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NeighborhoodInfo DC Resource Center

Last Updated: 10/28/09

The NeighborhoodInfo DC Resource Center provides an overview of major sources of data and research about the District of Columbia, its neighborhoods and its residents. It includes publications from The Urban Institute and its former partner DC Agenda (DC Agenda closed operations in 2004), and a number of other sources.

The Resource Center is not intended to present an exhaustive inventory of web sites, reports and other resources with data and research about the District of Columbia. Instead, in this Resource Center we provide a concise set of resources that reflect the best of available information. The sources listed include interactive web sites where you can create customized tables and maps, web sites with static tables where you can look up information, and other unique reports with useful information.

All sources listed in this guide were verified as active and available during the week of July 18, 2008. If any errors or dead links are found, please send notification to info@neighborhoodinfodc.org. In addition, suggestions for additions to this Resource Center are welcome. Send suggestions to info@neighborhoodinfodc.org.

Resources:

Select the heading for publications and other resources for your area of interest. Under each heading, publications are listed first followed by additional links related to the heading.

Comprehensive Indicators Planning and Policy Education and Youth Housing Economic Development

Health Environment Public Safety Population and Demographics Civic Engagement

Comprehensive Indicators

• NeighborhoodInfo DC
  Data profiles available for neighborhood clusters, wards, census tracts, police service areas, and advisory neighborhood commissions. Information on population, income, housing, crime and more provided with some historic data.
  http://neighborhoodinfodc.org
  Guide for Using NeighborhoodInfo DC's Web Site (PDF)
  What Is a Neighborhood in the District of Columbia? (PDF)
  
  
• State of Washington, D.C.'s Neighborhoods
  September 2008
  Prepared by NeighborhoodInfo DC for the D.C. Office of Planning, this report seeks to aid the city?s leaders and citizens in addressing challenges and meeting goals through tracking and measuring major economic and social indicators. It provides an extensive array of data for Washington, D.C.'s wards and neighborhood clusters, tracking current and past conditions on population demographics, jobs, income, housing, education, health, family, youth, seniors, public safety, and the environment.
  State of Washington, D.C.?s Neighborhoods (PDF)
  
  
• U.S. Census Bureau
  The Census Bureau provides a number of data products. Two of the most commonly used are the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey. The Decennial Census is useful because it presents detailed information about the District of Columbia (using census tracts, block groups and blocks). Topics covered include demographic, economic, social, and housing data. Covers ten year intervals with the most recent conducted in 2000, 1990 and 1980. The American Community Survey (ACS) is useful because it provides more current information. The ACS has data as recent as 2004 covering a range of social, economic, housing and demographic issues. The limitation of the ACS is that it currently only presents data for the entire City.
  http://www.census.gov (external link)
  Guide for Using the Census Bureau Web Site (PDF)
  
  
• 2004 Issue Scan: An Annual Report Examining Changes in Neighborhood Conditions in the District of Columbia. DC Agenda, January 2004.
  Section 1: Executive Summary (PDF)
  Section 2: Issue Areas (PDF)
  Section 3: Community Profiles (PDF)
  Section 4: Neighborhood Data (PDF)
  

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Planning and Policy

• The Urban Institute: Issues in Focus-The District of Columbia: Metro Area, City, and some sub-City data.
  An overview of The Urban Institute's research focused on Washington, DC. Provides links to research and publications on the issues facing DC including housing, poverty, crime, and more.
  http://www.urban.org/toolkit/issues/dc.cfm (external link)
• Neighborhood, Services Information and more: Search by address or by area (including Ward, ANC and Neighborhood Cluster). The DC Guide includes neighborhood information, property values, taxi rates, business locations, government divisions and boundaries, and more.
  http://about.dc.gov (external link)
• Geography Data for Mapping: Metro Area, City and all neighborhood levels available.
  If you have access to mapping software, visit the web site for the Office of the Chief Technology Officer to access hundreds of shapefile layers of physical and social characteristics of Washington, DC. This web site also provides direct links to a number of the look-up features in the DC Guide.
  http://dcgis.dc.gov (external link)
• Services in the District of Columbia: Address based search of service providers by categories.
  The 211 Answers, Please! Website of the Information and Referral Program of the DC Government's Department of Human Services contains a directory of all government services as well as information for District residents and service providers.
  http://answersplease.dc.gov/ (external link)
• The Brookings Greater Washington Research Program: Metro Area, City, and some sub-City data.
  Provides reports on policies and conditions of the Washington metropolitan area. Some report topics include housing, poverty, and educational issues.
  http://www.brookings.edu/metro/gwrp/washington.htm (external link)
• Regional Planning Data: Metro Area, City level data available.
  The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments provides data on transportation, housing, planning, the environment, security, and more. Contains reports on current conditions and plans through 2030.
  http://www.mwcog.org/publications (external link)
• Migration Information Source: Global, national, and City level.
  Data on migration issues, including migration trends, refugees, foreign-born populations, asylum seekers, and more. Provides data for many countries. Breaks down the US information by state, including DC.
  http://www.migrationinformation.org (external link)
• DC's Comprehensive Plan and State Data Center: Metro Area, City and all neighborhood levels available.
  The Government of the District of Columbia's Office of Planning provides DC's comprehensive plan as well as small range plans for the city. Also includes the State Data Center, which provides census data. Use the links under the "Information" heading to find data and maps.
  http://planning.dc.gov (external link)

