Maps that tell the story
Introduction by Amanda: I volunteer on the Board of the Coalition for a Livable Future. The Regional Equity Atlas is one of the most interesting projects, with the most fascinating product and potential, that I’ve ever been involved in. Staff and volunteers with the Coalition for a Livable Future, working with faculty and students at Portland State University, used US Census data from 1990 and 2000 to map objective changes in the Portland Metro region. The Atlas will be available for purchase soon, and will provide hours of entertainment as well as useful demographic information for people interested in who has what, where, in the Greater Portland area.
The Regional Equity Atlas uses over fifty maps and a unique analytical approach to explore equity in the Portland metropolitan region. It focuses on access to resources among some of our region’s most vulnerable populations – poor people and people of color. By visually representing the geographic distribution of people and community assets, it helps us better understand the relationships between the two. Intended to inspire community discussion and action, the Atlas can help make equity a concrete component of our metropolitan region’s approach to managing growth and development.
Do you have facilitation skills and an interest in regional equity issues? Join the Coalition for a Livable Future’s (CLF) Regional Equity Atlas Facilitation Team! Facilitators will have the opportunity to learn about the Atlas and how to use it. They will also get to introduce the Atlas to their own or other community organizations and networks. Volunteer facilitators must be willing to commit to attending a 2-hour training session during the week of April 23 and facilitating at least one 2-hour Atlas introductory session with a community group during May or June. CLF will organize and provide support for facilitators at the introductory sessions.
Facilitators will help CLF introduce the Atlas to organizations and advocates working on a range of issues related to regional equity, such as affordable housing, environmental issues, schools, public health, and community development. Atlas introductory sessions will help these groups consider how the Atlas can support their work for healthy and sustainable communities. If you are part of a network that is interested in using the Regional Equity Atlas, being a trained facilitator will allow you to help your group get the most out of the Atlas’s data. If you are interested in regional equity, volunteering will allow you to connect with like-minded community groups as well as build your facilitation skills.
E-mail Joy or call (503) 294-2889 for more information or to sign up. If you are part of a group that would be interested in hosting an Atlas introductory session, please contact Joy for more information.