Urban Policy Analysis Services
Analyzing data is a requirement for good public policy, public program and business decision making. Civicus is an expert in gathering and analyzing civic, business and demographic data to evaluate existing programs and support decision making processes. We specialize in:
- Land Use Analysis
- Program Evaluation
- Economic Analysis
Our expertise includes analysis related to land use, housing, neighborhood development and economic development. Projects have included:
- Enterprise Zone Expansion
- Development Build-Out Analysis
- Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) Analysis
- Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Analysis
- New Market Tax Credit Analysis
- Industrial Land Use Analysis
- Vacant Housing Analysis
- TIF District Analysis
Urban Policy Analysis Projects
Indianapolis Urban Enterprise Zone Expansion
This project created four alternative Urban Enterprise Zone expansion maps based on contiguous land area, population, unemployment and poverty.
Enterprise Zones encourage economic growth and development through tax concession, infrastructure incentives, and reduced regulations to attract investments and private companies.
[ Download the Alternatives Maps ]
Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA)
The Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) project provided GIS spatial analysis to analyze existing boundaries and recommend areas for expansion.
The NRSA Program was established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to encourage local governments to focus some of their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding on highly-distressed neighborhoods.
[ Download the Proposed NRSA Expansion Map ]
Vacant & Abandoned Housing Strategic Approach
The Indianapolis Vacant & Abandoned Housing Strategic Approach report outlines the development of a "Housing Occupancy Spectrum" to classify the "health" of housing units. "Distressed" housing was further analyzed by Census block groups based on repair orders, vacant/boarding orders, long-term utility disconnections and tax delinquency to predict housing prone to future vacancy. Existing vacant housing policies and programs were reviewed and new policies and programs were proposed.
[ Download the Strategic Approach Summary ]