District By District, Maps Trace Neighborhood Opportunity Across the U.S.

Down to the level of individual census tracts, a team of researchers has developed national maps showing where upward mobility is probable, and where it isn't.

2 minute read

October 10, 2018, 9:00 AM PDT

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

South Carolina Opportunity Zones / South Carolina Governor's Office

Hearkening back to demographic researcher Dustin Cable's Racial Dot Map, a team of researchers including Harvard's Raj Chetty have worked with the U.S. Census Bureau to assemble a compressive picture of which neighborhoods tend to foster children who get ahead, and which fail to do so.

The Opportunity Atlas, an interactive mapping tool, allows users to pinpoint specific census districts for comparison with the surrounding area, or zoom upward to see how counties and regions fare. According to reporting by Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui, "for any government program or community grant that targets a specific place, this data proposes a better way to pick those places — one based not on neighborhood poverty levels, but on whether we expect children will escape poverty as adults."

The researchers, who in addition to Chetty include Nathaniel Hendren at Harvard, John N. Friedman at Brown University, and Maggie R. Jones and Sonya R. Porter at the Census Bureau, "believe much of this variation is driven by the neighborhoods themselves, not by differences in what brings people to live in them. The more years children spend in a good neighborhood, the greater the benefits they receive."

The question is whether policymakers, planners, philanthropists, and a whole range of neighborhood stakeholders will be able to use more finely-tuned data on opportunity to change places where "the federal government has spent billions [...] over the years, funneling as much as $500 million into some individual census tracts since 1990."

Monday, October 1, 2018 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view of red brick multi-story power plant building in Pittsburgh, PA.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower

A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

5 hours ago - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cyclist on protected bike lane in middle of street in Washington D.C. with Washington Monument obelisk visible in background.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”

The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

6 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Blue and silver Amtrak train at small station.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train

The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

July 3 - New Orleans City Business