Samir Gambhir

In our latest blog post OBI's Equity Metrics director @SamirGambhir reflects on a recent trip to the Holocaust Museum in Berlin, and the pledge we made as an international community to "Never Again" repeat the horrors of that experience. Why have we failed to uphold that commitment, and what do we need to do to bring our values back into alignment with that pledge, Samir ponders. While there are numerous examples of our failure to prevent mass atrocities and hate, Samir highlights two: the genocide in Gaza, and the religious vioelnce in his native India. "Let us remind ourselves that we are all humans, living on the only livable planet in this endless universe. While we are a tiny spec in the vast universe, we can make a significant difference in humankind, accord respect and dignity to fellow human beings, support humanity, be empathetic to suffering and pain, and celebrate progress, achievements and our sense of global community," Samir writes. Find his piece here: belonging.berkeley.edu/never-again Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of the Othering & Belonging Institute or UC Berkeley, but belong to the author.

We're just over 1 week away from #naed25, happening on Wednesday, April 30. This free, day-long convening will bring together researchers, practitioners, journalists, and activists from across Canada, the United States, and Mexico to explore how data can advance social equity and belonging. Learn more and register at bit.ly/naed25!

Thanks to @inky_pixels for making this photo available on @unsplash 🎁 unsplash.com/photos/happy-n…

@nbcsnl Bring back Taran Killam to play JD Vance for the upcoming season

“Most of these areas were under-invested & had fewer opportunities to break out of the cycle of poverty... This has resulted in black families being pushed out of the city.” -@SamirGambhir interviewed by @rrileycooke for @dailycal. full article: dailycal.org/2021/12/08/ber…

Excellent article by @RegJeffCollins for @ocregister featuring our new Single-Family Zoning in Greater Los Angeles report by @SMenendian, @SamirGambhir, & @pistachih! #OBIRoots 78% of Southern California neighborhoods don’t allow apartments, study finds ocregister.com/2022/03/02/78-…

For a good summary of our findings check out this article in @LAist by @radiowagner laist.com/news/housing-h…

If you live in SoCal and are wondering what the zoning composition of your city looks like, you can find out on our repository page here: belonging.berkeley.edu/greater-la-reg… To pull just one example, see Riverside below, with its 94% single-family zoning displayed in red.

Finally, we identified 13 cities most in need of zoning reform based on several factors, including the percentage of single-family zoning, affordable housing production, proximity to job centers, and community resources. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

Digging deeper, we found children of different races have vastly different rates of upward economic mobility. Their parents' incomes play less a factor of their success than do their race & neighborhoods in which they are raised. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

There is also a correlation between a child's neighborhood zoning and how much money they earn as an adult, and the pattern holds for all racial groups. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

In terms of environmental health, there are also significant disparities between neighborhoods based on zoning, with pollutants and exposure to lead higher in non-single-family neighborhoods. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

Beyond the racial and economic exclusion of single-family-zoning, we also discovered disparities in educational outcomes in terms of math proficiency, high school graduation rates, and college degrees. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

As further evidence of that point, the figure below shows how median home values sharply increase as single-family-only zoning increases. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

We also found that household incomes increase as the percentage of single-family-only zoning rises, making homes more expensive & locking out lower-income people from high-opportunity areas. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

As the percentage of a neighborhood's single-family-only zoning increases, so do its white and Asian populations, while the Latino population (in red below) plummets. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-…

We just released a new study showing that a whopping 78% of residential land in Greater Los Angeles is reserved for exclusionary zoning, effectively barring multifamily housing. belonging.berkeley.edu/single-family-… Some key findings from our report below 👇

My daughter’s song, Heartbeat, is one of the 60 selected artworks for physical exhibition, #MyPandemicStory, at one of the largest museums in North America, @ROMtoronto. Very proud of her! Do plan a visit! Entry is free! Link to song: instagram.com/p/CLsHZg5ihXF/…

Don't miss @SheryllCashin and me discussing her new book: "WHITE SPACE, BLACK HOOD" on Nov. 5 at 2:00 PM PDT virtually or in Banatao Hall at @UCBerkeley! #OBI #Race #Book Join us: bit.ly/sheryll-and-jo…

"The whole nation has become more diverse since 1990, but unfortunately that has not translated toward integration." -@SamirGambhir speaking on @KALW #OBI #Diversity #Integration listen to the interview: bit.ly/36yv2rr