February 27, 2009

A Closer Look: Energy

Posted under: A Closer Look Series — Tags: , , by Phil V. @ 1:14 pm

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“We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril and claimed opportunity from ordeal.  Now we must be that nation again.  That is why, even as it cuts back on programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future; Energy, Health Care, and Education.
…

It begins with Energy.”

- President Barack Obama – Domestic Priorities to a Joint Session of Congress (2/24/09)

Check out some of the Energy information on PolicyMap.  Click onto any map to explore your neighborhood.

See where houses use Gas to heat their homes across the nation.

Powered by www.policymap.com, an online mapping tool and data warehouse.

(more…)

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February 25, 2009

A Closer Look: The President’s Domestic Priorities

Posted under: A Closer Look Series — Tags: , by Phil V. @ 6:14 pm

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Last night, Americans tuned in to President Barack Obama’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress (read the speech here).  Today, we want to turn up the conversation around six big issues he raised:

  • Energy

  • Health Care

  • Education

  • Taxes on the Working Class

  • Unemployment and Jobs

  • Housing

Starting this week, we are going to share a series of interactive maps and tables of the places – and the people who live in them – that are most affected by these concerns.  Comment on the information we share or log in to www.policymap.com to further explore the data yourself.

It starts Friday and, in the words of our President, “it begins with Energy”.

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February 24, 2009

New tools now on PolicyMap!

Posted under: Monthly Updates — Tags: , , , , , , , by Phil V. @ 11:00 am

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New tools now on PolicyMap!
MSAs and State Political Districts: Create maps and generate reports using two new geographies: MSAs and state upper and lower (senate and house) legislative districts. Create maps and generate reports about life, home prices, mortgage information and more using these new boundaries.

Climate Index: See how many heating and cooling degree days your area experienced in 2008. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), areas on the map with fewer heating degree days require less heating of buildings than those with more heating degree days; areas with fewer cooling degree days require less air conditioning.

Site Radius Reports: Subscribers can quickly generate reports surrounding any site loaded into PolicyMap (an investment you’ve loaded in or a pre-loaded site such as a HUD Multifamily or Public Housing Development). From the map, add the sites, click on a point and click “See Report” from the info bubble. Just choose a report and then enter the size radius for which you’d like information. It’s that easy.

Federal Designations: Find out if properties or areas of interest are located in any of the following federal incentive areas:

  • HUD Qualified Census Tracts
  • HUD Difficult Development Areas
  • GO (Gulf Opportunity) Zones
  • NMTC Low Income Communities
  • CDFI Investment Areas
  • BEA Distressed Communities Economic Development and Housing Hot Zones

Find these maps under the Jobs & Economy tab in the Add Data Layer menu, then type in an address, zip code, or city in the Set Location bar to see if the area qualifies.

New Student Discount: Students can now subscribe to PolicyMap for $35 a semester (four months). Professors interested in using PolicyMap with their class can access it for free. Are you a student and interested? Click here.

Coming in March: A powerful analytics feature which will allow you to identify and strategically target neighborhoods; mass transit lines; a ranking function and new data download capacity!

To learn more about PolicyMap, visit the site; register for free account, watch our tutorial, or sign up for a free online demo. See why over 150,000 people have turned to PolicyMap.

Integrate the power of where into your work.

Maggie McCullough

Director, PolicyMap


Watch a quick tutorial |  www.policymap.com
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February 11, 2009

PolicyMap Launches Affordable E-Resource for Students

Posted under: News/Press Releases,Online Buzz — Tags: , , by admin @ 1:26 pm

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PolicyMap Launches Affordable E-Resource for Students

Online Mapping Tool Lets University Students Utilize

Professional-Grade Data at an Accessible Student Rate

(Philadelphia) February 10, 2009 – TRF’s PolicyMap.com today announced that it is opening up its vast wealth of online market and demographic data to university students at a deeply discounted rate. Students now have easy, affordable access to the same professional-grade data utilized by thousands of policymakers and professionals across the nation. The electronic resource is intended to aid scholarly research and support class discussions through the application of credible data that was previously scattered across the web or unavailable for students.