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Education and Youth

• Kids Count District of Columbia Annual Fact Books
• Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: 14th Annual Fact Book, 2007 (PDF)
  Jennifer Comey, Peter Tatian, Elizabeth Guernsey, Betsy Chang
  The Urban Institute, The DC Children's Trust, November 2007.
• Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: 13th Annual Fact Book, 2006 (PDF)
  Jessica Cigna, Jennifer Comey, Elizabeth Guernsey, Peter Tatian
  The Urban Institute, The DC Children's Trust, November 2006.
• Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: Twelfth Annual Fact Book, 2005 (PDF)
  Jessica Cigna, Jennifer Comey, Peter Tatian, Mary Winkler
  The Urban Institute, The DC Children's Trust, December 2005.
• Vital Signs: Indicators of the Nonprofit Safety Net for Children in the Washington, D.C., Region (PDF)
  Eric Twombly, Jennifer Auer
  The Urban Institute, March 2005.
• Examining the Location of Children and Youth and the Nonprofits that Serve Them in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area (PDF)
  Eric Twombly, Jennifer Auer
  The Urban Institute, September 2004.
• The Financial Structure and Fiscal Health of Nonprofit Child and Youth Providers in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Region (PDF)
  Eric Twombly
  The Urban Institute, May 2004.
• Nonprofit Resources for Children and Youth in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Region (PDF)
  Eric Twombly
  The Urban Institute, April 2004
• Measuring Need for Youth Services in D.C.: Comparing Poverty and TANF Data (PDF)
  Jennifer T. Comey, Mark Rubin, and Peter A. Tatian
  The Urban Institute and DC Agenda, September 2003.
• Using Technology to Improve Academic Achievement in Out-of-School-Time Programs in Washington, D.C. (PDF)
  Meredith Liu, Victoria Russell, Duncan Chaplin, Jacqueline Raphael, Helen Fu, Emily Anthony
  The Urban Institute, October 2002
• Creating a Seamless Web of Services for Youth (Word)
  Sinead Keegan and Duncan Chaplin
  The Urban Institute, February 2002.
• Data on Children and Families: National, City levels available.
  The National Kids Count Online Data page contains data on child well-being throughout the country. It provides the options of creating maps, profiles, and rankings or viewing raw data.
  http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/ (external link)
• Student characteristics and performance: City and individual school levels available.
  Official DC Public Schools website for the Office of Educational Accountability. Contains statistical data for student demographics and characteristics as well as test scores.
  http://www.k12.dc.us/dcps/data/dcdatahome.html (external link)
• School demographic and financial information: City, school district, and individual school levels available.
  The National Center for Education Statistics provides school demographics and financial information. Includes data for both public and private schools.
  http://nces.ed.gov (external link)
• School data such as student-teacher ratio: City, school district, and individual school levels available.
  The School Infomation Partnership presents education data for public schools for all states and the District of Columbia. The data includes student to teacher ratios, standardized test scores for some schools, and more.
  http://www.schoolresults.org (external link)

