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FEATURED POST |
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America’s Housing Shortage Persists: PolicyMap and Reinvestment Fund Update Census Tract Level Housing Gap Analysis Using Latest Data from American Community Survey
America’s housing shortage isn’t letting up. Despite adding 465,000 new homes across 350 major cities, the gap between housing supply and demand remains stuck at roughly 831,000 units — about 2% of total housing stock. New data shows the shortage continues to hit workforce renters the hardest. Explore the updated census tract-level maps to see where the shortfall hits hardest in your community.
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ON THE BLOG |
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Opportunity Zones 2.0 Are Coming – Here’s How PolicyMap Can Help
Opportunity Zones 2.0 are coming in January 2027 — and the window to influence where private capital flows for the next decade is open right now. PolicyMap has loaded all eligible Low-Income Community tracts, giving stakeholders a head start on identifying where investment is needed most. Explore how housing, health, jobs, and community asset data can sharpen your OZ 2.0 nomination and investment strategy.
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How to Conduct a Housing Needs Assessment Using PolicyMap: A Case Study in Indianapolis, IN
Home prices in Indianapolis have surged by more than 80% since 2013, leaving many households, especially in the city’s core, struggling to keep up. PolicyMap demonstrates how a housing needs assessment that integrates affordability, accessibility, and housing quality can help leaders understand not just where shortages exist, but why they persist. Explore how local governments and nonprofits can use data-driven insights to target reinvestment and align housing with real community needs.
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WEBINAR RECORDING |
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Integrating Data into Municipal Grant Strategy with PolicyMap
Hosted by Tom Love of PolicyMap and joined by grant strategist Melissa J. Pond, this webinar combines practical grant strategy insights with a live demonstration of how to access and apply data using PolicyMap. This session is ideal for municipal leaders, grant writers, planners, and community development professionals looking to strengthen their funding strategy through more efficient, strategic use of data.
Watch Now |
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CUSTOMER STORY |
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Grounded Solutions Network
Grounded Solutions is a national nonprofit membership network comprised of shared equity housing organizations, municipal housing programs, state housing finance agencies, and nonprofits committed to growing the supply of housing with lasting affordability. Its mission is to cultivate communities that are stable and inclusive by advancing affordable housing solutions that last for generations. Grounded Solutions Network relies on PolicyMap’s data and mapping tools to better understand housing markets, guide investment decisions, and evaluate community impact.
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Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University, despite lacking a dedicated geography department, has built a robust GIS Lab within the Library under the leadership of Dr. Stacy Curry-Johnson, serving as a vital instructional resource for students and faculty exploring geographic and population data. From enhancing curriculum and doctoral research to engaging high school students in environmental justice projects, PolicyMap supports Vanderbilt’s mission to advance education, research, and community impact.
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**New Data** The predominant foreign-born data was updated to the 2020-2024 Census ACS. This category includes several new countries of birth, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Georgia, Ivory Coast, Marshall Islands, St Lucia, Tanzania, Togo, and UAE.
The Lead Exposure Risk Index has been updated to the 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS) data.
CRA small business and small farm loan data is updated through 2024.
PolicyMap’s Home Ownership and Renter Affordability estimates have been updated with the new 2020-2024 ACS data.
Infant Death data from the CDC has been updated to 2023.
CDC mortality data for disease-related deaths and injury deaths have been updated for 2024.
Residential and business vacancy data from Valassis has been updated to 2026Q1 data.
Additional indicators on health professionals are now available from CMS NPPES.
We are committed to our promise of curated, cleaned, standardized, and always updated data. We’re posting real-time updates on our website, LinkedIn and BlueSky.
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Published Research
Explore scholarly works from students and researchers using PolicyMap.
Expanding health care students’ understanding of integrating community health needs assessment into person-centered care through interprofessional education, published in Discover Public Health
Growing change: a GIS spatial analysis to plan urban gardens in Chattanooga, published in UTC Scholar
Evaluating The Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Outcomes of Type II Diabetes in South Carolina, published in Health Policy Commons
Development and Usability of a Social Determinants of Health Dashboard in School-based Health, published in CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing
Vision in the margins: the association between census tract neighbourhood disadvantage and visual difficulty and blindness in the United States, published in Eye
Evolving Mechanisms of Inequality, published in Annals of Surgery
Open PolicyMap Training Sessions
Offered twice a week. Register here.
Level 1: Learning the basics of PolicyMap
Level 2: Learn the Data Loader, Multi-Layer Maps, and other Advanced Features
Open to non-subscribers. Course times rotate weekly. Don’t see a time that works for you?
Contact us.
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Join Us!
2026 US Housing & Community Development Conference
June 1-2, 2026
Dallas, TX
PolicyMap will be exhibiting at the 2026 U.S. Housing Community Development Conference & Expo! We are excited to network with the professionals shaping the future of housing and community development through innovative project delivery. Stop by booth #4 to meet the PolicyMap team and learn more about our geographic data offerings. Register here!
Attending the conference? Don’t miss How Cities Can Use Localized Housing Shortage Measures to Guide Investment in Production: A Philadelphia Case Study. PolicyMap Founder and CEO Maggie McCullough, Ira Goldstein, and Angela D. Brooks will show how Philadelphia used PolicyMap data to turn housing gap analysis into actionable policy.
June 1 | 11:15 AM | Dallas Ballroom D3
2026 Grantmakers In Health Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy
June 8-12, 2026
Baltimore, MD
PolicyMap will be exhibiting at the annual 2026 GIH Conference on Health Philanthropy! We are excited to network at the largest gathering of health funders in the country with bright minds, seasoned experts, and innovative practitioners working in health philanthropy today. Stop by the Policymap booth to meet the team and learn more about our geographic data offerings. Register here!
National Community Development Association Annual Conference
June 10-12, 2026
Pittsburgh, PA
PolicyMap is excited to join NCDA for their annual conference! Stop by our booth to learn how PolicyMap can be used to identify local housing needs, uncover trends, and support data-informed decision-making. Learn more.
American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition
June 25-29, 2026
Chicago, IL
PolicyMap is excited to join ALA for their Annual Conference & Exhibition! Stop by booth #1935 to explore the latest trends, technologies, e-resource management, and digital services in libraries.
Learn more.
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