State law requires local jurisdictions to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) through their Housing Element updates, which includes performing extensive analysis as part of an Assessment of Fair Housing. ABAG staff partnered with researchers from the University of California, Merced to prepare reports and datasets that examine racial and income segregation in Bay Area jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction’s report and accompanying dataset provide segregation measures for both the local jurisdiction and the region using several indices, as required by the AFFH guidance issued by the by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Local jurisdiction staff can use the segregation report and dataset to complete a component of the Assessment of Fair Housing, which requires analysis of segregation patterns related to race, other protected characteristics, and lower-income households.
The segregation reports and datasets for each jurisdiction are available now via this Box folder, which contains an individual PDF and Excel spreadsheet for each jurisdiction. These reports can also be downloaded as an editable Word document in each jurisdiction's Housing Element Site Selection (HESS) Tool account. Log into the HESS Tool to access your jurisdiction’s Dashboard, click on the “Data Packets” button, and select “AFFH Segregation Report.” Local planning staff and Housing Element consultants who do not yet have access to the HESS Tool may register here.