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Housing

• District of Columbia Housing Monitor
  A quarterly report tracking housing conditions in Washington, D.C.
  NeighborhoodInfo DC (all back issues available).
• Subprime and High Interest Rate Mortgage Lending
  Data and resources on subprime, predatory, and high-cost mortgage lending. Includes a fact sheet on subprime lending in the Washington, D.C., region.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital, Annual Reports
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2009 (external link)
  Focus: The foreclosure crisis and the Washington region.
  Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Leah Hendey, G. Thomas Kingsley, Mary K. Cunningham, Jennifer Comey, Liza Getsinger, Michel Grosz
  The Urban Institute, October 2009.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2007 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Mary Kopczynski Winkler, Barika X. Williams
  The Urban Institute, November 2007.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2006 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Jennifer Comey, Jessica Cigna, Mark Woolley, Barika Williams
  The Urban Institute, November 2006.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2005 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Jessica Cigna, Michael Eiseman
  The Urban Institute, November 2005.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2004 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Noah Sawyer
  The Urban Institute, December 2004
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2003 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Christopher Snow, Peter A. Tatian, Alisa Wilson
  The Urban Institute, September 2003.
• Housing in the Nation's Capital 2002 (external link)
  Margery Austin Turner, G. Thomas Kingsley, Kathryn L.S. Pettit, Christopher Snow, Peter A. Tatian
  The Urban Institute, June 2002.
• Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the District of Columbia
  Peter A. Tatian, Barika Williams, Kennith Tempkin
  D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, December 2006.
• Testimony to the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs: Budget Hearing for the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (PDF)
  Peter Tatian
  The Urban Institute, May 2006.
• DCHA Rent Supplement Act of 2006 : Testimony to the D.C. City Council on Bill 16-661 (PDF)
  Peter Tatian
  The Urban Institute, March 2006.
• An Equitable Housing Strategy for the District of Columbia (PDF)
  Margery Austin Turner
  The Urban Institute, June 2004.
• Expanding Housing Opportunity in Washington, DC: The Case for Inclusionary Zoning (PDF)
  Radhika K. Fox and Kalima Rose
  Policy Link, Fall 2003.
• Equitable Development - An Approach to Increasing Affordable Housing and Asset Building Opportunities in the District of Columbia (PDF)
  Mark Rubin
  DC Agenda, May 2002.
• Property Value Look-Up: Individual Property Searches.
  The Office of Tax and Revenue provides the Real Property Tax Database online. Search for data on property value and assessments for over 160,000 parcels in DC.
  Visit http://cfo.dc.gov/otr/ click on "Real Property Service Center" and then click on "Real Property Tax Database Search",
  or click this link for direct access: http://otr.cfo.dc.gov/otr/cwp/view,a,1330,q,594345.asp (external link)
• Co-ops in the District of Columbia: City Level Data.
  The Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development's "A Study of Limited-equity Cooperatives in the District of Columbia" provides citywide data on the characteristics and financial health of existing limited-equity co-ops.
  http://www.cnhed.org/image/123800_c_sU127242_s_i189945/Coop%20Study%20PDF.pdf (PDF, external link)

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Economic Development

• On Ramps to the Information Highway in Wards 6, 7 & 8 (PDF)
  Carlos A. Manjarrez, Carol J. De Vita, Pho Palmer, Perri Gottlieb
  The Urban Institute, September 2002.
• Retail Challenges in Washington, DC: An Analysis of Six Retail Categories (Word)
  Mark Rubin & Davis Kim
  The Urban Institute, June 2001.
• Regional Data on Demographics, Employment and More: Metro area, city, and county levels available.
  The Greater Washington Initiative presents data on demographics, employment, education, housing, and more for the District, Northern Virginia, and Suburban Maryland. Provides figures from 1980-present as well as projections through 2030.
  http://www.greaterwashington.org/regional/local_stats/dc/dc.htm (external link)
• Labor Market Information: Metro Area and City, data available.
  The DC Government Department of Employment Services compiles labor market information for the Washington, DC, including monthly statistics on employment and unemployment.
  http://does.dc.gov/does/cwp/view,a,1233,q,538345.asp (external link)
• Employment and Purchasing Power Data: Metro area, census tract, and zip code levels available.
  The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute provides comparison data on purchasing power, business activity, and workforce density. It also gives labor force demographics as well as some maps.
  http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ETI/PurchasingPower/purchasing.htm (external link)

