Making sense of place through data visualization

With new visualization tool, users can map zoning, land use, housing, infrastructure

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Oct 25, 2017, 10:30 ET

CLEVELAND, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new interactive database created by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and PolicyMap allows users to visualize a broad array of indicators – housing prices, incomes, open space, or zoning and land use regulations, to name a few – revealing surprising new insights on the makeup of states, cities, towns, and neighborhoods throughout the United States.

This image, created through The Place Database by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and PolicyMap, depicts housing affordability in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The Place Database, unveiled at Meeting of the Minds, the annual conference spotlighting urban sustainability and connected technology, taps data from a variety of sources, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, and National Conservation Easement Database, and assembles them for the first time all in one place.

"We've never had more access to data. The challenge is keeping track of all the indicators now available, and organizing them for meaningful analysis – to make sense of place," said George W. "Mac" McCarthy, president of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. "This tool will help researchers, journalists, and policy-makers gain a clearer understanding of all the critical elements that make up communities."

The Place Database allows for mapping at the national level, and users can zoom in for more detail, with data as granular as a parcel. It stores several years' worth of data, allowing analysis of change over time. The highly visual interactivity invites the creation of graphically rich maps that show quantitative information in new ways.

The data is grouped by category, allowing for deep dives within a topic. For example, users can map housing by value, type, age, ownership status, affordability, or location affordability. Environmental data includes open space, conservation easements, protected areas, brownfields, and indicators associated with climate change.

The Place Database invites analysis of average household incomes, government spending levels, and school district finances; various contours of the landscape, from vacant lots to structurally deficient bridges; and for the first time, zoning maps for 105 different cities.

The Place Database is free to use, and the visualizations can be easily shared with a unique link via email or on social media. The tool is one among many databases the Lincoln Institute offers, including the Atlas of Urban Expansion, Fiscally Standardized Cities, the State-by-State Property Tax at a Glance Visualization Tool, and Land and Property Values in the U.S., among others. They are found in the Research and Data section of the Lincoln Institute website.

About PolicyMap

PolicyMap offers easy-to-use online mapping with data on demographics, real estate, health, jobs and more in communities across the U.S. From the classroom to the boardroom, thousands of organizations trust PolicyMap to find the right data for their research, market studies, business planning, site selection, grant applications and impact analysis.

About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

SOURCE Lincoln Institute of Land Policy