GIS and Evidence-Based Policy Making - Chapter 15 (end) docx

Section II Engaging with the Public 15 Engaging Citizens: The Bradford Community Statistics Project Derek Reeve, Erik Thomasson, Steve Scott, and Ludi Simpson CONTENTS 15.1 Introduction 329 15.2 Policy Context 330 15.3 Project Context 332 15.4 Technical Features 334 15.4.1 Boundary-Free Small-Area Estimates 334 15.4.2 User-Defined Target Areas 337 15.4.3 Information Dissemination Rather Than Analysis 338 15.5 Data Issues 339 15.6 Community Use 341 15.7 Organizational Context 343 15.8 Conclusions 344 References 345 15.1 Introduction Engaging the active participation of citizens in the processes of civic govern- ance has been a laudable, if largely unrealized goal, of local governments for decades. Recently, this goal has been much reemphasized in the United King- dom. Almost every recent U.K. government initiative places a clear onus on local governments to collaborate with their communities. Local authorities must now establish community strategies and formlocal strategic partnerships to reflect community interests. In the main, however, the public have been ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. steadfastly disinterested in participation exercises. Participation in local elec- tions and attendance at local meetings are usually depressingly low. The Internet has recently been seized upon as a new vehicle with which to reengage the public. Visionaries look forward to a future in which Internet- based systems will be used to involve citizens in developments in their locality, encouraging citizens to interact directly with professionals and policy makers in local decision-making processes. Because many of the issues that affect local government are land or property based, WebGIS are seen as having a major role to play within this movement towards Internet participation. There is already a significant literature describing experiments in public participation GIS (PPGIS) (Craig et al., 1998; ESF-NSF, 2001; Laurini, 2001). Achi eving the future, howeve r, is always more difficu lt than the visio nar- ies, and vendors, sugges t. The rhetor ic surrou nding PPGIS has raced far ahead of re ality as rep resented by presen t PPGIS. We bGIS package s pro vide the te chnologie s by which local ag encies might deliver spat ial informati on into the homes of citi zens but we still are at the very beginn ing of the lear ning curve of unde rstandi ng how to desi gn systems based on these techn ologies effici ently to engage the publi c’s intere st. We need to unde rstand wh at inform ation shou ld be pr esented , how that inform ation is mo st effectivel y pre sented, and what is require d fo r the publ ic to be able to use the inform a- tion . It is doubtf ul if any pre sent PPG IS could yet claim to have bec ome a major channel for participation between citizens and policy makers. We are still at the stage of seeing what works, of experiments and projects. This paper contributes to the continuing PPGIS debate by detailing the PPG IS built for the Bradfor d Comm unity Statist ics Pro ject (BCSP ; www. bcsp -web.or g). The BCSP’s Maps and Stat s syst em is an innov ative and purposeful PPGIS, the lessons from which should be of interest to both researchers and other local governments. Some PPGIS sites appear primarily to be designed to disseminate prepared mapped-based information to residents and, with such sites, the manner in which the data are presented remains largely controlled by the sites’ owner s. The primary purpose of the Maps and Stats system, however, is to put into the hands of residents the datasets and online tools necessary to allow them, independently, to research conditions within their communities. Our site invites users to actively engage with data, rather than passively to receive them. A further distinctive feature of the BCSP is that the Maps and Stats PPGIS has been develop ed as one element within a broader project to build the capacity of local communities to understand and critically appraise the statistical bases upon which decisions about their locali ties are being made. 15.2 Policy Cont ext The U.K. government has rediscovered the policy significance of urban social geography. There is presently very gre at concern about the spatial ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. dimension of social exclusion, the belief being that som e localities are effectively excluded from the standards of well-being which are consi dered the norm in the rest of society. Furthermore, there is a determination that such spatial inequalities will be reduced: ‘‘Within 10 to 20 years, no one should be disadvantaged by where they live’’ (Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, 2001). A range of area-based policy initiatives designed to promote convergence of social conditions between communities have been developed, e.g., Health Action Zones, Education Action Zones, Sports Action Zones, Excellence in Cities Action Zones, Sure Start, Anticrime local partnerships, the New Deal for Communities, and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund PACT areas. In addition to U.K. government initiatives, quasi-government funding bodies, including the National Lottery Board, target significant resources into urban areas via area-based bidding processes. The EU also uses area-based statistics to direct very large structural regeneration funds to selected areas. Although each of these policies differs in detail, there are recurrent themes presented below: . Territorial: There is an emphasis upon drawing boundaries. Such territorial delineation is seen as a means of most effectively allo- cating limited resources. There is, however, a clear equity issue with area-based policies: Communities within designated areas