Lewis Center & SCAG Launch Regional Data Analysis & Visualization Application

Southern California is in a perpetual state of change.  In recent years, regional planners have sought to focus growth near existing jobs and transit, in areas where people drive less for commutes and have more transportation options.  

REVISION is a new web application dedicated to understanding community change in Southern California.  With a range of metrics related to accessibility, livability, employment, and health, REVISION helps both professional planners and stakeholders without a technical background monitor the progress of the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy, a plan to improve environmental sustainability, social equity, and public health.  Users can use the site to answer hundreds of questions about regional and neighborhood change, including:

• Are more people near Metrolink stations using public transit to get to work versus 5 years ago?
• Where are there redevelopment opportunities in walkable areas near jobs and high quality transit?
• In which areas is poverty increasing?
• Which areas are well served by transit and have access to open space and healthy foods?

The UCLA Lewis Center and the Southern California Association of Governments worked together to launch the REVISION application with funding from California’s Strategic Growth Council.  The Lewis Center aggregated data from various public and private sources to create complete picture of neighborhood change.  Four integrated tools comprise the application:

• Users can visualize differences between neighborhoods using the Map Tool.  
• The Trends Tool helps users identify statistically significant change over time.  
• The Area Report presents location-specific details from multiple sources: the just-released 2014 American Community Survey, CalEnviroScreen, planning data, Zillow real estate values, and Walkscore.com.
• The Property Report provides information from the County Assessor and other sources.