UNCC rolls out regional-indicators site

UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute has unveiled a new website that tracks how the Charlotte region's doing on the economy, environment, education and other indicators.

The institute launched its Charlotte Regional Indicators Project in 2007. The new version allows its database to be updated with fresh material as soon as it's released from the source.

"It is our hope that the Indicators website will become a sort of 'community commons,' where the data and commentary found here will spark more serious conversations and dialogue across the region – in city council meetings, neighborhood gatherings, corporate and nonprofit board rooms, in classrooms, and around the family dinner table – as we all strive for that elusive shared vision of what the Charlotte region can be," institute director Jeff Michael wrote in announcing the site.

The site offers search options for 33 indicators grouped around 11 quality of life themes that give an overview of the 14-county region. It also allows searches of detailed local data and can generate graphics based on the data.

It's absorbing stuff: the site lets you watch the steady loss of open space in Mecklenburg County, check out the violent crime index in Lancaster County, S.C. or compare Charlotte's commute times with other cities. Visitors can sign up for data alerts via social media, but a caution: the site won't display properly in Windows Internet Explorer 6.