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Greenways Assessment for Marion County
Greenspace is an important component of many cities, serving to improve quality of life. They provide significant physical and mental ...

Your Opinion Counts: Indianapolis Racial Equity Report Card
SAVI is helping Indianapolis address inequities by measuring the change people want to see. The team created a draft report card to ...

Build your data skills
SAVI Training is a hands-on curriculum focused on data literacy from end to end. We have four groups of modules that teach you to ask ...
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SAVI Equity and Data Information Hub
If you have not done so recently, check out our SAVI Equity Data & Information Hub. Users will find links to information from ...
Connect with Tech In-House Career Fair
Polis is participating in the Connect with Tech In-House Career Fair on February 9. This student networking event gives them an ...
2022 State of Aging in Central Indiana Report Updates
The SoAR team published 2022 updates to the following SoAR chapters: Financial Stability, Housing, Safety and Abuse, Food Insecurity, ...
IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering
The IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI has been renamed the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, ...
Limitations and opportunities with public transit for an aging population in Central Indiana
Within Central Indiana, public transit access is critical for many older adults to participate in essential activities such as ...
Encyclopedia of Indianapolis Updates
Polis continues to work on the technical development of the digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis project in partnership with the ...
Data & Drafts Indianapolis Racial Equity Forum
On November 17, we will hold the Data & Drafts forum in partnership with WFYI Public Media, the Indianapolis Public Library, and ...
Transportation Equity and the Older Adult Population
Join Polis, WFYI Public Media, and the Central Indiana Senior Fund on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m., for a State of Aging in Central Indiana public ...
New Make Your Own Data Tool
We launched a new “Map your own data” tool to SAVI. It was developed for faith-based organizations as part of the Religion and Urban ...
SAVI Talks Indianapolis Racial Equity Report Card
On October 27, the SAVI Talks event will focus on the project, Indianapolis Racial Equity Report Card. This event will be a bit ...
Identifying Disparities in Arrest and Prosecution Data in Indianapolis
Polis is involved in a new cross-site study with The Urban Institute and the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative through the Catalyst ...
SAVI Talks: Equity Report Card for City of Indianapolis
SAVE THE DATE: On October 27, our SAVI Talks event will share phase one findings for the project, Equity Report Card for City of ...
How is Indianapolis Doing?
We’ve started a new SAVI project, How Is Indianapolis Doing?, which will provide monthly updates on how the Indianapolis metro area is ...
Data and Drafts: High-Need, High-Paying Jobs
What does it mean to have “good job”? Over the past several months, WFYI reporter Sydney Dauphinais has dug into what it ...
Bangladesh visitors stop by Polis Center to learn about Encyclopedia of Indianapolis project
On August 2, The Polis Center hosted five visitors from Bangladesh traveling to the U.S. under the auspices of the U.S. Department of ...
Encyclopedia of Indianapolis Updates
The Polis Center updated the Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis with new content from the editorial team and continued work on new ...
Data & Drafts: Developing a Real-Time Eviction Tracker
On August 11, in collaboration with WFYI Public Media, the Indianapolis Public Library-Central, and Sun King Brewing, Polis Interim ...
A Decade of Decline: College-Going Rates in Central Indiana
On July 20, Polis published a new article to SAVI authored by Polis Research Analyst Aaron Olson. “A Decade of Decline: College-Going ...
SAVI Office Hours
We will start holding monthly virtual SAVI Office Hours on July 28. Anyone needing one-on-one help using SAVI, working with their own ...
Indy East Promise Neighborhood Initiative
Polis officially kicked off its effort with John Boner Community Center and several community partners to support the Indy East ...
Data & Drafts: Fewer High School Graduates Attend College
On July 20, in collaboration with WFYI Public Media and the Indianapolis Public Library-Central, Matt Nowlin will present Data & ...
Who is in the Marion County Jail? Exploring Length of Stay through an Equity Lens
We analyzed more than 283,000 bookings into Marion County’s jails between 2013 and 2021. We used this data to discover how many people ...
