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PREVIOUS NEWS STORIES 2001Three Partners Launch New Web Sites New Cross-Site Project on Neighborhood Health Analysis 1999 Atlanta Wins Transportation Grant for Welfare-to-Work User-Friendly Cleveland Area Web site Expanded Boston Indicators Report Sets Benchmarks for City Three Partners Launch New Web Sites DECEMBER 2001 - A new web site by and for residents of the four neighborhoods in Denver was launched last fall. Makingconnectionsdenver.org is a brand new web site for residents of the Baker, Cole, La Alma/Lincoln Park and Sun Valley neighborhoods. The bilingual site has neighborhood news, calendars of events, census and other data, and resources for families. The web site is the first in a series of groundbreaking efforts by the residents of these neighborhoods to tackle the “digital divide” – the issue of access to technology in their communities. Resident youth participated in the creation of the web site, with technical assistance from the Piton Foundation. The site was developed by Internet Commerce and Communications, (formerly RMI.net), who spent time to work with residents to achieve the look and feel for the site that they wanted. Just launched on the Providence Plan's web site is the Community Opportunity Zone Information Network, or COZIN (www.provplan.org/html/projects/cozin.html). COZIN provides a catalog of human service providers in the Providence area, covering everything from food and clothing banks and legal aid to cultural and arts resources for children and adults. It is a project in partnership with the West End/Elmwood Community Opportunity Zone Collaborative, the Providence Public Library, and the Providence School Department. The web page works like a dynamic community "bulletin board," and contains a calendar of community events and postings on issues of importance to Providence's most distressed neighborhoods. Beyond being a useful resource for Providence residents, COZIN acts as a community forum for organizations working to strengthen Providence communities. Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance(BNIA) website is now available on http://www.ubalt.edu/bnia/. The site features new data on construction investment, voter registration, businesses, and child and family well-being. The site has been redesigned to ensure that it is accessible to all. You'll notice that the the website is easier to navigate, and the maps, tables, and reports take less time to download. The "What's New" section will highlight new items as they appear. BNIA would appreciate any comments or suggestions on how to improve their site. New Cross-Site Project on Neighborhood Health Analysis OCTOBER 2001 - The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) is pleased to announce the launch of a new project on neighborhood health analysis with the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To carry out the study, the Urban Institute has joined with the following five local partners in NNIP:
The project has two purposes. The first is to expand knowledge of the relationships between characteristics of neighborhoods and health outcomes. Research in some cities has shown that problems such as child maltreatment, low birth weight, and infant mortality are significantly clustered and correlated with such neighborhood variables as concentrated poverty, family instability, and residential turnover. However, these analyses have been limited as to the range of indicators considered and the number of cities studied. In this project, the Urban Institute and its partners will examine relationships between health indicators and a broader range of variables, including new tract-level data from the 2000 census. This will be the first research of its kind to examine change in such relationships over time, and do so under consistent specifications for five quite different cities. The second purpose is to contribute to expanding the range of health indicators available at the neighborhood level in America's localities. It is well recognized that such indicators could be extremely valuable in planning, implementing, and evaluating health policies and programs. Yet most cities do not regularly produce any indicators of health conditions by neighborhood, and for those that do, the range of available information is quite limited. In this project, the five selected NNIP partners will assemble new health related indicators and incorporate them into their data systems. They will then analyze variations in these indicators in relation to other variables, report on the implications of the analyses, and take steps to encourage practical use of the data in local health initiatives. They will also write up the way the analysis is being used in local initiatives as a part of their report. Started in October 2001, the project will culminate with a final report and briefings in March 2003. For further information, contact Tom Kingsley or Kathy Pettit at the Urban Institute (tkingsle@ui.urban.org or kpettit@ui.urban.org ). Atlanta Wins Transportation Grant for Welfare-to-Work OCTOBER 1999 - Using information for action, Atlanta won a $2 million Department of Transportation grant through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) program. The Atlanta Project partnered with the City of Atlanta, the surrounding counties, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), and the Atlanta Regional Commission to form a welfare-to-work collaborative to prepare the application. With a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Atlanta Project analyzed several years of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) records as well as ES202 employer records. Armed with the knowledge of the locations of the recipients and the entry-level jobs, the collaborative was able to suggest concrete and fact-based strategies to link people to work. The funds will enable the region to provide experimental types of transportation for welfare recipients. For more information, see the Atlanta Regional Commission web site at: http://www.atlanta-info.com/whats_hot/w2w.html. User-Friendly Cleveland Area Web site Expanded OCTOBER 1999 - Thanks to the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change Cleveland activists and planners now have easier access to information about their community. This summer the center launched an expanded on-line version of the Cleveland Area Network for Data and Organizing (CAN DO). The system now includes census, vital statistics, and mortgage-lending activity data for the eight counties of the Cleveland metropolitan area. The new web-based query system allows users to create custom tables and maps by choosing the location, indicators, and years desired. The information can be viewed and easily downloaded in table, map, or raw data format. CAN DO is located at http://povertycenter.cwru.edu/cando.htm.
SEPTEMBER 1999 - In collaboration with the Sustainable Boston Initiative, the Boston Foundation published a draft report of Boston Indicators of Progress, Change and Sustainability this June. The official release at the Boston Citizen's Seminar drew 250 people from the city government, business, and nonprofit sectors. In addition to speeches from Mayor Menino and others, organizers facilitated discussions at each table about the report. Participants shared viewpoints on the most important issues, beginning a longer-term conversation about the city's strengths and weaknesses. The comprehensive report covers 10 major topics, including the economy, education, housing, and others. Each section identifies specific measures of "sustainable prosperity" and how Boston is doing in these areas. Going beyond the numbers, the draft provides regional context and summarizes the assets and challenges of the city. The collaborative plans to reassess these measures biannually to track the city's progress towards its goals, and hopes to extend the indicators from the metro area to the neighborhood level. Although copies of the draft are not available during this review period, the Boston Foundation is planning to make the current database available on-line in the future. 
For additional information, e-mail NNIP at nnip@ui.urban.org. |
Boston Indicators Report Sets Benchmarks for City