2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

80 Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data
mentioned only the Decennial Census, even though several of the new
data series had started by that time (Kingsley 1999). Table 3.1 lists many
of the federal small-area datasets. The remainder of this section highlights
a few of these data sources that represent major trends or important
innovations in data production or dissemination.
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is one example of
a major advancement in data collection and provision. HMDA was
enacted by Congress in 1975 and implemented by Federal Reserve Board
regulations. HMDA legislation requires most lenders to report home
mortgage applications with loan attributes, applicant characteristics,
and the census tract of the property. Beginning in 1992, lenders were
required to make the loan-level data public, and the Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council began to produce CDs with an easyto-use
system to query the data (McCoy 2007). Although the HMDA was
motivated by the need to monitor financial institutions’ investments in
communities and identify potentially discriminatory lending patterns,
it also enabled the creation of indicators on the race and gender of new
borrowers, mortgage activity, and trends in loan amounts (Pettit and
Droesch 2008). The availability of these indicators spurred a substantial
body of research on the mortgage markets and empowered activists to
reveal racial disparities in lending. When combined with a list of lenders
specializing in subprime lending, this dataset played a critical role in
documenting the spatial and racial patterns of subprime loans during
the late 1990s and early 2000s (Immergluck and Wiles 1999; Treskon,
Kornil and Silver 2003). Clearer definitions implemented in 2004
improved the ability to identify these loans from all lenders. Beginning
in 2009, HMDA data were distributed online.
Another example of a new data series that is useful for neighborhood
and community information is the US Census Bureau’s Longitudinal
Employer–Household Dynamics, which was launched in 2002. This data
series uses sophisticated statistical and computing techniques to combine
federal and state administrative data on employers and employees
with other Census Bureau data, maintaining confidentiality protections
for individuals and firms. Under the Longitudinal Employer–Household
Dynamics, the Local Employment Dynamics Program is a voluntary
partnership between state labor market information agencies and the
US Census Bureau to develop new information about local labor market
conditions. By relying on existing administrative data, the Census Bureau
produces the new dataset at low cost and with no added respondent