Milwaukee Market Value Analysis Widget is Live!

In addition to compiling data from a variety of public and private sources, some of the datasets we are most excited to make available to our users are in-house analyses done here at The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) by our Policy Solutions department. Located in the TRF Analytics tab, the spatial analyses in this section include locations of Limited Supermarket Areas (LSAs), distance to the nearest performing school, and TRF’s proprietary Market Value Analysis (MVA) studies. In line with TRF’s data-centric approach to community development, the MVA uses spatial and statistical cluster analysis to simultaneously evaluate multiple factors in a community, with the final output being a characterization of the markets within the study area by block group. For the cities that commission it, the MVA provides a data-driven way to assess where to invest limited resources and is the first step toward restoring market viability in distressed communities.

Adding to existing MVAs in Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Reading, PA; Washington, D.C.; and cities all over New Jersey, we are excited to announce the addition of the Milwaukee MVA to PolicyMap as well! Beyond being located under the TRF Analytics tab on PolicyMap, it was also the basis for a customized widget, publicly available on Milwaukee LISC’s website (click on the MVA logo about half way down the webpage). Milwaukee LISC was one of several clients on this project, along with the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, among others.

The image below shows the widget with the MVA layer applied to it. For more detailed information about what which variables went into the MVA analysis and what the various market characterizations mean (represented on the map by the letters A through I), see the data directory.

BlogPost_20131114_MilwaukeeMVA_KC7

In addition to the MVA layer, the widget also displays demographic, housing and commercial activity data, as well as school and library points. We also made a training video explaining how to use this widget, which you can find here. If you are interested in potentially having an MVA analysis done for your city, email TRF’s Policy Solutions department at PolicySolutions@TRFund.com.