Mapping for a Better Los Angeles: Healthy City 3.0 LaunchJune 23, 2008 |
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 Last week more than 200 community leaders and providers celebrated the launch of an exciting new tool in community resource technology — Healthy City 3.0. Developed primarily for service providers to better connect clients with resources in their community, this GIS mapping Web site has evolved into a platform that can serve as the basis for broad community change. Healthy City 3.0 allows users to translate data and analysis into useful policy making information by visually representing different types of data on a map. Dr. Robert Ross, president and CEO of the California Endowment, spoke passionately about how neighborhood quality plays a powerful role in the health and well being of children and families. He also said that the new Healthy City tool can play a key role in improving L.A. County's neighborhoods. John Kim, director of Healthy City, gave a brief overview of the tool's functions and how it can help providers learn and tell a story about their community. Kim proudly stated that the new technology of Healthy City 3.0 was on par with some of the tools from such Internet giants as Google and Yahoo. "Their tools were built to grease the wheels of commerce — our system has been built to grease the wheels of community change, social justice and equity," said Kim. Following the introduction of Healthy City 3.0, a panel of prominent leaders in the philanthropic community commented on how it will contribute to improving services in L.A. County. Included in the panel were Yolie Flores Aguilar, board vice president District 5 LAUSD and former CEO of the Children's Planning Council; Richard Atlas, trustee of the Atlas Family Foundation; and Marqueece Harris-Dawson executive director of the Community Coalition. "The Healthy City tool will make us much more effective at what we do," said Atlas. Healthy City 3.0 offers the largest, continuously updated database on education, health and human services throughout L.A. County, with the most comprehensive library of demographic, economic and health data in one single place. Newly offered components include 2008 census projections, voting and employment datasets, as well as an "Advanced Mapping Room" that will offer a deeper neighborhood analysis. MY Healthy City is also a new aspect of the site that will allow users to save their own maps, upload their own data points and thematic layers, and create and share comments on resources. Healthy City offers free trainings for any organization staff that would like to learn how to best use Healthy City 3.0. To schedule a free training contact Shannon Ulrickson, administrative coordinator, at (213) 323-1300 x36 or Shannon@HealthyCity.org. Click below to hear the interviews and see images from the event!
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