89
odology, as well as to add some new indicators
such as the food insecurity rate, infant birth
weight, the percentage of 3–4 year-olds
enrolled in school, and the percentage of businesses owned by women—all of which are crucial measures for understanding equality of
opportunity across the USA. Overall, annual
calculation of indices found that all US cities
featured in this Index perform poorly on one or
more goals and 60% of the cities studied are
less than half way there, highlighting widespread sustainable development challenges
such as environmental degradation, access to
vital infrastructure, and social disparities,
among others.
The reports are intended to serve as a tool for
US cities to track their progress over time, relative to an international standard of sustainable
development. It is also hoped that the indices will
enable cities to identify peers struggling with
similar challenges and help facilitate a national
dialogue on how to accelerate progress.
7.2.2 Impact and Lessons
Since the publication of the US Cities SDG
Index, there are some discernible lessons, relating to the utility of the index for trends analysis
and political engagement, as well as some limitations, resulting from data availability and the
utility of the data collected for local
application.
7.3
Identifying Aggregate
Trends Across the Country
In the 2017 edition of the US Cities SDG
Index, a few striking results such as higher
incidences of child poverty and acute racial
inequalities across cities were highlighted. In
the 2018 edition, these social inequalities were
examined in more detail to better understand
not only in which cities and MSAs the poorest
and most marginalized live but also how social
inequalities might be deepening deprivations
within cities.
7.3.1 The First Major Finding:
Poverty
Through disaggregation and correlation analysis,
results show child poverty rates in nearly all
MSAs are larger than poverty rates for the rest of
the population (except Provo-Orem, UT). Nine
MSAs have child poverty rates that are more than
50% greater than the overall poverty rate in the
given MSA. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida
(FL), has a child poverty rate 67% greater than
that of the overall poverty rate in that
MSA. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (TX),
has the highest child poverty rate in the country at
44.7%, compared to a whole of population poverty rate of 32.8% for the same region. Early poverty is associated with negative outcomes later in
life. The analysis performed corroborates this, as
child poverty has been found to be correlated
with youth being out of education or employment
across the 100 MSAs in the sample (see Fig. 7.1).
7.3.2 The Second Major Finding:
Racial Inequalities
US cities experience deep racial disparities. In 57
MSAs in the 2018 index sample, the poverty rate
among non-whites is at least twice that of whites,
and in 6 MSAs, it is over 3 times the rate for
whites (see Fig. 7.2). Similarly, non-white unemployment rates are at least 50% greater than that
for whites in 73 MSAs and are twice as large as
that for whites in 34 MSAs (Espey et al. 2018).
These findings serve to demonstrate the multidimensional nature of poverty in US cities and
how different forms of inequality and deprivation
can keep people trapped in cycles of poverty and
poor health. The analysis found correlations
between high poverty levels among non-whites,
infant mortality, and other acute health concerns
such as food insecurity, obesity, and deaths from
heart attack, reinforcing other literature and panel
studies that suggest poverty can affect the entire
life cycle.
The compilation of national indices on the
SDGs, drawing upon federally comparable indicators, has proven exceptionally helpful for
7 Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to the SDG Monitoring Challenge
odology, as well as to add some new indicators
such as the food insecurity rate, infant birth
weight, the percentage of 3–4 year-olds
enrolled in school, and the percentage of businesses owned by women—all of which are crucial measures for understanding equality of
opportunity across the USA. Overall, annual
calculation of indices found that all US cities
featured in this Index perform poorly on one or
more goals and 60% of the cities studied are
less than half way there, highlighting widespread sustainable development challenges
such as environmental degradation, access to
vital infrastructure, and social disparities,
among others.
The reports are intended to serve as a tool for
US cities to track their progress over time, relative to an international standard of sustainable
development. It is also hoped that the indices will
enable cities to identify peers struggling with
similar challenges and help facilitate a national
dialogue on how to accelerate progress.
7.2.2 Impact and Lessons
Since the publication of the US Cities SDG
Index, there are some discernible lessons, relating to the utility of the index for trends analysis
and political engagement, as well as some limitations, resulting from data availability and the
utility of the data collected for local
application.
7.3
Identifying Aggregate
Trends Across the Country
In the 2017 edition of the US Cities SDG
Index, a few striking results such as higher
incidences of child poverty and acute racial
inequalities across cities were highlighted. In
the 2018 edition, these social inequalities were
examined in more detail to better understand
not only in which cities and MSAs the poorest
and most marginalized live but also how social
inequalities might be deepening deprivations
within cities.
7.3.1 The First Major Finding:
Poverty
Through disaggregation and correlation analysis,
results show child poverty rates in nearly all
MSAs are larger than poverty rates for the rest of
the population (except Provo-Orem, UT). Nine
MSAs have child poverty rates that are more than
50% greater than the overall poverty rate in the
given MSA. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida
(FL), has a child poverty rate 67% greater than
that of the overall poverty rate in that
MSA. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (TX),
has the highest child poverty rate in the country at
44.7%, compared to a whole of population poverty rate of 32.8% for the same region. Early poverty is associated with negative outcomes later in
life. The analysis performed corroborates this, as
child poverty has been found to be correlated
with youth being out of education or employment
across the 100 MSAs in the sample (see Fig. 7.1).
7.3.2 The Second Major Finding:
Racial Inequalities
US cities experience deep racial disparities. In 57
MSAs in the 2018 index sample, the poverty rate
among non-whites is at least twice that of whites,
and in 6 MSAs, it is over 3 times the rate for
whites (see Fig. 7.2). Similarly, non-white unemployment rates are at least 50% greater than that
for whites in 73 MSAs and are twice as large as
that for whites in 34 MSAs (Espey et al. 2018).
These findings serve to demonstrate the multidimensional nature of poverty in US cities and
how different forms of inequality and deprivation
can keep people trapped in cycles of poverty and
poor health. The analysis found correlations
between high poverty levels among non-whites,
infant mortality, and other acute health concerns
such as food insecurity, obesity, and deaths from
heart attack, reinforcing other literature and panel
studies that suggest poverty can affect the entire
life cycle.
The compilation of national indices on the
SDGs, drawing upon federally comparable indicators, has proven exceptionally helpful for
7 Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to the SDG Monitoring Challenge