New publications

Economic Inclusion and Climate Equity

 

Recent reports (from 2020 to present)

A Call to Invest in Community Power: Lessons from 10 Years of California Climate Investments for the State and the Nation

Recent Reports TitleWinter 2024

By the USC Equity Research Institute and The Greenlining Institute

The California Climate Investments (CCI) are turning 10. After a decade of investments and nearly $10 billion implemented throughout the state, is CCI delivering on its promise? Does it drive benefits to environmental justice communities that are the most vulnerable to pollution, have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change, and the least political power to attract these dollars? Do these communities feel the impact of these dollars? In this report, we strive to answer these questions, particularly in light of unprecedented federal funding for climate investments.

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The Uneven Geography of Opportunity for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Metro America

Map from National Equity Atlas report, The Uneven Geography of Opportunity for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Metro AmericaApril 27, 2023
By Ryan Fukumori, Edward-Michael Muña, Vanessa Garcia, and Jennifer Tran

In May 2022, the National Equity Atlas team released The Shrinking Geography of Opportunity in Metro America, a report that explored the landscape of housing affordability in the United States by race. The data and analysis illustrated the growing gap in access to affordable housing and opportunity-rich neighborhoods for working-class, Black, and Latinx renters from 2013 to 2019. Explore the data dashboard.

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Up in the Air: Revisiting Equity Dimensions of California’s Cap-and-Trade System

February 1, 2022

By Manuel Pastor, Michael Ash, Lara Cushing, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Edward-Michael Muna, and James Sadd

California’s cap-and-trade program is a key strategy for achieving reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under AB32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act. While there are many equity considerations with regard to cap-and-trade, including the ways in which funds collected and disbursed, one point of controversy between proponents and critics of cap-and trade systems is whether they can ameliorate or exacerbate disparities in exposure to co-pollutants.

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Towards a Just and Equitable Central Coast

December 2021

The Fund for Santa Barbara, UCSB Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy, and the USC Equity Research Institute

The Fund for Santa Barbara, in partnership with the UCSB Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy, and the USC Equity Research Institute launched the first Central Coast Regional Equity Study over the course of 2020-21. The goal of this research project is to deepen our understanding of regional disparities, facilitate a region-wide conversation, and support the planning and implementation of initiatives focused on advancing social, health, environmental, and economic equity. Covering Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the study is designed to yield a periodically updated equity database, of use for teaching, research, policy, and action. The initial data compilation component of this two-county regional project was initiated in the summer of 2020.

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Women Putting in Work: The Economic Self-Determination of Women and Girls in Post-COVID Los Angeles County

Summer 2021

By USC Equity Research Institute

Women Putting in Work creates a baseline of understanding of women in LA County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women and girls have always been in a more precarious position, especially if they are women of color, immigrants, gender non-conforming, or hold other marginalized identities. This report both identifies the systemic inequities holding women back, in conversation with their resilience. Ultimately, it offers a set of recommendations for how to change policy so that women are not required to be resilient – so that they live in a world that sees them and supports them.

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Just Transition/Transition to Justice: Power, Policy and Possibilities

By J. Mijin Cha, Manuel Pastor, Cynthia Moreno, and Matt Phillips

June 2021

This report looks at this process of power building for just transition in four states: California, Kentucky, Louisiana, and New York. We combine an analysis of the pillars of just transition – strong governmental support, dedicated funding streams, diverse coalitions, and economic diversification – with an analysis of how to change power at a state level that focuses on the conditions that impact possibilities, the community-level capabilities that facilitate effective voice, and the arenas in which power is contested. Ultimately, the fight for a just transition is a fight for justice. And, while we know it will be hard and long, the stories we heard showed how advocates and organizers, often in the face of great odds, come together and force the change that makes people’s lives better.

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National Equity Atlas

Advancing Workforce Equity: A Blueprint for Regional Action in Five U.S. Cities

January 26, 2021

As our nation faces overlapping and interconnected public health, economic, and racial justice crises, it is more important than ever that we redesign workforce strategies for a more resilient and inclusive economy. In partnership with Burning Glass Technologies, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and local leaders, and with support from JPMorgan Chase, we released five reports on the state and future of workforce equity in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle.

The reports are part of the Advancing Workforce Equity project. We worked closely with local leaders to analyze tailored data, identify the key drivers of inequity, and prioritize actionable strategies to advance equity through their policy efforts, programs, and investments. This series of reports will serve as the basis for long-term equity-focused efforts.

