This webmap is intended to be a resource for DVRPC staff, partner agencies, and residents of the nine-county Greater Philadelphia region.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act states that "no person in the United States, shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Environmental Justice is defined by the federal government as, "identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States."
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Executive Order on Environmental Justice (#12898), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are directed to create a method for ensuring that equity issues are investigated and evaluated in transportation decision-making. There is additional guidance from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Environmental Justice recommendations (2017), FHWA’s Title VI and Additional Nondiscrimination requirements (2017), Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Environmental Justice policy guidance (2012), and FTA’s Title VI requirements and guidelines (2012). The Indicators of Potential Disadvantage (IPD) analysis is used throughout DVRPC to demonstrate compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and support the fair treatment of population groups identified through Environmental Justice.
If you have feedback on DVRPC's Equity Analysis Tool, please click the survey button in the upper right corner of this window. We appreciate your help.
The IPD analysis identifies populations of interest under Title VI and EJ using U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) 2018-2022 five-year estimates data and maps these populations in each of the Census tracts in the region via GIS. Each population group is an “indicator” in the analysis and includes the following:
Use this resource as a foundational start to identify populations for your equity analyses. For more guidance on how to conduct an equity analysis using this data, please see Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Environmental Justice recommendations (2017), FHWA’s Title VI and Additional Nondiscrimination requirements (2017), Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Environmental Justice policy guidance (2012), and FTA’s Title VI requirements and guidelines (2012).
For additional information on the Commission’s Title VI and EJ activities, visit DVRPC’s website: Title VI and Environmental Justice
This webpage is a public resource using ACS data. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) makes no warranty, representation, or guarantee as to the content, sequence, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any of the spatial data or database information provided herein. DVRPC and partner state, local, and other agencies shall assume no liability for errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information provided regardless of how caused; or any decision made or action taken or not taken by any person relying on any information or data furnished within.
DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, and related nondiscrimination statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. DVRPC's website, www.dvrpc.org , may be translated into multiple languages. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages and formats, if requested. DVRPC public meetings are always held in ADA-accessible facilities, and in transit-accessible locations when possible.
Auxiliary services can be provided to individuals who submit a request at least seven days prior to a public meeting. Requests will be accommodated to the greatest extent possible. Any person who believes they have been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice by DVRPC under Title VI has a right to file a formal complaint. Any such complaint may be in writing and filed with DVRPC's Title VI Compliance Manager and/or the appropriate state or federal agency within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory occurrence.
Shoshana Akins
Senior Public Participation Planner
Office of Communications and Engagement
Phone: 215-238-2817
Email: sakins@dvrpc.org
For more information on DVRPC's Title VI program or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form please do one of the following:
Visit: www.dvrpc.org/GetInvolved/TitleVI
Call: (215) 592-1800
Email: public_affairs@dvrpc.org
The IPD analysis methodology generates an “IPD score”, which is used to meet the nondiscrimination requirements and recommendations of Title VI and EJ for DVRPC’s plans, programs, and decision-making processes.
The score calculation is determined by standard deviations relative to an indicator’s regional average. This score classifies the concentration of the populations of interest under Title VI and EJ present in every census tract in the region. These population groups are represented in the nine indicators in the IPD analysis.
The data for each of the indicators in the IPD analysis are split five bins: well below average (score of 0); below average (score of 1); average (score of 2); above average (score of 3); and well above average (score of 4). See Figure 1 below. A summary score of all nine indicators for each Census tract (ranging from 0-36) is used to show regional concentrations of populations of interest under Title VI and EJ.
Bin 2 for each indicator contains census tracts at or near (within a half standard deviation from) the regional average (mean) for that indicator. Bins 4, 3, 1, and 0 are then built out from the regional average; Bins 1 and 3 go another full standard deviation out from bin 2, and bins 0 and 4 contain any remaining tracts further out from 1 or 3, respectively. In cases where the regional average is so low that bin 1 would contain Census tracts with 0% of an indicator’s designated population, the tract with estimates of zero are manually assigned to bin 0, instead of bin 1.
The design of this methodology is supported by both FHWA’s and FTA’s Title VI recommendations to simply identify the protected classes using demographic data from the US Census Bureau as the first step in conducting equity analyses. Additionally, FTA’s EJ guidance cautions recipients of federal funds to not be too reliant on population thresholds to determine the impact of a program, plan, or policy to a population group, but rather design a meaningful measure to identify the presence of all protected and considered population groups and then calculate the possibility of discrimination or disproportionately high and adverse effect on these populations.
For further information on DVRPC's data processing visit : DVRPC's IPD data processing script on GitHub
The first step in conducting an equity analysis is identifying the protected classes and population groups of interest using demographic data from the US Census Bureau. These population groups are represented by the nine indicators in the IPD analysis: youth, older adults, female, racial minority, ethnic minority, foreign-born, limited English proficiency, disabled, and low-income. The concentrations of these populations are mapped for each Census tract in the region.
Next, the IPD score for each tract is calculated for use in DVRPC’s policies, programs, and processes. The IPD score calculation is determined by standard deviations relative to an indicator’s regional average. This score classifies the concentration of the population groups of interest on a scale from “well below average” to “well above average” in every census tract in the region.
For more information, see the Methodology section under “Info & Data” tab above.
Indicators of Potential Disadvantage (IPD) 
Youth 
Older Adults 
Female 
Racial Minority 
Ethnic Minority 
Foreign-Born 
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) 
Disabled 
Low Income