Users can easily create customized maps of land records data, such as the map of foreclosures by census tracts in 2008 shown here. When creating maps, users can select the indicator and geographic range, as well as the number and style of class breaks and the color ramp.
Other forms of analysis available in LandStat include reports, tables, statistics, scatter charts and ranked lists.
The LandStat system uses the Kaleidocade Indicators Framework (KIF) to enable users to analyze real estate and land records transaction trends in Philadelphia - such as mortgages, deeds, sheriff's deeds, foreclosures - and create maps and reports on a city-wide and neighborhood basis.
Client: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records
Challenge: The Department of Records (DoR) controls and manages the City of Philadelphia’s municipal records and handles both internal and public requests for access to this information. Some of the most important records that the DoR tracks are related to the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RTT), which is paid to the city when a property changes hands. Because the RTT makes up a significant portion of the city’s budget, the Finance and Revenue Department needs to understand the impact that real estate market trends have on the city’s fiscal budget. DoR staff were supporting that process by collecting data and generating unique reports for each individual request. To reduce the time spent creating custom maps and reports on real estate transaction trends, the DoR wanted to develop a web-based tool that would make this information easily available to city employees. The LandStat application addresses this challenge.
Solution: Azavea developed LandStat for the DoR using Azavea’s Kaleidocade Indicators Framework (KIF). LandStat enables users to create collections of indicators and then view and analyze the results via maps, tables, summary statistics, histograms, trend charts, and reports. These indicators can be used to examine city-wide trends or developments within custom areas, such as specific regions targeted for economic development or stimulus spending.
LandStat contains about 750,000 records of aggregated land records data for over 40 indicators pertaining to mortgages, deeds, sheriff’s deeds (an indicator of foreclosures), RTT, state and local tax revenue, condominium declarations, and property types. This data is aggregated at five different geographic levels: zip codes, council districts, wards, census tracts, and census blockgroups. LandStat’s data is gathered by a custom application that regularly extracts land information from official documents in the DoR’s PhilaDOX system, and from scanned documents and data from the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT). That data is then matched to locations before being aggregated by geographic level. Finally, the aggregated data is loaded into LandStat.
Outcomes: LandStat has streamlined the process of fielding requests for custom reports and has given the DoR staff immediate access to data and maps on the real estate market, lending practices, and foreclosures. Pertinent information from a series of different systems is now accessible in one place, conveniently served over the Internet, and with powerful analytic tools to help interpret it. Following its release to the public, LandStat has made it easy for an even wider audience to analyze data and produce detailed reports, charts, and maps without acquiring or learning any specialized mapping, database, or statistical software. Additionally, LandStat makes this information more accessible while reducing the amount of time that the DoR staff spends fielding requests for custom maps and data.
Website:
www.phillylandstat.org/