in housing habitability complaints, and racial and ethnic disparities in complete kitchen facilities and overcrowded conditions in Oakland housing units.

The three Indicators in the Transportation and Infrastructure Topic measure the different ways Oaklanders travel in the city. The first Indicator measures racial and ethnic disparities in car access, which is important due to the heavy reliance on cars for commuting to work, school, and other places. The second Indicator measures the frequency of buses along each segment of the network and compares majority non-White/mixed and majority African American census tracts. The third Indicator is a citywide measurement of curb ramps that are accessible to individuals with limited mobility, including seniors and those with physical disabilities.

Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s past and the lives of its residents to this day. It is, therefore, not surprising that Oakland was chosen in 2017 to be among the first cohort of five cities to develop local Equity Indicators tools in partnership with the City University of New York’s Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG) and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation.

This Indicator measures the rate of eviction notice filings per 1,000 housing units that are renter-occupied. The Indicator compares census tracts by their majority race/ethnicity.

Voter turnout is measured by the percent of registered voters that voted in the 2016 general election. This Indicator measures geographic disparities by City Council District. For a map of the City Council Districts, see here: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/image/oak044524.pdf.

Homelessness is measured by number of homeless individuals per 100,000 individuals in the general population. Homelessness data was available by race and ethnicity, separately. Both sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals are captured in the homelessness counts, to provide a fuller picture of the homeless population.

This Indicator measures the percent of residential addresses that have been identified as “vacant” by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for at least two years. Data is collected and aggregated at the census tract level by the USPS on a quarterly basis.