will qualify for assistance under particular initiatives, those outside will not. The onus is upon policy makers to ensure that boundaries are drawn appropriately. . Evidence-based: The mechanism for justifying the delineation of boundaries depends heavily upon statistical profiling. To qualify for assistance, areas have to display specified characteristics. Once designated, statistics are used to measure the progress of areas towards target norms. A clear emphasis within recent policy making has been upon evidence-based approaches. Actually, there is nothing particularly new about this approach to urban policy making. In the United Kingdom , there has been a tradition of small- area policy initiatives. During the 1970s for example, there were housing action areas (HAAs) and general improvement areas (GIAs), the purposes of which were to identify small pockets of need within cities and then to channel resource s into the areas affected. There is also, of course, a long tradition of spatially-based multiple deprivation and territorial social indicator studies, which have used statistical techniques to identify communities in need (Knox, 1975; NCRNRD, 1998; Senior, 2002). More novel strands within current small-area policy making might be: . Multiagency: There is an expectation that local providers of services to communities—local and central government departments, ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. health and police authorities—will coordinate their initiatives towards localities. Cross-cutting initiatives are in vogue and the joined-up appr oach to government is being road-tested within the local policy-making arena. . Community involvement: A key feature of current local policy making is a concern that communities should be active partners in the policies that are developed for their areas. There is concern to redu ce the alienation from governmental processes that are a characteristic of socially depr ived areas. Within current policy initiatives, therefore, there is an emphasis upon reengaging with local communities, although in practice community and voluntary groups may well retain a degree of cynicism about being the beneficiaries of another round of top–down policy initiatives. To realize such policy initiatives local governments and other local agencies are being required to reconsider the ways local decision-making is conducted. On a pragmatic level, there is a great need to ensure that good quality small-area statistics are available to allow the characteristics of localities to be probed. At a nationa l level, the need for improved small- area statistics is emphasized within the National Strategy for Neighbour- hood Renewal initiative: ‘‘Better information needs to be available for all involved in strategy development, service design, and delivery at the local level. This should make it more likely that problems are diagnosed and effective answers produced. It also fits well with the need to invo lve local people more in playing their part and holding public services to account’’ (Social Exclusion Unit, 2000, p. 8). And at the local authority level, there is an onus upon local agencies to share their datasets and to integrate their policy making more fully than has previously been the case. There is also a clear expectation placed upon local government to reener- gize its methods of public engagement. Rather than going through the rites of public participation, there is now an expectation that communities must be genuinely active partners in formulating the policies that affect them. 15.3 Project Context Against this national background, the BCSP is an attempt to enhance the capacity of community groups to participate more fully, and more equally, in the local policy debates that affect their communities and, specifically, to help residents to understand the statistical manipulations involved in local area policy making and grant allocation procedures. The Maps and Stats PPGIS is also seen as providing a platform that will facilitate the efficient integration and dissemination of previously disparate datasets. The BCSP is a joint initiative between the Research and Consultation Service of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC) ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. and the Bradford Resource Centre (BRC), the BRC being a not-for-profit organization that provides a focal point for community groups within the district. The project was funded by a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with matching funds provided by the CBMDC. In its bid for funding, the BCSP provided a succinct statement of its aims: (a) Increase the capacity of community groups to effectively use statistical information sources (b) Make accessible via the Internet local st atistics for community groups’ own areas (c) Support the voluntary sector in making a case for statistics which are more appropriate to their needs. To achieve objective (a) a team of workers was established within the BRC with a remit to liaise with local community groups and to foster among such groups confiden ce that they can make effective use of statistical data for their own purposes. The BRC team provided informal ‘‘drop-in statistical surgeries’’ focused on helping community activists develop skills in the critical use of statistical sources and also developed a one-day ‘‘Strength in Numbers’’ course to explore the issues in a deeper and more structured way. Ongoing support has also been provided to those undertaking community research. Objective (c) sprang from a concern among community researchers that official statistics often fail adequately to reflect the concerns of community and voluntary organizations and that the community should have a role not only in interpreting existing statistics