Cy-fair Edition | February 2021

Economic health means physical health Rated based on various factors, including poverty, lack of access to transportation and crowded housing Social vulnerability

Ocials involved in the launch of the Harris County Department of Equity and Economic Opportunity said an unhealthy economy can lead to a decline in physical health within a community.

SOURCE: HARRIS CARES 2020COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Average life expectancy

The average year at which people are expected to live within each U.S. Census Bureau tract in Harris County

Least vulnerable

Most vulnerable

Least healthy

Most healthy

0-0.25

0.25-0.5

0.5-0.75

0.75-0.99

0-73

73-76

76-78.2

78.2-80.3

80.3-83.1

83.1-89.1

CYFAIR AREA

249

290

99 TOLL

290

610

99 TOLL

610

255

288

“BETTER JOBS HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. ALL OF THESE THINGS THEN ALIGN AND POINT TOWARDS IMPROVED HEALTH AND LIFE EXPECTANCY.” HEIDI MCPHERSON, SENIOR COMMUNITY HEALTH DIRECTOR, AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION IN HOUSTON

“With COVID, communities of color have been hit hard,” she said. “We want to make sure these communities are prospects for upward mobility, for some good jobs and jobs that might have training programs.” An estimated 84 disadvantaged business enterprises, 172 minority business enterprises and 94 women business enterprises are in operation across the seven ZIP codes that make up the Cy-Fair area: 77040, 77064, 77065, 77070, 77095, 77429 and 77433. The data, which comes from a direc- tory maintained by the city of Hous- ton, includes rms that could stand to benet from the new county initiative, including construction, engineering and consulting. The woman-owned trac and transportation engineering rm Ste- vens Technical is among them. Head- quartered on FM 529, it was founded in 2010 by Roma and Charles Stevens. Charles, who serves as principal and CEO, said the rm has met with Ram- sey, who encouraged them to have all their paperwork in order. “I think it will be a positive for my engineering rm,” he said. “We’re excited about it.” Stevens Technical has worked with Harris County on contracts in the past,

“Why should the roads in one area be a lot worse than the roads in other areas?” he said. “Here’s the answer: It’s a choice. Somebody made the choice that the streets in one neighborhood are worse than the streets in another, and we can do better than that.” Entrenched discrimination In 2018, the Harris County Com- missioners Court approved a study into disparities in the way the county selects rms to contract with on proj- ects. Conducted by the consulting rm Colette Holt & Associates, the study showed the county could be functioning as a passive participant in marketplace discrimination. The study examined 478 contracts worth about $1.26 billion, includ- ing 1,433 subcontracts worth about $280.49 million approved by the county between the 2015-16 scal year and the rst quarter of 2019. Although roughly 71.6% of business enterprises in the market for county contracts are “non-M/WBEs”—a term that refers to any business that is not owned by a minority or woman—about 90.9% of the county’s contracting dollars went

to those rms. Only 9.1% of county dollars went to minority and women businesses enterprises, including only 0.5% to Black-owned businesses, the study found. The county’s dealings with non-M/WBEs yielded a disparity ratio—which measures the use of businesses divided by their availabil- ity—of 32%, according to the study. Any ratio below 80% can be evidence of discrimination, lead researcher Colette Holt said. “A very lower ratio suggests entrenched discriminatory barriers,” Holt said in an October presentation. “Thirty-two percent is very, very low.” One of the stakeholders to oer input during the planning process was the Texas Gulf Coast AFLCIO. Linda Morales, an organizing coor- dinator with the group, said she was excited to see equity placed at the center of economic development for labor, which she said would ideally connect vulnerable groups to jobs that oer livable wages and growth opportunities. The COVID-19 pan- demic made the disparities within the county evenmore acute, she said.

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that help business owners, individual workers and job seekers, ocials said. In its rst year, the focus will fall on the county’s own contracting process. “Sometimes it feels the county is more passive than proactive,” Legette said. “We’re hoping to see a more proactive engagement and innova- tive policies and programs to address economic disparities and cure historic disinvestment.” Two additional studies are also underway this year—one in transpor- tation and one in public health—that are meant to further guide how equity can be incorporated into those areas. The public health studywill ultimately yield a strategic plan for the county for how it can better bring health care to underserved communities. The transportation study, slated to be released this summer, is meant to ensure communities are not over- looked for mobility investments. Tom Ramsey, who took over as Precinct 3 commissioner in January after being elected in November, said the county can do better than it has in the past.

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