Jay Colbert, Polis Data Manager, and Sharon Kandris, Polis Associate Director, Polis Center and Director, Community Informatics, supported the City of Indianapolis’ effort to address racial equity within city government and in the community through the application of city services. The city hosted a series of workshops with each city and county department to discuss how these goals can be achieved through the annual budget process. Polis analyzed data showing areas with vulnerable populations as measured by people of color, lower income, lower educational attainment, and households not speaking English and placed them into an index map to indicate to the working groups where concentrations of vulnerable populations exist. They also showed examples of how internal city data can be and has been used for concentrations of library cardholders, crime data, and public transportation density.
City of Indianapolis effort to address racial equity in city government and the community
