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DataPlace is your free online source for housing and demographic
data about your community, your region, and the nation. With
DataPlace, policy makers, practitioners, members of the media,
and scholars of housing and community development can analyze,
interpret, and apply data to make educated decisions and inform
others. DataPlace makes it easier than ever before to access
housing and demographic data and display this information in
colorful, customizable maps, charts, tables, and other formats.
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| Why was DataPlace created? | |
DataPlace is brought to you by KnowledgePlex, the
premium affordable housing and community development resource
for professionals. KnowledgePlex was created five years ago by
the Fannie Mae Foundation and a distinguished team of founding
partners. It provides a wealth of resources including documents,
news, online chats, discussion forums, multimedia, and an
industry calendar.
Three years ago, the Foundation commissioned a user study to
inform a major redesign of KnowledgePlex. A clear theme emerging
from this user research was the need to provide better access to
housing and demographic data on KnowledgePlex. Users expressed a
particular interest in data at the neighborhood level.
While KnowledgePlex provides a comprehensive source of housing-related
information from all over the United States, DataPlace
complements this broad-based resource by providing easy access
to highly targeted, local information. Both tools advance the
mission of sharing knowledge with those who are engaged in the
work of providing affordable homes and building communities.
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| Who uses DataPlace and for what? | |
Housing and community development professionals from many
sectors of our industry -- policy-makers, urban planners,
community development organizations, researchers -- need
information for their work, both big picture and small scale.
DataPlace democratizes access to mission-critical information
and organizes it ways that can help users take informed action:
making better decisions, planning more effective programs, and
then evaluating and monitoring outcomes. And they can do this
more easily and more cheaply than ever before.
For example, a local housing authority could use DataPlace to:
- chart the trend of conventional home mortgages made by
subprime lenders to whites vs. blacks in a particular community,
or
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map the percentage of overcrowded units across a community
Without a tool like DataPlace, getting answers to questions like
these could take days -- and many dollars.
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| What's different about DataPlace? | |
- Statistical mapping: DataPlace is unique because it
combines mapping technology with statistics. Most products in
commercial use deliver one or the other, but not both. In
addition, those statistics, which come from many different
sources, can be integrated through DataPlace into a single,
comprehensive snapshot or profile of a particular location: for
example, a state, a county, or a census tract.
- Comparison tools: Besides displaying information in map
form, DataPlace can also generate tables and charts using the
same kinds of statistics. These features let users make
comparisons among different areas and track trends over time.
- Economical efficiency: DataPlace saves time and
money. The statistics that DataPlace gathers may be public
information, but that doesn't mean they are easy to find -- much
less to integrate into a single answer, which sometimes requires
a professional statistician. DataPlace does it for you: pulls
the statistics, organizes them the way you want, and delivers
them in the form of your choice. User guides are also available
to help novice users find the best indicators for the issue area
they are researching.
- The bottom line: DataPlace is free. The Fannie Mae
Foundation and its partners
offer DataPlace as a service to policy-makers and practitioners
in the fields of affordable housing and community development
-- at no cost.
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| What data sources are available on DataPlace? | |
DataPlace currently contains almost a dozen different data sets
covering a multitude of housing, demographic, and economic
topics. The data sources include the 1990 and 2000 Censuses,
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Section 8 Expiring Use database,
and others. Click here
for more information.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau on population estimates,
residential building permits, and manufactured housing
placements will be added soon.
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| Quick Guides on DataPlace Tools | |
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Area Overview
Gather summary information on any U.S. location.
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Maps
Learn how to create, manipulate and add data to maps.
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Data & Charts
Learn how to create charts on multiple locations and indicators.
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Key Indicators
DataPlace editorially selected indicators for any location.
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Rankings
Compare rankings on locations using DataPlace indicators.
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My DataPlace
Learn how to save pages, locations and data to your personal account.
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 Available Help Pages
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