Ever wanted to know more about your neighbors, but were afraid to ask?

Well, the LA Times has asked about your neighbors for you — and mapped out the answers with its neighborhood mapping project.

Through a joint effort, the Los Angeles Times and its readers have mapped L.A., providing individual maps and statistics for approximately 158 cities and 114 neighborhoods within the city.

The Times’ neighborhood maps offer information  regarding income, education, schools, age, population, and ethnicity, along with up-to-date news from each selected area.  You can click on a region to see the neighborhoods available, and then click on any one to view a more detailed map.

As an example, the maps show considerable differences among education levels. In the San Marino neighborhood of the San Gabriel Valley, 70 percent of residents age 25 and older have a four-year college degree, while in the nearby South El Monte neighborhood, that number is a drastically lower 3 percent.

This new mapping tool may well become a valuable resource for Los Angeles-area neighborhoods. Do you know of similar projects statewide where media organizations have mapped their community?

Posted by kidsdata.org

Tags: Data Projects

California, it turns out, is diverse even within its diversity, at least judging by newly available immigration data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. In Shasta, Mendocino, Tuolumne, and many other counties, the percent of residents who are foreign born is a tiny fraction of the overall population, adults or kids. But in other counties – Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara – nearly half (or more) of residents in some age groups are foreign born.

Another interesting demographic difference is the generational divide evident in a graphic from the New York Times. California is home to six of the 11 metropolitan areas nationwide that have the largest gap between the percentage of children who are white and of residents over 65 who are white:  Riverside-Ontario-San Bernardino, Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, Stockton, and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos.

These data are compelling, given survey results that show a generational difference on opinions regarding immigration. A recent New York Times article offers insights as to why younger and older generations differ about their feelings on immigration. The article notes that baby boomers and older Americans “came of age in one of the most homogeneous moments in the country’s history.” In 1970, for example, less than 5 percent of the country was foreign born. By contrast, 13 to 15 percent of the U.S. was foreign born from 1860 through 1920. That percentage – roughly three times the figure in 1970 – is actually quite similar to breakdowns today.

Posted by Andy Krackov

Tags: Data Projects

The Children’s Initiative recently released the 2009 edition of the San Diego County Report Card on Children and Families, a summary of the overall health and well being of children, youth, and families in the state’s 2^nd biggest county, as measured by child population.

Among the highlights from the report: Although San Diego County child poverty rates are lower than both state and national averages, the rate increased to 16.6 percent of children in 2008 – the highest in the county since 2000.

Some other notable trends from the report include:

• 93 percent of families reported having health care coverage for their children, on par with state averages and well above national averages.
• Domestic violence and child abuse trends are improving, but county rates still remain above the state average. Also, child victims of violent crime have dropped only slightly.
• Despite annual fluctuations, motor vehicle crashes involving DUIs among drivers ages 16-20 are still at the same level as they were in 1996. And DUI arrests among adolescents in this non-legal drinking age group actually are increasing.

The 2009 Report Card also offered 10 recommendations focused on prevention and intervention, including:

• Intensive home visiting of vulnerable families to improve parenting skills and reduce child abuse, neglect, and repeat teen births.
• Closely monitoring school attendance; providing after school programs to help prevent substance abuse; and restoring driver education in schools to reduce DUI cases.
• Improving parent-to-teen communication. Teens reporting good relationships with parents are less likely to engage in truancy, substance abuse, DUI, and crime, the report notes.
• Raising the economic status of poverty-stricken families through health and housing benefits, as well as job training and educational opportunities.

Kidsdata.org has long been affiliated with children’s reports, particularly those in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, so we know how vital such reports can be in drawing local attention to how kids are faring, and focusing the community on related improvements. If you’re at work on – or recently have released – a summary report on local children, please let us know by adding a comment/link below.

Posted by kidsdata.org

Tags: Data Projects