Regional Equity Atlas

Through a new regional transit-oriented development collaborative, Mile High Connects, supported through the Ford Foundation’s Metropolitan Opportunities Initiative, Piton, partnered with Reconnecting America to develop a regional equity atlas to raise awareness among a wide range of stakeholders about the current lack of access to opportunity for metro Denver’s low‐income residents. The atlas illuminates the opportunities for substantially improving the quality of life for these residents that the build out of FasTracks (Denver’s light-rail expansion) provides, linking issues such as education, health, economy and environment to transit.

To help visualize the connections between the places people need to go and the transportation options available to them,  Mile High Connects created this Regional Equity Atlas, which maps the region’s major origins and destinations in relation to the current and future transit network, emphasizing the enhanced access to opportunity that transit will provide. The goal of this document is to help raise awareness about the benefits and opportunities that a robust public transportation network can create, including how issues such as housing, jobs, education and health are integrally linked to transportation.

   1. Population and Demographic Characteristics of the Region

   2. Access to Affordable, Quality Housing Options

   3. Access to Jobs and Economic Development Opportunities

   4. Access to Educational Opportunities

   5. Access to Health Care, Healthy Foods, and Recreational Facilities