blogging home for Dr. JMW's independent research creations
Meaningful Neighborhood Data from the Driver's Seat
Meaningful data is data that you intentionally seek out to close specific gaps in information. The Neighborhood Deep-Dive Datasets service is built in the spirit of connecting leaders, advocates, and concerned citizens with robust data that is immediately useful to them and their objectives. We allow these patrons to hop in the driver’s seat, claim the data that they need, and tailor how the datasets are structured and delivered.
Summer 2026 Neighborhood Deep-Dive Datasets
A logical follow-up to digesting the Benchmark Your Metro findings is to take a deep-dive into how the results translate to the neighborhood level. For example, if the benchmarking analysis reveals that your community is 'middle of the pack' on housing stability like Louisville, Atlanta, or Philadelphia, you can take a deeper look at how this echoed in what households at specific income levels can afford.
Measuring Metros on Housing Stability
There is no way around it. Housing stability is a pivotal matter that indicates the level of relational connectedness in a community. It speaks to a community’s ability to rally around principles of justice and fairness. The ability to balance the forces of profit maximization and ensuring reasonable access to basic needs. Housing stability, and the lack thereof, is also very visible. We see the many tents and carts adjacent to interstates and major roadways. We’re becoming more and more aware of how vulnerable low-income community members are to eviction and shady landlords who do little to nothing to upkeep their rental properties.
Benchmarking Greenville on Housing Stability
For most of us, living in the contemporary United States means engaging in a weekly struggle to secure enough money to meet our basic needs. If we take for granted all of the merit involved in “eating by what you earn,” the question remains: ‘What is reasonable and fair when it comes to the wages we earn from our labor and what it costs to secure safe and decent housing?’ Analysts, advocates, and policy people have sought insight on this housing stability question in a variety of ways. This analysis focuses strictly on the data by comparing the housing stability characteristics of Greenville—a metro showing progressive signals—to metros that share its baseline housing stability profile.