To create a tool for people better understand their cities and communities, Quartz mapped life expectancy in cities down to the census tract levels.
There’s a great deal of information packed into life expectancy. "Life expectancy reflects a neighborhood’s safety, the quality of its health care, its environment, and the wealth and mental health of the people who live there," Dan Kopf and Daniel Wolfe write for Quartz.
While life expectancy is down in the United States overall, the story varies greatly from one neighborhood to the next. For example, the surge in drug overdoses in the United States is by no means evenly distributed across the country, and there’s a lot of detail that can be pulled out when one gets down to the census tract level.
Still, even with visibility down to the neighborhood level, some nuance is concealed, one person may not be as similar to their neighbor as addresses might suggest and because there’s a lot reflected in the data, there’s plenty of room for interpretation.
FULL STORY: Map: What story does your neighborhood’s life expectancy tell
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.