Informed by our data analysis, local collaboratives developed tailored, ground-up strategies to advance workforce equity in their regions by dismantling barriers to entry and advancement in the labor market, reducing occupational segregation, building worker power, and improving job quality for all.

Race and The Work of the Future: Advancing Workforce Equity in the United States

November 2020

By Abbie Langston, Justin Scoggins, and Matthew Walsh

PolicyLink, USC Equity Research Institute, Burning Glass Technologies, and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, massive job losses, rapidly evolving business models, and accelerating technological change are dramatically reshaping the US economy. This report, produced in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, provides a comprehensive analysis of long-standing racial gaps in labor market outcomes, the economic impacts of COVID-19, and the racial equity implications of automation. It provides an in-depth analysis of disaggregated equity indicators and labor market dynamics, finding that White workers are 50 percent more likely than workers of color to hold good jobs and that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the US economy by $2.3 trillion a year. In addition to detailed data analysis on the state of racial inequities in jobs and opportunity, the report offers a bold framework for action to advance workforce equity, where racial income gaps have been eliminated, all jobs are good jobs, and everyone who wants to work has access to family-supporting employment.

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Report cover featuring a Black man wearing a maskNo Going Back: Together for an Equitable and Inclusive Los Angeles

September 2020

By the USC Equity Research Institute, Committee for Greater LA,  and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Prior to the stay-at-home public health directive, civic boosters promoted Los Angeles as a metropolis that was confronting its problems and making progress. Local and state governments enjoyed budget surpluses, unprecedented investments were committed by Angelenos to respond to homelessness, and access to health care and high school graduation rates were at historically high levels, while unemployment and crime rates were at celebrated lows. But behind this glossy view of LA, a closer look at the data would have revealed a very different reality, where decades of structural and systemic racism resulted in significant social, economic, and racial inequality. Just a few months into a global pandemic, the cracks in the broken systems have become gaping holes, widening each day. Today, the calls for systemic change are loud, consequential and urgent.

Early in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ten foundations wisely convened a diverse group of community, civic, non-profit, labor and business leaders to identify the systemic issues emerging from the crisis and to offer up a blueprint for building a more equitable and inclusive LA. Their past philanthropic work had made it clear that Los Angeles was becoming increasingly inequitable, and they feared the acceleration of disparate impact centered on income and race. The Committee for Greater LA was formed, and for the past five months, it has steered the analytical work completed by two of LA’s leading institutions, UCLA and USC, supported by a team of consultants. The report that follows reflects our discourse, analysis and discovery.

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PERE Regional Equity reports (2009 to 2019)

From 2008 to 2019, ERI published economic inclusion reports under our previous name, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE). These regional equity-focused publications are listed below in reverse chronological order.

 

report image of diverse group of kids in front of patchAn Equity Profile of Pinellas County

April 17, 2019

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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An Equity Profile of Orange County

March 26, 2019

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image featuring diverse group of adults and childrenEquitable Growth Profile of the City of Long Beach

February 4, 2019

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

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Rent Matters: What are the Impacts of Rent Stabilization Measures?

October 10, 2018

By Manuel Pastor, Vanessa Carter, and Maya Abood

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Freeing Our Futures: How Data Can Inform New Economic Strategies for Boys and Men of Color

June 2018

By Alejandro Sanchez-Lopez, Robert Chlala, Pamela Stephens, and Manuel Pastor

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report image featuring two photos Albuquerque geography and downtownAn Equity Profile of Albuquerque

June 19, 2018

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image of the 2018 release featuring two photos of Omaha-Council Bluffs skyline and geographyEquitable Growth Profile of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Region

June 6, 2018

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Boosting Employment Equity to Achieve Shared Prosperity in Five Southern States

June 2018

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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(TCE) A Beloved Community: Promoting the Healing, Well-being, and Leadership Capacities of Boys and Young Men of Color

April 2018

By Veronica Terriquez PhD and Uriel Serrano, University of California Santa Cruz

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Report cover of aerial view of the Bay Area from a mountain topSolving the Housing Crisis Is Key to Inclusive Prosperity in the Bay Area

April 10, 2018

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Measures Matter: Equitable Implementation of Los Angeles County Measures M & A

January 2018

Authors: Vanessa Carter, Manuel Pastor, Madeline Wander

Contributors: Robert Chlala, Natalie Hernandez, Edward Muna

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Report cover featuring diverse students in a classroomBridging the Racial Generation Gap Is Key to America’s Economic Future

September 5, 2017

By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, and Sarah Treuhaft
PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image featuring two photos of Los Angeles skyline at night and geographyAn Equity Profile of the Los Angeles Region

March 2017

By the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and PolicyLink

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report image with graphic designs of the connection webs of peopleDiversity and Inclusion for the 21st Century Economy: An Imperative for Chambers of Commerce

February 2017

By Chris Benner of the Everett Program at UCSC and Manuel Pastor of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at USC

In collaboration with the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE)

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Report cover of diverse crowd of people protesting for housing affordability alongside photo of USC event signersPlanning, Power, and Possibilities: Shaping Equitable Development in South Central L.A.

