Posted on: May 23, 2018
(ATLANTA, May 23, 2018) – Neighborhood Nexus, a free, interactive data resource for residents and organizations in metro Atlanta and Georgia, has received a $100,000 grant from the 500 Cities Data Challenge to develop a health and wellness data toolkit to help improve health outcomes in four cities: Atlanta, Albany, Columbus, and Savannah.
The toolkit will measure five key social determinants of health — economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, and neighborhood and built environment.
Subscribe to ARC
Sign up to receive our newsletter, surveys and important updates.
Subscribe to ARC
Sign up to receive our newsletter, surveys and important updates.
Subscribe
“This grant will help communities across Georgia gain a better understanding of the health and well-being of their residents and provide decision-makers with the information they need to develop innovative policies and programs that improve health outcomes,” said Bernita Smith, director of Neighborhood Nexus.
Neighborhood Nexus, a partnership of the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, was one of 10 organizations across the country to receive $100,000 grants from the 500 Cities Data Challenge.
The 500 Cities Data Challenge, a partnership of the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, encourages communities to dig into the 500 Cities dataset and design innovative solutions that address social factors influencing health, such as housing, education, and transportation.
The Neighborhood Nexus health and wellness toolkit aims to:
- Benchmark the health and wellness of the four Georgia cities, utilizing the 500 Cities dataset
- Increase community engagement around public health issues through interactive data visualizations
- Educate residents about health inequity and provide access to community-specific health tools through workshops, webinars, and training videos
“For many decades in Georgia, health and human services has been organized largely at the county level. The 500 Cities Challenge provides an opportunity to recognize the critical role that cities play when it comes to community health,” said Mike Carnathan, manager of ARC’s Research & Analytics Group. “Cities impact public works, infrastructure, housing, transportation, and economic development, all of which are essential to advancing health for all.”
About Neighborhood Nexus
Neighborhood Nexus, a partnership of the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, is a data visualization effort that contains integral statistics on the state of Georgia. Datasets include county-specific information on demographics, economics, and transportation. Datasets are updated frequently and utilize mapping, tabular, and visualization platforms to create stunning graphics that convey integral statistics in easily-digestible ways.
Learn more about Neighborhood Nexus at https://neighborhoodnexus.org/.