Budget Equity Projects
The New School
Background
The Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School in New York City conducts research on systemic inequalities and works to promote equity. The Budget Equity Project at the Institute was created to provide policymakers with research and data to inform the local budgeting process.
At Hyperobjekt, I led the visual design, UX, and data visualization across the entire site.
ABOUT THE CLIENT & MY ROLE
As a result of the devastating impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provided cities and counties with $130 billion in flexible federal recovery funds. At the time, communities were encouraged to prioritize equity in allocating these funds by targeting resources to those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and making investments that address systemic inequities. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Project and website are tracking whether and how local governments are making equitable investments with their ARPA funds and documenting exemplary projects and approaches. The Project has also created a prototype budget equity assessment tool for community leaders to use to champion equitable budgeting processes and investments.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Budget Equity Project is a research initiative to assess the equity focus of the local budgeting process in cities and counties across the United States, and track how billions in flexible federal funds were allocated.
Goals
Provide easily searchable data and summaries to track billions in federal funds to local communities
Document the extent to which cities and counties prioritized equity in how they allocated federal COVID-19 recovery dollars
Guide users through thousands of individual projects in hundreds of cities and counties
Combine the data with compelling case studies documenting local efforts to build more equitable communities and best practices for equitable public investments
Visual Style
Features & Solutions
Coverage & Impact
Some localities are using an equity lens, and listening to the communities that are typically excluded from budget discussions, to use these fleeting federal funds to build thriving cities.