GEOSPATIAL DATA REPORT : Finding and Using GIS Data

http://www.woodstockinst.org/

Woodstock Institute is a nonprofit organization and a strong advocate of housing issues in Chicago. The organization has been collecting foreclosure data in the Chicago metropolitan area. The foreclosure data is now accessible through the Woodstock Institute’s website and also through Everyblock Chicago website (http://chicago.everyblock.com/foreclosures/).

The NU Library owns the Woodstock’s Chicago Area Community Lending Fact Book data on CD (1999-2004, tract level.)

[Image on the left: Foreclosure rates per 10,000 mortgageable properties in 2007 - click on the image to enlarge.]

http://www.huduser.org/Datasets/nsp_foreclosure_data.html

HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) local level foreclosure data is a statistically generated dataset to estimate a foreclosure rate as small as at a tract level. The data was created, under a new law, Economic Recovery Act of 2008, to assist local efforts to sustain high risk neighborhoods by acquiring and redeveloping foreclosed properties. Since foreclosure data is not readily available (no public & nationwide data sources available), some users may find the data useful. Remember: the data is not actual data but estimated numbers using public datasets – read the methdoroloogy document!

[Image left - HUD NSP Foreclosure Rate in Chicago metropolitan area (sorry, I forgot to add a legend!) - click on the image to enlarge]

http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/documents/services/Neighborhoods1978.zip

1978 Chicago neighborhood boundaries was created based on a map published by the City of Chicago Planning Department in 1986. This is my fist digitization project.. now I am much better at digitization – I am digitizing Chicago historical wards boundaries.

The file is also available from GOS – Geospatial One Stop (http://www.geodata.gov).

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/resource/regional/ChicagoCommunityAreas_Tracts_Relate.csv

Since a couple of people have asked – I created a crosswalk table (comma delimited) showing the relationship between Chicago community areas (Chicago’s defact & statistical neighborhoods) and the Census tracts.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/gis

City of Chicago GIS dataset, printable maps and interactive maps are available from this site. To access GIS data files, click on “GIS Data” or select categorized datasets.

Note: Come back often to this site to get the latest data – the City of Chicago GIS irregularly updates data files – and you cannot tell which files were updated until you download data and compare!  For example, well sought after geocodable Chicago streets shapefiles, TRANSPORTATION_DSLV_1.zip, are now available from the site. Still, no metadata comes with the files..

Datasets available from the site area are categorized into the following groups:

• Base data
• Boundary data
• Incentive programs
• Points of interest
• Transportation Data