Description: Environmental Justice Communities as identified by the 2020 Virginia EJ Act definitions. Broken into Low Income Communities and Communities of Color per definition.
Name: Communities of Color - Over Statewide Average (37.8%) (2014-2018 ACS)
Display Field: STATE_NAME
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon
Description: This dataset represents the geospatial extent as polygons and the corresponding attribution for census block groups that meet the first half of the definition of Communities of Color according to the Virginia 2020 Environmental Justice Act, or the former part in the excerpt provided below:
“Community of Color” definition: “’Community of color’ means any geographically distinct area where the population of color, expressed as a percentage of the total population of such area, is higher than the population of color in the Commonwealth expressed as a percentage of the total population of the Commonwealth. However, if a community of color is composed primarily of one of the groups listed in the definition of "population of color," the percentage population of such group in the Commonwealth shall be used instead of the percentage population of color in the Commonwealth.
The referenced “population of color” definition is also provided below:
“Population of Color” definition: “’Population of color’ means a population of individuals who identify as belonging to one or more of the following groups: Black, African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, other non-white race, mixed race, Hispanic, Latino, or linguistically isolated.”
Name: Low Income Communities- 30% or More of Population Under HUD 80% AMI and Under Two Times Federal Poverty Level (2011-2018 ACS)
Display Field: geoname
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon
Description: This dataset represents the geospatial extent as polygons and the corresponding attribution for census block groups that meet the definition of low-income communities according to the Virginia 2020 Environmental Justice Act:
“Low-income community” definition: “’Low-income community’ means any census block group in which 30 percent or more of the population is composed of people with low income.”
The referenced “low income” definition is also provided below:
“Low income” definition: “’Low income’ means having an annual household income equal to or less than the greater of (i) an amount equal to 80 percent of the median income of the area in which the household is located, as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and (ii) 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.”