2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

Using Data for Neighborhood Improvement 211
erties in its inventory. The users of the NEO CANDO–NST web app,
like Baron, can pull up properties in their service area, identify the ones
held by the land bank, immediately access the property characteristics
of these properties, see the status of the other properties on the street,
and determine whether a particular property is one their organization
wants to invest in.
Another useful feature of the NEO CANDO–NST web app, according
to users, is the ability to upload one’s own data into the system. Baron uses
this system as his primary database for properties in the Stockyard, Clark-
Fulton and Brooklyn Centre’s service area. According to Baron, it made
sense to add the organization’s data to the NEO CANDO system rather
than creating a separate database. The CDC administers a vacancy survey
twice a year in their neighborhood. Once the survey is complete, they
upload the data into the NEO CANDO–NST web app, which contains
two other sources of data on vacancy: one from the US Postal Service
and another from the City of Cleveland’s vacancy survey. Having three
sources of vacancy data gives a better idea of a neighborhood’s vacancy
rate, and having a property verified by all three sources provides more
confidence that it is actually vacant. Simply knowing whether a property
is vacant, along with information about liens and code violations, is
important in deciding whether to invest time in pursuing the property
for possible acquisition. “The timesaving aspect of having the relevant
property information in one system cannot be overstated,” claims Baron.
“It saves staff time and increases work efficiency.”
The NEO CANDO system is also used for advocacy and community
outreach. NEO CANDO’s geographic information system was used by
the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre CDC to create neighborhood
block club boundaries. Once uploaded to the NEO CANDO
system, these boundaries enabled them to generate reports of distressed
properties for concerned residents. Let’s say block club members in one
west-side Cleveland neighborhood are interested in condemned properties
on their streets. Within minutes, the CDC staff can choose a specific
block club area from a drop-down menu, extract all properties that have
been condemned by the city in the past month, and prepare a list for the
block club members showing who owns the property, when the property
was condemned, and the status of the condemnation. With this information,
block members keep an eye on these properties, track whether
steps are being taken to deal with these public nuisances, and reach out
to public officials to deal with them in a timely manner.