Action for Regional Equity

Mission In communities across Massachusetts, daily experience is making the once abstract notion of regional inequity painfully clear. Families of diverse income levels struggle to secure affordable housing, maintain decent employment, and feel secure about the environmental safety of their neighborhoods. Both urban and suburban commuters feel the impact of a transportation system that does not adequately address mass transit needs. Fewer than ten percent of the Commonwealth's cities and towns have managed the political will to build the state-mandated proportion of affordable housing. The gap between the wealthy and poor has expanded dramatically. Existing policies that could improve equity outcomes for communities are not effectively enforced. Inadequate cooperation across jurisdictions makes addressing any of these regional forces extremely difficult. Achieving regional equity is no longer simply an issue for communities of color and low-income communities-although there is no question that they are disproportionately impacted-but the principal challenge facing Massachusetts in the 21st century. Action for Regional Equity (Action!)-a coalition of 20 Massachusetts equity organizations united to address continuing disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and environmental justice-has developed strategies to address the critical development challenges facing the Commonwealth. These strategies recognize the interconnections among these issues and identify policy solutions that share benefits and burdens of growth fairly across communities. Constituency About two-thirds of Action!'s 19 Leadership organizations are constituency base, and provide the largest proportion of resident participants in the ongoing activities. Action! also supports policies that serve low-income and working class families throughout Massachusetts. The coalition has a particular commitment to tenants, users of public transit, and others who bear the brunt of regional inequities. Action! organizations reflect the concerns of the communities they represent and are united in advancing policy campaigns to address those concerns. Action! is promoting ways to reduce displacement through the production of housing with deep affordability provisions, seeking alternatives that can provide equity in transportation finance, and advancing environmental justice and social equity in regional development. Structure Decision-making process