but also in influencing how and whic h statistics are made available. The Maps and Stats WebGIS was developed to achieve objective (b), this development being undertaken primarily by officers based within the Research and Consultation Service of CBMDC, although an aspect of the capacity building activities of the BRC team has been to introduce the Maps and Stats facility as a source of relevant statistical information and to feedba ck users’ comments to the technical development team. In building the Maps and Stats WebGIS the intention was to provide citizens with the datasets and tools necessary to allow them to conduct their own small-area analyses and thus to devel op policy and funding proposals independent of council involvement. For the first time, there would be a single, comprehensive, consistent, and maintained small-area policy dataset for the district, delivered via an easily quer ied online system—freely available to anyone who is interested. Whereas in the past, community groups would have needed to go to the council to obtain access to relevant statistics, increasingly it is envisaged that such statistics would be available directly via the Maps and Stats WebGIS. The BCSP recognized that the role of the local authority, and other local agencies, as gatekeepers of local information should be lessened. GIS has been criticized as a technology that further concentrates the control of knowledge within ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. bure aucrac ies and exclu des relative ly disadva ntaged ci tizens (Pic kles, 1995). The BCSP explicitly aims to reve rse this trend in Bradfor d. A furth er note worthy feature of the BCSP has been the partn ership bet ween Bradfor d Council and the BRC. Ghose (2001) and Ghose and Huxh old (2002) discuss pr ojects involv ing uni versity–co mmun ity partn ership s as a means of dem ocratizin g GIS. The BCSP is bas ed upon a local gover nmen t–commu nity partn ership . Rather than the coun cil devel oping a syst em for the commu nity, the intention has been to devel op the system with the co mmun ity, with the BRC pro viding a focus fo r commun ity invo lvement. Exp eriences within the project have been valuable in exp lor- ing the rela tionship s betwee n a local co uncil and its commun ities with regard to service design, provision, and use. 15.4 Technical Features The Map s and Stat s WebGIS (ww w.mapsa ndstat s.com) is implemen ted using AutoDesk’s MapGuide software with Microsoft’s Access as a data store. Here we briefly describe some of the more innovative features developed within the system. 15.4.1 Boundary-Free Small-Area Estimates A novel method for generating boundary-free small-area estimates lies at the core of the Maps and Stats system. This method could have very wide application as it helps to resolve a significant problem that presently hampers small-area policy analysis. The chaotic nature of Britain’s small-area geography means that prod u- cing worthwhile statistical profiles for small poten tial policy areas has been a perennial bugbear for analysts. Census boundaries do not coincide with postcode boundaries. Health authority and police boundaries will not coincide with local authority boundaries and so the problems of sharing data compound. Poten tial policy initiative areas invariably cut across data boundaries. Nothing fits! And yet the increasing reliance upon evidence-based, targeted small-area antideprivation policies means that there is an increasing need for such estimates to be made. Presently there seems to be a considerable gulf between the small-area estimation methods devised by academics and those used by practitioners. Small-area interpolation has attracted continuing interest from academics and a number of approaches, with varying degre es of sophistication, have been proposed (e.g., Flowerdew and Openshaw, 1987; Backen and Martin, 1989). The key point here, though, is that these research-based techniques seem to have achieved little penetration into practice. As Thomasson (2000) explains, more often than not, small-area estimates within local government ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. are likely still to be made on the basis of simple polygon overlays or crude visual estimation. The BCSP team has devised and implemented a method of small-area estimation which is practicable within a local government context and which produces consistent, replicable results. The method uses an approach that Flowerdew and Green (1991) would classify as intelligent estimation, using knowledge of the distribution of one variable, in this case residential locations, t o predict other s. In essenc e, the stages of the method are: (a) The locations of residential properties within the district were determined. The starting point for this was to use the Address- Point dataset and to eliminate all nonresidential properties that were indicated within the ‘‘Organizations’’ field of the dataset. This reduced dataset was then further refined by the use of high- resolution aerial photography to help identify residential areas and to exclude further nonresidential properties. [See Harris and Longley (2000) and Robinson et al. (2002) for further examples on the use of remote imagery in studies of urban population distribution.] Internally generated local authority residential datasets can also be cross-matched with the Maps and Stats residential properties file, so the accuracy of the file be incrementally fine-tuned. (b) The mean center of each unit postcode across the district was calculated on the basis of the identified residential properties and the number of residential properties associated with each postcode centroid recorded. Standard distance calculations were used to highlight where the mean center would