Population growth in US cities

 Below is a screen shot that I created from an article in the Washington  Post, titled "Where America's developed areas are growing".

I'm showing the Sycamore-DeKalb, Illinois cities.  I spent 5th grade through high school in Sycamore, graduating from HS in 1964. I left for college in the fall of 1964 and while my family lived there until 1992, I later made my home in the Chicago region.  Thus, I've watched this population growth with interest over the past 30 years.

I used this example to demonstrate the interactive feature of the Washington Post article. Type in any zip code in the bar at the top of the map and you'll get a map showing that location, with the purple shading showing population growth in that area between 2001 and 2019.

This is just one platform that I point to in this blog, demonstrating ways to visualize data and share it via newspaper and Internet articles.

I've used this blog since 2008 and the Tutor/Mentor blog, since 2006, to share map-stories with the goal of drawing attention to the information, then using the information to develop strategies that draw resources into the areas where the maps show help is needed. 

I've been collecting links to data platforms for many years and while I point to some from articles on this blog, I created this concept map, to point to many more. And while many major media are creating some fantastic map stories, I don't find many bloggers talking about using their data maps for specific purposes, the way I've been doing.

Thus, I'm pleased to point to a new site being  hosted by Adam Hecktman, who has been part of the ChiHackNight group for many years, in his role with Microsoft.  Look at the Tweet below and visit Adam's new site. I'm please that this MappingforJustice blog is the first on the site. I hope there will be many more in the coming months.

Submit your Chicago Tech for Good blog.@AdamHecktman added my blog this week.

Mapping for Justice https://t.co/PhCwghPdMi

— Daniel Bassill (@tutormentorteam) August 13, 2021

The Washington Post article enables you to look at population growth in every part of the country.  People in every city need to be looking at the maps and asking "what does this mean for us?" and "What can we do to fix any problems this shows?" and finally, "Who wants to help?"

Since most of us don't have dedicated advertising budgets to reach out and gather people to work together to solve specific problems, using our blogs and social media to share our ideas is one of the few resources we can use.

 Creating libraries, or hubs, is one way to shine the light on the work many are doing. 

8-20-2021 update - Here's 8-20-2021 WBEZ story titled,  "Takeaways From 2020 Census Data For Chicago And Illinois In 6 Graphics".  White population in Illinois declined while POC grew. 

How Many Youth Programs are Needed?

Last week I posted two articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog that included the maps I'm showing below.  These show 15 Chicago community areas with high levels of shootings and homicides, considered 'high priority' by the Chicago SunTimes. 

I've combined the community area maps created by the SunTimes, with maps from the Tutor/Mentor directory to show the same  neighborhoods, locations of existing non-school, volunteer-based, tutor and/or mentor programs, and the number of high-poverty youth, age 6-17, in the area.

Here's an example: North Lawndale is on the far West side of Chicago and 4178 low income youth, which is 61% of the total youth population in that area.  

The green icons of the Tutor/Mentor map are youth programs in the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC's directory. (see map here). While there are seven programs, they are on the edges of the community area, except for the Better Boys Foundation (BBF Family Services).   We don't know how many youth each existing program serves, nor the age groups they serve, but if each served 100 kids weekly, it would mean 700 out of 4178 had access to a non-school tutor and/or mentor program.

Here's another example:  This shows Englewood, on the South side of Chicago, West of the Dan Ryan Expressway.  Click to enlarge the map.

The goal of creating these maps is to stimulate planning teams that help existing programs each get the operating resources needed to continue to serve youth and (hopefully) constantly improve, based on what they can learn from each other. At the same time, planning teams should identify where more programs are needed, and work to fill those voids.  

This should be happening in every community area of Chicago, as well as in Chicago suburbs and other cities.

Take a look at the two articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog. July 29 and August 1.

Since the mid 1980s I've seen stories of violence in Chicago, followed by editorials saying "demand something" or with quotes by parents saying "we need more youth programs for these kids".  Yet, there's never been an on-going, map-based planning process, intended to fill high poverty areas with a wide range of youth tutor, mentor, learning and jobs programs.

Unless that changes, it's likely the violence will continue.

If  you're using maps for this type of analysis or interested in learning more you can find me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and Instagram (see links here).   Let's connect.