Last month, CURA and the Data & Mapping team at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) attended the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) semi-annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI. CURA and MORPC were invited as a guest city to represent Columbus, OH. The NNIP is a collaborative effort between the Urban Institute and local partner cities to further advance neighborhood information systems and to help provide neighborhood level data to local community groups. NNIP and  the Urban Institute is committed to providing policy makers and the public with data to help foster smarter decisions.

While at the meeting, we had the opportunity to learn from and share information with other cities on what we are doing to promote data-driven decision making in our community. We had the opportunity to travel to three neighborhoods within the Milwaukee community. The tour that CURA went on is called the Lindsay Heights EcoTour, which is Milwaukee's first eco-neighborhood. The sustainability initiative in this neighborhood started with teaching kids how to plant tulips and has morphed into rooftop solar and stormwater management installations. These amazing efforts were driven by the Walnut Way, a neighborhood organization founded in 2000 by Lindsay Heights residents, Sharon and Larry Adams, who are deeply passionate and proud of their community. These neighborhood tours highlighted the amazing efforts residents are doing to improve their community. To learn more about the Lindsay Heights EcoTour please visit the Walnut Way's website.        

CURA and MORPC are excited to be involved in this amazing network of data-driven, passionate, community focused individuals. This partnership will help Columbus, OH learn from other cities, share information, and support our community better with data-driven information.