not be a good indicator of the location of properties within the manually reposi- tioned postcodes and centroids where necessary. Sadahiro (2000) suggests that the spatial median, rather than the spatial mean, might be a more appropriate measure. (c) When any new area-based dataset is introduced into the BCSP system, a point-in-polygon operation is conducted to identify the postcode centroids which lie within each of the new dataset areas, so constructing a postcode:data-area look-up table. (d) The dataset’s value for each area is then shared between the postcode centroids enclosed within the area, in proportion to the number of residential addresses each postcode centroid repre- sents. In effect, the value associa ted with a data area is spread proportionately across the postcode centroids contained within the area. (e) Data are held within the BCSP system as postcode centroid estimates. In effect, the postcode centroids become the common-pegs upon which data from disparate areal bases can be held. ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. (f) When it is required to create an estimate for a newly defined target area, the estimated values for those postcode centroids contained within the target area can be simply aggregated. All datasets are held within the system as count variables, percentages and rates only being calculated from the reaggregated target data. Figure 15.1 illustrates the process. Source data are allocated to the disaggregation points (weighted postcode centroids) and the disaggregated estimates are then available for reaggregation to target areas. Having experimented with this method, the BCSP is aware of some limitations in the performance of this method of estimation as it is presently implemented: . The accuracy of the system clearly depends upon adequacy of residential address locations as a predictor of distribution of the estimated variable. It is only sensible, therefore, to use the method with residentially related variables. . There are many postcodes with only a few residential properties within them. In rural part of the district, i.e., that part outside the urban shape defined by the CBMDC’s Planning Department, 60% of postcodes contain less than five residential properties. To avoid the instability of indicators calculated with low denominators, and also to preserve confidentiality, the BCSP does not return results for target areas of less than 100 residential addresses. This being the case, it is recognized that the estimating system is most appropriately used in built-up areas, where target areas are more likely to contain sufficient properties to rise above the 100 address thresholds. . If the source area is larger than the target area, the estimates will not be sensitive to local conditions within the target area. For this reason, it is preferred to obtain source data on the smallest possible scale. FIGURE 15.1 Source units, disaggregation points, and target areas. Source unit Disaggregation point Target area ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. . The use of postc ode centr oids to represe nt the residen tial proper - ties with in a postc ode area me ans that there is pres ently some possi bility of mi sallocat ion wh en a target boun dary cuts across a uni t postcode boundary. When this happ ens, all the estim ated val ue assoc iated with a postcode will be allocat ed to the target area with in wh ich the postc ode’s centr oid fall s. Further refinem ent of the method is possi ble. In particu lar, the BCSP te am is consid ering ‘‘s preading ’’ sour ce da ta directl y to individual pro perties, as this wou ld elimi nate the potenti als for error assoc iated with the use of me an center s to rep resent unit postc ode areas and thus misallocat ion prob lems where target boundari es cut postc ode a reas. The initia l decisio n to use centro ids was taken in itially onl y as a pragmat ic means of red ucing pro - cessin g loads. 15.4. 2 User-Defi ned Target Areas Ano ther sign ificant techni cal feature of the Map and Stat s Web GIS is that it allows users to create their own target a reas. An y user can use a mo use to define , edit, and sto re any area that is of intere st to them. Havi ng define d a target are a, the user then selects from a menu the da taset in whic h they are intereste d. The Maps and Stat s syst em then return s a re port that provides a profile of the target area, based upon the chosen da taset. Figure 15.2 sho ws the Maps and Stats interface, with a user-defined target area on screen. Figure 15.3 shows an example of the typ e of report that the system returns, in this case the ‘‘Council Benefits’’ report. This report provides estimates of the numbers of households claiming Housing Benefit=Council Tax Rebate FIGURE 15.2 User-defined target area. ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. and Fre e Sch ool Meal s with in the user -defined target area, tog ether with the distr ict figure s fo r comparis on. Note that user s can obt ain info rmation about the origins and reliabi lity of the data, and how the statistics are cal culate d, by cl icking on links em bedded within the report page. Pro viding the publi c with the facil ity to draw their own targe t areas via the WebGIS and to retrieve smal l-area statis tics for their own define d a reas gives citizens an indepen dent ability to gene rate local- area policy proposal s. Unlike man y PPGIS, the publi c are not sim ply the passive recipien ts of inform ation presen ted in a manner determined by the council. Rather they have the tools to form their own views and, if they wish, to enter into a dialo g wi th the co uncil. In pr actice, the BCSP team had to balance their desire to provide open acces s to data ag ainst a proper concer n to preserve conf identi ality. It might be argu ed that, as the BCSP system return s estimate s rath er than actual observ ed da ta val ues, the issue of conf identi ality does not arise. The view was take n however , that mo re stringen t restra ints shou ld be put in place. The syst em has been desig ned so that it will not return profiles for user - defin ed areas that contain less than 100 res idential addresse s. 15.4. 