The State of Tenants in Central Indiana
Indiana Senate Bill 230 would have required landlords to make necessary repairs to their properties. We examine the renters impacted ...
Modern Redlining in Indianapolis?
This report examines more than one million loan applications filed in Central Indiana from 2007 to 2020 to investigate racial and ...
SAVI Talks: Exploring Jail Diversion in Indianapolis
Join us June 16 at 9 a.m. for a virtual event about Jail Diversion in Indianapolis. In 2015, criminal justice reform in Indiana ...
We need teamwork to help older adults meet their housing needs
As part of our collaboration with the Central Indiana Senior Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, State of Aging ...
A Deep Dive into Affordable Rental Housing
New data shows the number of subsidized rental homes in Marion County is stagnant, while the need for units affordable to extremely ...
Data & Drafts: Home Loans and Redlining
On April 14, in collaboration with WFYI Public Media and the Indianapolis Public Library, we will present Data & Drafts: Home ...
Analyzing City Policy Budgets
The Urban Institute awarded Polis an $80,000 grant as part of an 18-month cross-site study funded by the Tableau Foundation to analyze ...
Polis Center Best of Tech Nominee 2022
The TechPoint Mira Awards Gala is April 23, at which winners will be announced. The Polis Center is nominated for the Community Impact ...
‘I’m not moving.’ Riverside residents worry as gentrification looms alongside 16 Tech
“The Riverside neighborhood on the west side used to feel like family to Alisha Madden, who moved there several years ago after a ...
Far Eastside Indy transportation access gap addressed with micro-transit program
“In a community SAVI considers one of the city’s most car-dependent, Pathway Resource Center has launched a mini bus service with the ...
Horizon House fighting disparities in homelessness
“Despite only making up 28% of the Indianapolis population, 54% of homeless people in Indianapolis are African American. Though there ...
How can geospatial data and technologies help you
Marianne Cardwell and Sharon Kandris, along with Jinha Jung, Associate Professor at Purdue’s Lyle School of Engineering, presented ...
Living in the Community with Dementia
On Feb. 10, Polis will conduct the webinar, “Living in the Community with Dementia ,” as part of the SoAR project. Speakers include ...
Polis partners with Indianapolis City County Council
The Polis Center is partnering with the Indianapolis City-County Council to build its capacity to use community-level data in its ...
U.S. Census Bureau Presents Health & COVID-19 Open Data for Good Grand Challenge Award to The Polis Center/SAVI
The Polis Center and its SAVI community information system received a U.S. Census Bureau Open Data for Good Grand ...
David Bodenhamer to retire as Polis Center Executive Director; Sharon Kandris to serve as interim
The Polis Center at IUPUI—a nationally-recognized and dynamic urban-centered learning environment which excels in partnerships, ...
Equity and Criminal Justice
The SAVI Talks Equity and Criminal Justice event on November 18 was a great success. 153 participants from a broad range of sectors ...
The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis highlights our city’s past and present
The public launch of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis was held November 18 at a celebration at the Central Library to recognize and ...
SAVI Talks Equity and Criminal Justice
The SAVI Talks Equity and Criminal Justice event is scheduled for November 18. An individual’s interaction with the criminal justice ...
Polis-Faith in Indiana collaboration awarded Urban Institute Catalyst Grant
A collaboration between Faith in Indiana and The Polis Center is one of nine local projects selected to participate in the newly ...
Polis Center through SAVI and WFYI Public Media Help Tackle Equity and Social Justice
The Polis Center at IUPUI, WFYI, and SAVI are collaboratively expanding the community’s understanding of equity and social justice ...
SAVI Talks: Worlds Further Apart
On August 26, in collaboration with the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Heath (FSPH), we shared findings from our updated ...
New features added to SAVI Community Profiles
We’ve released an update to Community Profiles with new features. We now suggest prominent data in the community you’ve selected. You ...
Great Families 2020
In April, we completed the final Great Families 2020 (GF2020) evaluation activities. A United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI) program, ...
