Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by millions of Americans in accessing healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods. However, the ability for all Americans to afford to live, work, play in, and benefit from these neighborhoods, also known as Communities of Opportunity, has been in crisis for decades. Whether in urban, suburban or rural markets, demand for walkable and resilient communities with affordable housing and transportation options, great amenities, and a sense of place continues to outstrip supply. Despite broad recognition of the enormous economic and environmental benefits of walkable communities, particularly transit-oriented development (TOD), communities face many federal, state, and local barriers to meeting this demand. 

To help communities meet the pent-up demand for affordable housing and businesses in walkable, resilient communities, and to accelerate an equitable economic recovery, the Administration should establish a national equitable transit-oriented development policy. The policy should promote and coordinate federal investments and action to support equitable transit-oriented development and community revitalization projects that lead to more mixed-income housing, new revenue streams for budget-constrained public transportation agencies, climate change mitigation and a stronger and sustainable post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Summary

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to make decisions about human welfare. Automated decision systems (ADS) administer U.S. social benefits programs—such as unemployment and disability benefits—across local, state, and Federal governments. While ADS have the potential to enable large gains in efficiency, they also run a high risk of reinforcing the class- and race-based inequities of the status quo. Additionally, the use of these systems is not transparent, often leaving individuals with no meaningful recourse after a decision has been made. Individuals may not even know that ADS played a role in the decision-making process.

The Federal Government should take immediate action to promote the transparency and accountability of automated decision systems. Agencies must build internal technical capacity as well as data cultures centered around transparency, accountability, and fairness. The White House should require that agencies using ADS undertake a notice-and-comment process to disclose information about these systems to the public. Finally, in the long-term, Congress must pass comprehensive legislation to implement a single, national standard regulating the use of ADS across sectors and use cases.