Measuring the Inequity of Urban Public Services Methodological Discussion With Applications*

This article attempts to extend the analysis of urban service delivery beyond equality of units of service input to measurement of the equity of both inputs and outputs (impact). The author develops an original technique for measuring and indexing service equity. It is applied to police services in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The findings are generally consistent with other recent research around the nation in that only modest inequities in service inputs and outputs are found and little evidence of systematic discrimination toward the poor and racial minorities is found.