Overview

Welcome! This Interactive Map (beta version) is a compilation of 26 national data sets available at the census tract level.

It was co-created to enable users to explore local, regional and national patterns. Users of the Interactive Map can filter and compare any two datasets simultaneously to identify neighborhoods of particular interest (e.g. communities that are predominantly people of color and facing extreme energy bills). All of the local energy equity data can be viewed by clicking on a particular census tract.

As you explore the map, we would greatly appreciate hearing about your experience:

The Energy Equity Interactive Map& Framework are resources from the Energy Equity Project (EEP), a collaborative initiative housed at University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.

The Energy Equity Framework was co-created by 45 energy equity leaders from across the U.S. who represent a range of disciplines, including grassroots environmental justice advocates, non-profit practitioners, regulators and utility staff.

Workgroup authors and advisors are listed on pp 7-8 of the Framework for Measuring and Advancing Energy Equity report, which is available for download from the Energy Equity Project website.

To co-develop the Interactive Map, EEP partnereted with Earthrise and shift7 (team: Dan Hammer, Susan Alzner, Mason Grimshaw, Megan Smit, Mikel Maron). EEP, Earthrise & shift7 engaged some Workgroup authors on the co-creation of the beta version features of the map. EEP also engage with U of M faculty and graduate students who proposed new energy equity indices using our the EEP datasets.

You can read more about the EEP co-creation process in the Framework for Measuring and Advancing Energy Equity Report report and the Methodology + Data section of this site.

Together, the open-source Interactive Map and Framework serve as a resource to illuminate energy inequities and establish a robust process for reversing them. We hope they are a tool that frontline communities can use to more effectively tell their own stories, influence energy planning and decision-making, and secure equitable benefits from the clean energy transition. We can hope for the day when energy equity is the norm, but until then, the Interactive Map and Framework are powerful tools for accountability and measuring progress.

With trillions of dollars in state and federal funding supporting climate solutions and infrastructure improvements, these resources from the Energy Equity Project are primed for immediate adoption by government agencies, community organizations, regulators and utilities. We hope the interactive map supports new data investigations and a host of equitable policies, programs, and institutional structures. Most importantly, we hope it enables frontline communities to advance their visions of an equitable energy future.