September 16, 2015

By Manuel Pastor, Vanessa Carter, Alejandro Sanchez-Lopez, and Robert Chlala

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Fact Sheets: Full Employment for All – The Social and Economic Benefits of Race and Gender Equity in Employment

August 13, 2015

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Report cover featuring diverse people in a lab, a light-rail system, and people of color presenting about affordable housingLinking Innovation With Inclusion: Demography, Equity, and the Future of San Diego

July 29, 2015

By Manuel Pastor, Alejandro-Sanchez Lopez, and Jennifer Ito

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Report cover featuring images of diverse students and Fairfax County highlighted on the mapEquitable Growth Profile for Fairfax County, VA

June 18, 2015

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Report image featuring diverse students in a classroom and the region highlighted on a mapEquitable Growth Profile of the San Francisco Bay Area Region

April 22, 2015

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Equitable Growth Profile of the Research Triangle Region

March 31, 2015

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Report cover featuring body of water in Cape Fear and the region highlighted on a mapEquitable Growth Profile of the Cape Fear Region

February 11, 2015

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Report image with collage of animals and scenery in the shape of the region outline and the region highlighted on a mapEquitable Growth Profile of the Piedmont Triad Region

December 4, 2014

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image of 2014 cover featuring two photos of a building in downtown and the geography of the areaEquitable Growth Profile of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Region

December 2, 2014

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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The Equity Solution: Racial Inclusion is Key to Growing a Strong New Economy

October 22, 2014

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image featuring two photos of Houston-Galveston skyline and geographyAn Equity Profile of the Houston-Galveston Region

October 14, 2014

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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report image featuring two photos of Florida geography and skylineAn Equity Profile of the Southeast Florida Region

June 11, 2014

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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Sharing Solar’s Promise: Harnessing LA’s FiT to Create Jobs and Build Social Equity

April 2014

By USC PERE and UCLA Luskin Center
conducted on behalf of the Los Angeles Business Council Institute

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Minnesota’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model

March 26, 2014

By Jennifer Tran (USC PERE) and Sarah Treuhaft (PolicyLink)

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An Agenda for Equity: A Framework for Building a Just Transportation System in Los Angeles County

November 2013

By Vanessa Carter, Manuel Pastor, and Madeline Wander

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Equity Indicators for a Greater San Diego: Focus on Demography, Economy, and Civic Health

October 2013

By Manuel Pastor, Jennifer Ito, Mirabai Auer, Jared Sanchez, and Justin Scoggins

Prepared for The San Diego Foundation’s Center for Civic Engagement

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Koreatown: A Contested Community at a Crossroads

April 2012

By Jared Sanchez (USC PERE), Mirabai Auer (USC PERE), Veronica Terriquez (USC), and Mi Young Kim (KIWA)

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Toward 2050 in California: A Roundtable Report on Multiracial Collaboration in Los Angeles

March 2012

The Center for American Progress, PolicyLink, and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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California’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model

March 2012

By PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE)

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A Roadmap to Green Manufacturing in Los Angeles: Policies, Planning, and Partnerships for Quality Jobs

January 2012

Research Team: By the USC Program for Environmental & Regional Equity (PERE), UCLA Department of Urban Planning, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and Green for All

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Empowering LA’s Solar Workforce: New Policies that Deliver Investments and Jobs

November 2011

By JR DeShazo, UCLA Luskin Center; Manuel Pastor, USC PERE; and Mirabai Auer, USC PERE

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Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America’s Metropolitan Regions

Chris Benner
Associate Professor, Community and Regional Development
Executive Committee, Center for Regional Change
University of California, Davis

Manuel Pastor Jr.
Professor, American Studies & Ethnicity and
Director, Program for Environmental and Regional Equity
University of Southern California

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America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model

November 2011

By Sarah Treuhaft (PolicyLink), Angela Glover Blackwell (PolicyLink), and Manuel Pastor (USC PERE)

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Justice in California

May 2011

By The Rosenberg Foundation

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Making a Market: Multifamily Rooftop Solar and Social Equity in Los Angeles

April 2011

By JR DeShazo, Director, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation; Manuel Pastor, Director, USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (USC PERE); Mirabai Auer, USC PERE; Vanessa Carter, USC PERE; Nicholas Vartanian, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

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Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future

June 2010

By Manuel Pastor, Angela Glover Blackwell, and Stewart Kwoh

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Places, Spaces, and People: How the Urban Environment Impacts Health in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles

2010

By Alliance for a Better Community, with research support by USC PERE

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Banking on L.A.