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Health

• Food Stamp Participation and Market Access in the District of Columbia (external link)
  Carlos A. Manjarrez and Jessica Cigna
  The Urban Institute, July 2006.
• Insurance and Uninsurance in the District of Columbia: Starting with the Numbers (PDF)
  Jennifer King and the State Planning Grant team
  The Urban Institute and the DC Department of Health, September 2005.
• DC Primary Care Association Resource Center: City and Ward Level data available.
  The DC Primary Care Association website focuses on information on health care inequality throughout DC. Resource center section of the site has a collection of briefings, reports, national and local health alerts, DC policy histories and more. Site includes their report on the Primary Care Safety Net which includes the total number of safety net clinics, types of providers, locations of clinics (including ward information), services available, number of patients, patient demographics, financing of programs, health of community and policy recommendations.
  Visit www.dcpca.org, select Resource Center and then Report Archives, or enter this direct link:
  http://www.dcpca.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=112
• Health Data for the District: City level available.
  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation presents State Health Facts Online with information on demographics, health care, Medicaid, Medicare, women's health, minority health, HIV/AIDS, and more.
  http://www.statehealthfacts.org/ (external link)
• D.C. Health Care Access Survey, 2003: City level data.
  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation District of Columbia Health Care Access Survey from 2003. Provides data on health care access by age, race/ethnicity, and income, as well as how the public perceives DC's health problems and health institutions. Based on a representative sample of Washington, DC residents. http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/minorityhealth103003pkg.cfm
  (external link) (also see www.kff.org for other reports about health care in the District of Columbia)
• Women and Children Data: Metro Area and City data.
  The Maternal and Child Health Bureau website provides financial data on state block grants, performance data on health systems, and program data.
  https://perfdata.hrsa.gov/mchb/mchreports/Search/search.asp (external link)
• Births, Marriages and More Vital Statistics: City level data.
  The Center for Policy, Planning and Epidemiology provides District-level statistics on births, marriages, divorces, deaths, and other characteristics of the population. This data is available through the DC Department of Health (http://doh.dc.gov) and can be reached through this direct link:
  http://doh.dc.gov/doh/cwp/view,a,1374,q,601996,PM,1.asp (external link)
  also see: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm (external link)

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Environment

• Trees in the District of Columbia: City, Ward, ANC and individual addresses available.
  The Casey Trees Endowment Fund provides information on the tree canopy in DC including a detailed inventory with specific information of each tree throughout the city.
  http://www.caseytrees.org/ (external link)
• Environmental Cleanup: State and site levels available.
  Environmental Protection Agency website for Superfund sites in the District. Gives sites with history, status, and actions to be taken.
  http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/dc.htm (external link)

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Public Safety

• Summary of Focus Group with Ex-Prisoners in the District: Ingredients for Successful Reintegration (PDF)
  Amy L. Solomon, Caterina Gouvis Roman, Michelle Waul
  The Urban Institute, December 2001.
• Metropolitan Police Department Crime Statistics: City, police service area, and police district levels available. The Government of the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department website provides crime statistics in DC at the City and Police District level. Current and historic data available linked from http://mpdc.dc.gov/ (external link)
  Some individual Police Service Area data is available linked from the individual Police District web sites.

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Population and Demographics

• Income and Poverty in the District of Columbia: 1990-2004 (PDF)
  Joy Phillips & Robert Beasley
  State Data Center, D.C. Office of Planning, September 2005.
• District of Columbia Census 2000 Key Demographic Indicators (PDF)
  Joy Phillips & Robert Beasley
  State Data Center, D.C. Office of Planning, September 2005.
• District of Columbia Population and Housing Trends (PDF)
  Joy Phillips, Robert Beasley & Art Rodgers
  State Data Center, D.C. Office of Planning, September 2005.
• Neighborhood Fact Sheets, covering Ward 7's Deanwood, Marshall Heights and Ft. Dupont Park Neighborhoods
• Neighborhood Fact Sheet 4: Health Status and Health Care Access (PDF)
  Jessica Cigna, Jake Cowan
  The Urban Institute, January 2005.
• Neighborhood Fact Sheet 3: Family Economic Characteristics (PDF)
  Deborah Kaye
  The Urban Institute, February 2004.
• Neighborhood Fact Sheet 2: Financial Services and Assets (PDF)
  Noah Sawyer
  The Urban Institute, February 2004.
• Neighborhood Fact Sheet 1: Family Household Characteristics (PDF)
  Mark Rubin
  DC Agenda, August 2003.
• A Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area (PDF)
  Washington Area Women's Foundation, 2003.
• Segregation Patterns in District of Columbia 1980 to 2000 (PDF)
  Noah Sawyer and Peter A. Tatian
  The Urban Institute and DC Agenda, October 2003.
• A Study of the District of Columbia's TANF Caseload (PDF)
  Gregory Acs, Pamela J. Loprest
  The Urban Institute, September 2003.
• 100,000 New Taxpayers Does Not Have To Mean 100,000 New Residents (PDF)
  Mark Rubin
  DC Agenda, April 2003.
• 2000 Census Numbers Reveal Higher Poverty in the District by Ward and Neighborhood Cluster (PDF)
  Mark Rubin
  DC Agenda, October 2002.

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Civic Engagement

• The Role of Community Institutional Capacity in Social Capital (PDF)
  (note: includes data from DC's Ward 8)
  Caterina Gouvis Roman, Gretchen E. Moore
  The Urban Institute, May 2004.
• Civic Engagement in Washington: A Report & Recommendations (Word)
  DC Agenda and The National Civic League, April 2001.

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NeighborhoodInfo DC
a project of The Urban Institute and Washington DC Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
P: 202-261-5760 / E: info@neighborhoodinfodc.org