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Ben Warner's Blog
Information Updates
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Here's a couple of updates from stuff we've talked about earlier: 1. PolicyMap ( www.policymap.com) has just added new data sets: - Presidential Campaign Contributions as of June 20, 2008 - 4th Quarter 2007 Home Sale Statistics - Fair Market Rents (FMR) for 2008 by bedroom size: efficiencies, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, and 4 bedroom units - Area Median Incomes (AMI) for 2008 by family size (1 through 8 person families). Data includes 30%, 50% and 80% of AMI calculations 2. The Housing+Transportation Affordability Index web training session is tomorrow. Here's what you need to know to join in:
The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index: A New Way of Defining Affordability
Thursday, July 31 at 2:00 p.m. ET
The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, developed by CNT and collaborative partner, the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), is an innovative tool that measures the true affordability of housing by including the cost of transportation associated with location. Planners, lenders, and most consumers traditionally measure housing affordability as 30 percent or less of income. The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, in contrast, takes into account not just the cost of housing, but also the intrinsic value of place, as quantified through transportation expenses.
The latest release of the H + T Index, a project of the Brookings Institution's Urban Markets Initiative, includes an interactive mapping site which provides housing and transportation costs at the neighborhood level for 52 metropolitan areas. Additionally, other key characteristics of neighborhoods are presented, including average VMT (vehicle miles traveled), auto ownership rates, employment density, and transit ridership. Recognizing the relationship between urban form, housing site selection, and transportation costs and integrating this way of thinking into the choices and decisions made by home buyers, renters, urban and transportation planners and developers are key factors in creating and establishing true affodability in housing choices.
KnowledgePlex Expert Chats are free to attend and use Microsoft's Live Meeting Software, a small and free program you must install beforehand.
For more information or to join this Expert Chat, click here.
Try the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index website at http://htaindex.cnt.org.
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Rochester Launches Community Indicators Project
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From the Rochester Area Community Foundation comes this report of a new initiative I thought readers might be interested in: Community Matters - Joined Forces
The Community Foundation and United Way prepare to launch a community indicators program for greater Rochester.
A new method of problem solving and decision making that allows for valuable input from the entire community will soon be inplace in greater Rochester. A community indicators program developed jointly by Rochester Area Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Rochester is currently in the planning phase. The initiative is expected to officially launch in the fall.
Community indicators are systematic measures of the overall health and well-being of a community, presented in a way that focuses community attention on critical needs and moves the discussion of solutions from general opinions to fact-based actions. The ultimate goal is a more efficient and effective response to our community’s problems.
As a first step, existing data is being examined in twelve critical categories: financial well-being; children and youth; education; the economy; community engagement; community safety; health; environment; arts and culture; housing; transportation; and technology. The target region includes Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
Recently, the community indicators program has been given the name ACT Rochester, which stands for Achieving Community Targets. The new name conveys the sense that data and information must be collected and turned into community action.
More than 100 community organizations and agencies are now engaged in a series of community consultations designed to provide input on the selection of measures as well as the overall program. Eventually, active community forums and debates will be encouraged to address the implications of the data. A website will also be developed to highlight the data and offer additional opportunities for community participation.
The Center for Governmental Research has been hired to advise on data elements, and Logical Solutions has been retained to design and launch the project’s new website.
Planning for this ambitious program has been guided by a joint Community Foundation-United Way task force under the leadership of Margaret Sánchez, immediate past chair of the Community Foundation’s board of directors. Ed Doherty, vice president of community programs for the Community Foundation, and Dawn Borgeest, senior vice president and chief corporate affairs officer for United Way, are charged with moving the project forward during its development over the next several months.
Both the Community Foundation and United Way have pledged equal, long-term support to ACT Rochester. Leaders of the two organizations hope their partnership will provide not only a vehicle for enhanced service to the community, but also an example for other community collaborations.
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Call for Papers: Neighborhood Renewal
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Invitation received via NAPC (National Association of Planning Councils) -- I think if you ask nicely they'll let you subscribe. I thought both the conference and the call for papers might be of interest to some of the readers here: Neighbourhood – The International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal
http://www.ijnr.co.uk/
Annual International Neighbourhood Renewal Conference / Annual International Neighbourhood Renewal Awards London Nov 2009 – Free Delegate / Display Space Offer I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the development of the International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal which will promote good practice in this field of public policy. The first edition of the Journal will be published on the 1st September 2008 and the first year of Journals will contain a range of informative articles from around the world. If you would like to subscribe now to the Journal, then please visit the website. Alternatively Stuart from my office will be in touch with you shortly to discuss this matter in more detail, In summary subscription fees are as follows per annum:
(a) £149 per annum for a quarterly hard copy, free electronic access for all in the team and 50% off other conferences organised by Holden Publishing. This rate also qualifies you for a free display space / free delegate pass at the Inaugural Annual Conference of the International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal / Annual International Neighbourhood Renewal Awards at the Central Hall Westminster on the 19th and 20th November 2009 if you subscribe before 4th August 2008.
(b) £49 per annum for electronic access and 10% off other conferences organised by Holden Publishing.
If you would like to submit a paper for future inclusion in the Journal then please follow the link http://www.ijnr.co.uk/call_for_papers.html and submit a paper at any time. I look forward to welcoming you as a subscriber to ‘Neighbourhood’ or as one of our contributors.
With kindest regards,
Ray.
Ray Holden
Director of Development
Holden Publishing
UK Office
Horton House
Exchange Flags
Floor Five
Liverpool
L2 3PF
UNITED KINGDOM
Phone: +44 (0)845 6025280
Fax: +44 (0)151 2445401
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Un-Missable Data Displays Part Two: Noise Pollution
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First it was air quality indicators on balloons. Now it's noise pollution on billboards. Data you can't avoid seeing. The Noise Awareness Blog is highlighting an advertisement campaign in Europe (for a quiet washing machine, I think). The campaign has put up giant billboards that measure the decibel levels in the street and display current decibels in an LED display. Like this:  From the blog:
Also in London AEG-Electrolux has erected a giant poster to monitor the noise level ‘live, as it happens’ on a busy road: Old Street Foundry in Shoreditch.The poster is sited above a local night club and on a main route to local schools and local people have already started to take an interest - instead of just walking past the poster they are stopping and looking for a while before walking on. Local school kids are taking it a step further and are deliberately shouting at the sign in unison in order to make the numbers change. The Manager of the night club is finding the poster helpful too – he taking photos of the sign in the early hours of the morning to show the local council that he is not making too much noise!
(Hat tip: information aesthetics)
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Health Indicator Trendlines
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From XKCD via the Bacon Salt Blog: 
OK, so I like the idea of telling a story with a graph. And I like bacon. And I thought this was funny. And I am trying to justify putting this picture on a community indicators blog. Any help here?
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