March 2009

By Manuel Pastor

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State of the religion

State of the Region: Growth, Equity, and Inclusion in the Bay Area

December 2008

By Manuel Pastor, Rhonda Ortiz, Jennifer Tran, Justin Scoggins, and Vanessa Carter

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PERE Environmental Justice reports (2009-2019)

From 2008 to 2019, ERI published climate equity reports under our previous name, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE). These environmental justice-focused publications are listed below in reverse chronological order.

 

A Roadmap to an Equitable Low-Carbon Future: Four Pillars for a Just Transition

April 2019

By J. Mijin Cha

With: Manuel Pastor, Madeline Wander, James Sadd, and Rachel Morello-Frosch

Prepared for the Climate Equity Network

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report image the climate brief featuring two images of families at a park and emissions from a facilityA Preliminary Environmental Equity Assessment of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program

September 2016

By Lara J. Cushing, Madeline Wander, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Manuel Pastor, Allen Zhu, and James Sadd

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report image featuring protestors holding signs saying "Good Jobs & Clean Air" on them in front of an active facilityAdvancing Equity in California Climate Policy: A New Social Contract for Low-Carbon Transition

September 2016

By Carol Zabin, Abigail Martin, and Rachel Morello-Frosch (University of California, Berkeley); Manuel Pastor (University of Southern California); and Jim Sadd (Occidental College)

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The Haves, the Have-Nots, and the Health of Everyone: The Relationship Between Social Inequality and Environmental Quality

March 2015

By Lara Cushing, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Madeline Wander, and Manuel Pastor

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Sharing Solar’s Promise: Harnessing LA’s FiT to Create Jobs and Build Social Equity

April 2014

A joint project of USC PERE and the UCLA Luskin Center study conducted on behalf of the Los Angeles Business Council Institute

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ground truth

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Ground-Truth: Methods to Advance Environmental Justice and Researcher-Community Partnerships

December 2013

By James Sadd, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Manuel Pastor, Martha Matsuoka, Michele Prichard, and Vanessa Carter

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Screening for Justice: Proactive Spatial Approaches to Environmental Disparities

August 2013

By Manuel Pastor, Rachel Morello-Frosch, and James Sadd

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Equity Issue Brief – Advancing Environmental Justice Through Sustainability Planning

December 2012

By Manuel Pastor, Madeline Wander, and Mirabai Auer

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Facing the Climate Gap: How Environmental Justice Communities are Leading the Way to a More Sustainable and Equitable California

October 2012

By Ellen Kersten, UC Berkeley; Rachel Morello-Frosch, UC Berkeley; Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California; and Marlene Ramos, Columbia University

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Near-roadway pollution and childhood asthma: Implications for developing ‘win-win’ compact urban development and clean vehicle strategies

September 2012

Environmental Health Perspectives
By Laura Perez, Fred Lurmann, John Wilson, Manuel Pastor, Sylvia J. Brandt, Nino Künzli, and Rob McConnell

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Empowering LA’s Solar Workforce: New Policies that Deliver Investments and Jobs

November 2011

By JR DeShazo, UCLA Luskin Center; Manuel Pastor, USC PERE; and Mirabai Auer, USC PERE

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Hidden Hazards: A Call to Action for Healthy, Livable Communities

December 2010

By the Los Angeles Collaborative for Environmental Health and Justice

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Minding the climate gap

Minding the Climate Gap: What’s at Stake if California’s Climate Law isn’t Done Right and Right Away

April 2010

By Manuel Pastor, Rachel Morello-Frosch, James Sadd, and Justin Scoggins

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The climate gap

The Climate Gap: Inequalities in How Climate Change Hurts Americans & How to Close the Gap

May 2009

By Rachel Morello Frosch, Manuel Pastor, Jim Sadd, and Seth Shonkoff

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Justice in the air

Justice in the Air: Tracking Toxic Pollution from America’s Industries and Companies to Our States, Cities, and Neighborhoods

April 2009

By Michael Ash, James K. Boyce, Grace Chang, Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, and Jennifer Tran[Ash, Boyce, and Chang are from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Pastor, Scoggins, and Tran are from the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at the University of Southern California]

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