Solana Beach

The City of Solana Beach is a community with a wealth of resources, having zero census tracts that qualify as racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty under either HUD definition. The other side of that same coin is either a) the city is an egalitarian utopia free of the national and international forces of segregation, racism, and capitalism, or b) the city is an exclusive enclave of wealthy white people. Unfortunately, that latter is true, as it is in many areas of California and most coastal areas of California. In the beginning of its AFFH chapter, the city reported that, according to its Regional Opportunity Index score, three out of its four census tracts were classified as highest opportunity and the remaining census tract was classified as high opportunity, and, therefore, “the analysis indicates that access to opportunity is not a substantial issue within Solana Beach.” This is a misguided interpretation.

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