University students can utilize TRF’s PolicyMap.com for quick access to more than 4,000 data indicators related to demographics, real estate markets, education, employment, money and income, crime, energy, and public investments. These indicators are aggregated from a variety of sources including U.S. Census, Claritas, FBI, IRS, the Postal Service, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

“Students can now support their coursework, not just through data, but with compelling visual maps, charts, tables, and reports,” said Maggie McCullough, Director of TRF’s PolicyMap.com. “The full range of data and GIS functionality on TRF’s PolicyMap.com is available to students at just $35 per semester, a fraction of the cost to standard subscribers. “ For details, students and professors who wish to subscribe can visit http://blog.policymap.com or call 1-866-923-MAPS.

More than 150,000 users have accessed TRF’s PolicyMap.com since its launch in 2008. To date, its varied subscribers include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, state agencies including the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency, private entities like Comcast, as well as nonprofit community organizations nationwide.

About PolicyMap

PolicyMap is an online mapping tool that makes it quick and easy to gather and analyze geocentric information. PolicyMap is a service of The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a not-for-profit leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization. TRF developed PolicyMap to empower decision makers with better access to credible market and demographic data. To utilize PolicyMap, visit www.policymap.com. To learn more about TRF, visit www.trfund.com.

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February 11, 2009

Students – Get PolicyMap for $35 a Semester

Posted under: PolicyMap Messages — Tags: , by Phil V. @ 9:58 am

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Analyze data and create compelling visual maps for your reports and papers with PolicyMap’s new student pricing. Students can now make use of all of the data and GIS functions available in PolicyMap for just $35 per semester! As subscribers, students can

  • Access all of the proprietary data in PolicyMap like home sale data, demographic estimates and
    projections as well school performance statistics.
  • Use the advanced GIS features found in PolicyMap, including the ability to create highly customized maps and reports – and then pull the maps and statistics right into their papers or presentations (citing us where necessary, of course!)

If you are a student and are interested, follow the instructions below to purchase the great discount. Your credit card will be charged $35 and your 4 month access will begin. Professors interested in having their class use the application can receive their access for the semester at no charge. Just contact us (info@policymap.com).

  • For students without a Registered User Account
    • Go to our subscribe page here (click here)
    • Fill out the form (you must use your .edu email address)
    • In Subscription Period drop down menu, choose Invitation Code
    • Enter STUDENT
  • For students with a Registered User Account

    • Login into your account (click here)
    • Select your name in the upper right, taking you to your Profile Page
    • Choose to “Become a Standard Subscriber”
    • Fill out the form (you must use your .edu email address)
    • In Subscription Period drop down menu, choose Invitation Code
    • Enter STUDENT

    STUDENT ACCESS TO POLICYMAP

    If you purchase access to PolicyMap at a discounted student rate, you agree that you are a student actively enrolled in a high school, college or university program. PolicyMap reserves the right to terminate your subscription, without reimbursement, if you violate any of these terms.

    Learn more about PolicyMap on our website (www.policymap.com).

    As always, we urge you to register for free, sign up for an online tutorial, or watch our Quick Start Tutorial video (quick tutorial). See why over 150,000 people have turned to PolicyMap.

    Integrate the power of where into your work.

    Maggie McCullough

    Director, PolicyMap
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February 5, 2009

PolicyMap is ahead of the curve

Posted under: PolicyMap In the News — Tags: , , , by Phil V. @ 3:55 pm



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Doesn’t it feel good when somebody important suggests that you are the wave of the future? That happened to us today. Read what a top guy at Google is saying about tools just like PolicyMap. Not registered yet? What are you waiting for?

Recent quote from Google’s chief economist Hal Varian:

I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. People think I’m joking, but who would’ve guessed that computer engineers would’ve been the sexy job of the 1990s? The ability to take data–to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it–that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.

I think statisticians are part of it, but it’s just a part. You also want to be able to visualize the data, communicate the data, and utilize it effectively. But I do think those skills–of being able to access, understand, and communicate the insights you get from data analysis–are going to be extremely important. Managers need to be able to access and understand the data themselves. 

Click Here to read the full article.
This interview was from The McKinsey Quarterly on January 5, 2009.

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