To collect as many of the individual data sets as we can, clean the data and curate the data to provide a singular tool for government, nonprofits and CDCs to understand blight and measure our mitigation efforts.
From the Blight Elimination Charter : We seek to...
“Expand information systems capabilities and capacities to ensure better data driven decision-making. Successful blight prevention and reuse requires accurate information about the wide array of factors that affect real property, including the sources and sequence of factors that create blighted properties and those that may prevent it. Rational decisions about what to do, when, how much, and for how long can only be made with accurate, complete and current information. Such data driven decision-making should become the default operating procedure for all individuals and organizations involved with blighted property prevention and abatement.”
The Memphis Property Hub collects information at a parcel-by-parcel level from a number of sources, across both City and County government. The data also includes information from MLGW. Lastly, the Bluff City Snapshot survey that was conducted in the last months of 2015 provides a windshield survey of every City of Memphis property.
The Bluff City Snapshot is a city-wide survey of nearly every parcel, commercial and residential. The “Snapshot” was taken over the course of 12 weeks in late 2015. Volunteers used a smartphone-based app to survey each parcel and document the presence of blight. The area covered is 343 square miles and approximately 244,000 parcels.
The surveyors captured structural deficiencies, as well as issues with the property, including the presence of abandoned vehicles, trash or overgrown vegetation. The surveyors noted if the property had a structure, whether it appeared occupied, and how the property was used (residential, retail, etc.). Lastly, surveyors assigned both a blight and a litter score to the parcel, using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing the highest presence of blight or litter and 1 representing excellent condition.
The volunteer surveyors were paid a stipend for participation. To become a surveyor, each volunteer went through a training program. Once surveyors went into the field, a quality control team tested a random sample of 200 surveys for each surveyor and checked the parcel results for accuracy. If more than 5 errors were found, the surveyor was brought back for re-training. When major errors in accuracy were found, those parcels were re-surveyed.
Data is collected primarily through ReGIS as most Shelby County Data flows through there to University of Memphis Center for Earth Sciences.
Yes, send any comments or questions to mphaskus@gmail.com and we will contact you as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: Parcel numbers change frequently. The current parcel roll includes 240,870 parcels. The Bluff City Snapshot used a prior parcel roll. Users will find that 13% of current City parcels are not represented in the Bluff City Snapshot.
MLGW data can be inferred to show a location that the services have been disconnected for over 3 years. We can infer these to be potentially vacant buildings etc. There are exceptions.
Was developed to help citizens understand Memphis better and invest in nonprofits that are improving their community. These websites were developed by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, with the support and collaboration of many other philanthropic organizations, corporations, and nonprofit partners.
If you have any questions, email Director of Community Information Mia Madison or call her at (901) 722-0020. http://www.cfgm.org/non-profits/wherewelivemidsouth-wheretogivemidsouth/