Community Leaders Discuss Census 2010 Preparation
Community leaders and activists discussed the upcoming 2010 Census and how to ensure an accurate count in Massachusetts at a Commonwealth Seminar event on October 6th. Representative Jeffrey Sanchez, who served as Boston's Census Director in 2000, and Marc Draisen and Holly St. Clair from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council described the importance of the census to determine the state's congressional representation and ensure our fair share of federal funds.

Pointing out the census is only 18 months away, Regional Census Director Kathy Ludgate outlined the Census Bureau's plans. The agency will open several offices throughout the state and hire census takers to verify addresses. In March 2010, census forms will be mailed to every household. In April 2010, census takers will visit households who do not return the form. The Census counts every living person in the state, regardless of where they live or their citizenship status. Census information is tightly protected by federal law, and is not shared with any other government agency.

Historically some communities are undercounted, including student, low income, and immigrant communities. State and local leaders can work with the census to ensure an accurate and complete count in 2010. For more information on this topic, see this recent U.S. Senate hearing on Reducing the Undercount in the 2010 Census.

User Profile - Professor Michael Stone
A nationally recognized housing expert, Professor Michael Stone has analyzed housing issues for over 30 years. He teaches a Community Portraits class at the University of Massachusetts Boston, required of all students in the College of Public and Community Service. In the course, students complete detailed portraits of communities in the Metropolitan Boston Region.

"We believe having access to information, and knowing how to find it, use it, and understand it, is part of the process of participating in government," Professor Stone said. "Information is not only relevant for people working in the field of community service but also required to be effective citizens."

Last Wednesday, DataCommon staff visited the class for an in-depth tutorial on the DataMap Tool. Students explored subprime mortgage lending patterns in the Boston region through a newly added dataset, the 2006 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act offered in cooperation with the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. Analyzing neighborhoods in Lawrence, Gloucester, and Boston, the students used the DataMap Tool to create detailed custom maps.

Professor Stone observed the DataMap Tool contains a rich collection of data, and the training helped his students fully utilize its functionality to better understand their communities. "Lots of claims are made about policies and proposals– some are well supported and some are not," Stone said, pointing out that information helps his students "bring a critical awareness and perspective to civic life." To inquire about arranging a MetroBoston DataCommon training for your class, community organization or other group, please contact us.

New Data - Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data, 2006
In cooperation with the Urban Institute as part of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, MAPC offers this dataset collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The dataset contains information on home mortgage lending practices in the Boston metropolitan area in 2006, including the total number of loan applications, demographic information about loan applicants, and the proportion of loans issued to various demographic groups. Other indicators of interest include percent of all loans originated (issued) by subprime lending specialists, and loan denial rates. The image to the right is a detail of the quick map showing the percentage of subprime loans in 2006 by census tract, available in the housing folder.

New Data - Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Information
Thanks to its participation in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and the help of the Urban Institute, MAPC is pleased to offer these two datalayers on federal income tax credits. The Earned Income Tax Credit lowers the income tax burden for workers with low wages. It is the largest anti-poverty tax program designed especially to help low-income families with children. The Child Tax Credit has more lenient income restrictions and provides tax relief for most families with children, excluding only those with very high-income. These two new datalayers help you explore how Massachusetts residents have taken advantage of these two programs from 1997 – 2005.

New Data - Community Preservation Act Municipalities, 2008
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) helps cities and towns address three core community concerns: acquring and preserving open space and recreational resources, protcting historic assets, and creating affordable housing. As of May 2008, 133 Massachusetts communities have adopted the CPA - over one third of all the cities and towns in the Commonwealth. Check out the CPA layer to see a list of all CPA ballot elections that have been held, both successful and unsuccessful, along with information about surcharge, exemption, and voting date. This layer is continuously updated.

Hands-on Trainings
MAPC holds MetroBoston DataCommon user training at the MAPC conference room on a monthly basis. Attendees include town planners, government employee, staff from non-profit organizations and private research organizations, etc. Users receive a demonstration of the site to familiarize them with the various components of the MetroBoston DataCommon website. Then they receive a step-by-step tutorial of the web mapping tool to conduct analysis and make customized maps.


This two hour session will teach you how to:
• quickly access statistics about your city or town;
• conduct analysis with social and economic data;
• customize your own maps;
• print-out maps or email maps.

Join the upcoming training on:
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008, 1 - 3 p.m. (FULL)
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, 1 - 3 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, 1 - 3 p.m.

RSVP for your spot today, email Susan Brunton, sbrunton@mapc.org or call (617) 451-2770 x 2066.
MAPC address: 60 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111

Complete a training session? Click here to complete a training evaluation.

New Data - Environmental Justice Populations
The Environmental Justice (EJ) Populations layer represents neighborhoods across the state with high minority, non-English speaking, low-income, and foreign-born populations. Data in this layer were derived from 2000 U.S. Census data. Such areas are the focus of EOEEA's EJ Policy, which was developed to use state resources to ensure that EJ populations receive a strong voice in environmental decision-making.

New Data - Energy Star Buildings
Reducing the amount of energy used by our commercial and industrial buildings fights climate change, reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, and helps businesses in the face of rising energy costs. US Environmental Protection agency has created a program that identifies facilities that measurably cost less to operate and improve the quality of our environment. Facilities that have earned the ENERGY STAR generate about one third less carbon dioxide and use about 35% less energy than similar non-ENERGY STAR buildings. Check this map out to find ENERGY STAR labeled buildings in Massachusetts.

New Data - Renewable Energy in Massachusetts, MTC
This data layer shows renewable energy initiatives funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust from 2001 through October 2007. There are over 600 clean power projects funded statewide. Projects range from the installation of, to research on, the following technologies: advanced biomass power conversion, biodiesel cogeneration, fuel cell, geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill gas, photovoltaic, wind, and other (including hydrogen, storage and controls). This is a thematic data layer by municipality; location of the points are representative and do not necessarily impart an actual location.

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