What are your neighbors up to?
There's a new way to get information about the neighbors - and it doesn't require talking to them.
If you live in Minneapolis or St. Paul, you can find your neighborhood on this map created by Minnesota Compass. Click to view all kinds of info - like how many of your neighbors take the bus to work, where they work, and even how much they make (that's as a group, not individually!) The project is led by Wilder Research and pulls data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
There's also detailed information about jobs and housing that could be useful for finding ways to help your community. That's one of the goals of the project.
It's also a handy way to compare two neighborhoods. Take Central and Lyndale - two neighborhoods right next to each other in south Minneapolis. There are dozens of measures. Here are just a few.
Residents who are younger than 18:
Central: 32 percent
Lyndale: 18 percent
Who are older than 64:
Central: 4 percent
Lyndale: 8 percent
Who take public transportation to work:
Central: 22 percent
Lyndale: 24 percent
Who have lived in the same place for less than five years:
Central: 44 percent
Lyndale: 50 percent
Who are Hispanic or Latino:
Central: 44 percent
Lyndale: 24 percent
Who speak a language other than English:
Central: 51 percent
Lyndale: 29 percent
Find something surprising about your neighborhood? Share it with us and fellow Cities blog readers in the comments section.
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