Equity-focused Research

New! Equity Considerations Dataset (2024 update)

Equity-Considerations-2024-Update-(3).pngMet Council's Equity Considerations dataset provides equity-relevant characteristics about people and place for each of the region's 784 census tracts. By bringing together key measures across planning topic areas, we hope to highlight that

  1.  the region's neighborhoods are diverse and multifaceted
  2. advancing equity requires both a holistic understanding of current conditions and historical context
Alone, this (or any) dataset is inadequate for equity work if not paried with community engagement and qualitative research, which bring forward community wisdom in ways quantitative does not. With those limitations in mind, Equity Considerations offers a uniquely well-rounded dataset to start
exploring—and advancing—equity.

The Dataset

People- and place-based characteristics

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  • Nearly 300 fields compiled from 25 sources
  • Detailed race, ethnicity, and cultural groups
  • Land use and development
  • Historic discrimination
  • Environment and climate 
  • Federal and state designated geographic areas
 
 
 

Use Cases

What this tabular dataset is best at

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  • Comparing areas of economic segregation across measures
  • Determining geographic areas for programs
  • Planning community engagement efforts
  • Understanding current investments and amenities, and historical context 

 

 
 
 

2024 Update

Changes since our last release (2021)

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  • All data are now in 2020 census tracts
  • Refreshed data wherever possible
  • Tree canopy measures
  • MPCA data on potential environmental hazards
  • Some variables describing change were omitted 
 
 
 
Explore the Equity Considerations dataset and tools

More research tools

Interactive

Discover-Census-Trends-(3).png
Long-term demographic and housing trends are useful but can be difficult to analyze accurately when geographies change over time. Met Council's Discover Census Trends tool lets you skip the tedious work of aligning boundaries and start exploring four decennial census datasets (from 1990 to 2020). Most topics are disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and are packaged in full range of administrative and political geographies. 

Discover Census Trends Interactive
Interactive

Visualizing-Regional-Inequities-(4).png
This interactive tool presents a current snapshot and longstanding demographic inequities in various topics like homeownership, employment, poverty, housing cost-burden, and wages. Visualizing Regional Inequities will be republished January 24, 2025. If your data needs are urgent, we recommend Policy Link's National Equity Atlas.Interactive-Unavailable-dummy-button-(1).png

Contact us

Community Development Research Team
[email protected]