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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

MoveSmart.org — Technology for an Integrated Chicagoland


About MoveSmart.org

Until now, information on neighborhoods has been buried in the back of academic reports, pinned to community center bulletin boards, and locked in data sets only available to planners, inaccessible to those who would benefit from it the most: housing seekers looking for a better neighborhood. MoveSmart.org will leverage the power of this information by combining these and other data sources into a single mapping engine built into a full-featured site that includes guides, tools, calculators, forums, and social networks, all designed to foster racial and economic integration.

Previous integration initiatives have proven costly and focused on families receiving public aid. Housing seekers with unlimited funds have always had the luxury of living where they choose. But for millions of families who have limited resources, finding the right neighborhood is difficult. MoveSmart.org will educate housing seekers about the benefits of integrative moves while at the same time providing suggestions on where to move, guides on how to move, and information on how to get involved in their new neighborhoods, inspiring pride in a new community and putting them on a path to true integration.


MoveSmart.org — Technology for an Integrated Chicagoland

Editors Note: Interesting initiative to promote racial and economic integration of communities -- I am interested to see if the data provided on communities will encourage integration or help people stay clear of it? I plan to monitor its progress.
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1 comment:

Justin Massa said...

Thanks for the post. Ensuring that the data on the site encourages integration is at the core of our mission. Watch www.MoveSmart.org/WordPress in the coming weeks - an article by Profs. Krysan and Forman, authors of the Chiacago Area Study (http://movesmart.org/WordPress/?p=31), that highlights "racial blindspots" will soon be published. Their research forms the basis of how we plan to feature data on the site.

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