Ideology Influences Community Preference

From Demo Memo:

Would you prefer to live in a community where 1) Houses are larger and farther apart but schools, stores and restaurants are miles away? or 2) Houses are smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants are within walking distance?

That question is posed by Pew Research Center in its 2014 Political Polarization in the American Public survey. The results of the survey show not only growing political polarization between liberals and conservatives over the years, but also that liberals and conservatives are divided by the type of community in which they would prefer to live.

Overall, the public is about evenly split in its community preference, with 49 percent preferring a larger house farther away from amenities and 48 percent preferring a smaller house in a walkable community. By political ideology, the split is anything but even, however...

The Center for Governmental Research: Serving the Public Interest Since 1915

George Eastman, the visionary leader who created Eastman Kodak, founded a bureau of municipal research in Rochester NY in 1915 “to get things done for the community” and to serve as an “independent, non-partisan agency for keeping citizens informed.” Over more than 9 decades CGR has grown from a bureau focused on the needs of one city into an organization with far broader reach.

Today CGR works to bring clarity to issues that affect the quality of life in communities throughout the Northeast. We work with government, nonprofit and business leaders who drive public policy action and organizational change. We inform and empower leaders by providing fact-based, objective research and analysis and by making recommendations that are achievable. Our clients value the quality of our work, our pragmatic approach and our commitment to remaining independent and non-partisan.

Community Profiles (also called Community Indicators projects) take the pulse of a community over time. Comparative performance data on many topics—from economics to education to health—empower leaders and residents to assess community vitality relative to other communities, the state and the nation.

Our web-based profiles make the information understandable, meaningful and accessible. Each profile is a launching pad for community-wide dialogues about strengths, challenges and opportunities, and a valuable resource for informing community planning and strategy development.

NYS Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Fiscal Stress Scores for Local Communities

Two dozen communities in New York have been designated as fiscally stressed under State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s new Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. The list includes eight counties, three cities and 13 towns.

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and resulting fiscal stress designations rely on data (as of 5/31/2013) from annual financial reports submitted by local governments to the Office of the State Comptroller. This list (sorted in order of fiscal stress score) includes only municipalities with fiscal years ending on 12/31/2012. All towns and counties, 44 cities and 10 villages have a 12/31 fiscal year end.

Community eligibility for grant programs

Someone asked me about income levels for certain grant programs:

The FFIEC, under contractual agreement with Tele Atlas, requires that you enter a street address along with either a city and state OR a zip code. It will provide demographic info for the area.

New York City has a Community Development Block Grant Eligibility Report

Economic Impact on Hospitals and their Communities

Six out of ten hospitals nationally are seeing a greater proportion of patients without insurance coming through their emergency departments, according to a new survey from the American Hospital Association (AHA). At the same time, nearly half of hospitals reported they have cut staff. Recent employment information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that hospital employment is no longer growing and that the number of mass layoffs for hospitals reported in February was more than double what it was a year ago.

Why Transit-Oriented Development And Why Now?

TOD 101: Why Transit-Oriented Development And Why Now? (PDF; 1.2 MB)
Source: ReconnectingAmerica.org

This colorful 24-page "picture book" lays out in easy-to-read format how shifting demographics and the changing real estate market have opened up an unprecedented window of opportunity for transit-oriented development. The book explains what TOD is and how it benefits communities.