Introduction

In July 2021, Metro Board Chair Solis directed staff in her inaugural Chair’s remarks to update the agency’s 2019 Equity Focus Communities (Original EFCs) definition to include historical inequities, specifically redlining, and impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chair Solis further directed that this updated definition be used to prioritize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding received by Metro toward communities hardest hit by COVID-19.

The EFC Update will be completed in two phases from Summer 2021 to Summer 2022. Phase 1 is described in this document and concluded in the COVID-19 Impacts EFC Dataset that was applied during the FY23 budget process, within the Metro Budget Equity Assessment Tool (MBEAT). Phase 2 will continue through April/May and result in an a comprehensively updated EFC map and definition.

Data Manipulation

We pulled the new 2016 to 2020 American Community Survey Data using the US Census’ API feature to analyze various indicators that may be included in the newest iteration of LA Metro’s Equity Focused Communities (EFCs). Cambridge Systematics is building on work performed by Metro and ESRI previously while also integrating potentially new indicators.

The data and relationships will be visualized using histograms and density plots. We will then create a correlation matrix, analyze the means of all of our variables, and map the ridership numbers to gain a better idea of how strong our model is and how well it will perform. If we see that the independent variables are too correlated, than we will choose to not include them in the final analysis.

Exploring the data

Histograms

Median Household Income

Non-White Population

Zero Vehicle Households

English Proficiency

Household Tenure

Unemployment Rate

Single Parent Households

Population Over 65

Essential Workers

Population with a Disability

Exploring Income Data

In 2020, Area Median Income in LA County was $69,698. This section further analyzes income in the region by visualizing histograms at 33% (~25,000), 50% (~35,000), 65% (~40,000), 85% (~60,000), and 100% (~70,000). of Area Median Income.

Household Income at 33% AMI

Household Income at 50% AMI

#### Household Income at 60% AMI

Household Income at 85% AMI

Household Income at 100% AMI

Correlation among Indicators

Correlation plot

Correlation Matrix