3 Inform ation Dissem ination Rather Than Analysi s As desc ribed ab ove, the majo r outputs from the syst em at present are stati stical tabu lations profilin g user-de fined areas. The system does contain some preprepared thematic maps of selected variables, and because of the work done to identify residential locations for the estimation routine, these can be presented in dasymetric, rather than conventional choropleth for- mats. Figure 15.4, for example , shows the Maps and Stats site interf ace with FIGURE 15.3 A target area specific report. ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. [...]... between the BRC and local communities during the project since many contacts were made on an ad-hoc and one-to-one basis Over 80 community groups and 22 funding bids were assisted during the life of the initial project The BRC team also took responsibility for articulating community perspectives on the Maps and Stats system, recording user feedback and emphasizing the need for clarity and ease of use... requirements can be well defined, objectives can be set, milestones defined, and resources allocated In short, efficient software development requires a stable environment and clarity in decision -making Community activity, however, thrives upon debate and inclusive decisionmaking There are many varied and competing community agendas and communities of interest These two differing styles lead to some tensions... of demand that there may be for the Maps and Stats system among residents ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC On the other hand, we do feel that the BCSP approach has elements that should be of interest to others involved in encouraging the public use of data for participation in decision -making The Maps and Stats site now makes available to anyone who is interested a wide range of policy- relevant... fer enc es Backen, I and Martin, D., 1989, The generation of spatial population distributions from census centroid data Environment and Planning A 21, 537–543 Craig, W., Harris, T., and Weiner, D., 1998, Empowerment, marginalization and public participation GIS Report of the Varenius Workshop, Santa Barbara, California, 15 17 October 1998 (http:= =www.ncgia.ucsb.edu=varenius=ppgis=PPGIS98_rpt html, accessed... Systems 5(2), 141–163 Ghose, R and Huxhold, W.E., 2002, The Role of Multi-Scalar GIS- Based Indicator Studies in Formulating Neighborhood Planning Policy (http:= =www.urisa.org=Journal= ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC accepted=ghose=neighborhood_strategic_planning_through _gis_ based_indicators htm, accessed on May 23, 2002) Harris, R.J and Longley, P.A., 2000, New data and approaches for urban analysis:... CBMDC’s Research and Consultation team, through the continuing development of the Maps and Stats system, will become acknowledged as a clearinghouse for small-scale data within Bradford, receiving quality assured datasets from other organizations and in return providing an efficient means of combining and disseminating data 15. 6 Community Use There is a critical, unanswered question about PPGIS: ‘‘How will... Onsrud, H.J and Rushton, G (editors), 1995, Sharing Geographic Information (New Brunswick: Center for Urban Policy Research) Pickles, J (editor), 1995, Ground Truth: The Social Implications of Geographical Information Systems (New York: Guildford Press) Robinson, S., Langford, M., and Tate, N., 2002, Modelling population distribution with OS landline plus and Landsat imagery Proceedings of the GIS Research... for the council, has been made publicly available via the Maps and Stats site The BDDI provides indicators under the following headings: crime, health, income, education, employment, and housing and draws data from the census, internal council datasets, and some data from the health and police authorities Looking a little ahead, the Maps and Stats site will clearly provide an excellent mechanism by... one-off, project basis If the system is to make a long-term contribution, however, it will be necessary to enter into formal data-sharing agreements with data suppliers, whether these suppliers are other council departments or external agencies Ideally, a system such as Maps and Stats might hope to establish data-sharing protocols with potential suppliers to specify items such as the quality standards,... Maps and Stats site was continually revised to make it more usable, but it is clear that there is still much to learn about how to present statistical materials via PPGIS The differences between community and technical perspectives on the system were not always easy to resolve During the BCSP concern about usability led to a discussion about whether to put the more demanding area drawing and area-editing . 332 15. 4 Technical Features 334 15. 4.1 Boundary-Free Small-Area Estimates 334 15. 4.2 User-Defined Target Areas 337 15. 4.3 Information Dissemination Rather Than Analysis 338 15. 5 Data Issues 339 15. 6. environment and clarity in decision -making. Community activity, however, thrives upon debate and inclusive decision- making. There are many varied and competing community agendas and communities. communities and, specifically, to help residents to understand the statistical manipulations involved in local area policy making and grant allocation procedures. The Maps and Stats PPGIS is also

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