Council District Crime Prevention Grant program
The Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), the City of Indianapolis Office of Public Safety, and the city-county council ...
Responsive Congregations
As part of the Religion and Urban Culture 2.0 (RUC 2.0) project, the SAVI team is developing a new feature that allows users to map ...
The State of Aging Report examines growing old in Central Indiana
Is Central Indiana a good place to grow old? Are the basic needs of older adults in Central Indiana being met? What are emerging ...
SAVI TALKS: Equity and Aging
Older adults in Central Indiana experience aging differently based on their race, ethnicity, income levels, and other factors. ...
SAVI Equity Data & Information Hub
Our 2020 SAVI Coronavirus Data and Information Hub was hugely helpful in a year of much change. Our 2021 research is focused on ...
SAVI Talks Equity in Economic Opportunity, Social Mobility, and Race
The income of the family you’re born into makes a big difference in how much you will earn as an adult. But, your race and the place ...
Polis Center nominated for TechPoint Mira Award Community Impact award
The Polis Center has been nominated for the TechPoint Mira Award Community Impact award. This award celebrates people or organizations ...
SAVI Talks: Economic Opportunity, Social Mobility, and Race
On Thurs., March 25, from 9:30-11 AM, we will present SAVI Talks, the first of a series of public forums this year taking a deeper ...
Great Families 2020
In December, Sharon Kandris, Rebecca Nannery, Deb Hollon, Public Policy Institute staff, and the United Way of Central Indiana ...
Socioeconomic Structural Predictors of 1st Wave COVID-19 in New York City (Spatial Regression Model)
Jeramy Townsley will present “Socioeconomic Structural Predictors of 1st Wave COVID-19 in New York City (Spatial Regression Model)” at ...
SAVI Community Trends Report Health and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Neighborhoods
Matt Nowlin and representatives from the Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center and United Northeast Community Development Corporation ...
SoIC Students Lend Hand on Polis Projects
Polis is working with IU School of Informatics and Computing-IUPUI (SoIC) graduate students in HCC-Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), ...
The COVID-19 Impact Index: Informing Policy, Planning, and Action
On Oct. 29, we hosted a virtual Data & Drafts presentation, in partnership with the Indianapolis Public Library, WFYI, and Move to ...
Health Equity and Data
Karen Comer and Matt Nowlin present a break out session, “Health Equity and Data,” during the Oct. 1 Connections IN Health, Leveraging ...
SAVI helps IU researchers understand COVID-19’s spread
Check out the SAVI case study, “SAVI helps IU researchers understand COVID-19’s spread." Researchers at the IU School of Medicine ...
SAVI TALKS: A comprehensive look at the effects of COVID-19 in Indianapolis
On Oct. 8, we present SAVI TALKS: A comprehensive look at the effects of COVID-19 in Indianapolis. Our city is in the midst of ...
Indiana Geographic Information Council’s (IGIC) Special Achievement in GIS Award for the SAVI Coronavirus Data Hub
The Polis Center at IUPUI has received the Indiana Geographic Information Council’s (IGIC) Special Achievement in GIS Award for the ...
Polis Center moving to IUPUI School of Informatics and Computing
The Polis Center is physically moving from its longtime home on Waterway Boulevard to the School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC) ...
Living the Legacy: Making it Local
On Sept. 29, Unai Miguel Andres, Polis GIS & Data Analyst, is a panelist for the “Living the Legacy: Making it Local” event hosted ...
Unai Miguel Andres named officer for American Planning Association
Unai Miguel Andres, Polis GIS & Data Analyst, was recently elected as secretary/treasurer of the Environment, Natural Resources, ...
City of Indianapolis effort to address racial equity in city government and the community
Jay Colbert, Polis Data Manager, and Sharon Kandris, Polis Associate Director, Polis Center and Director, Community Informatics, ...
Data and Drafts
Polis hosted the third SAVI Data & Drafts event on Aug. 20. Unai Miguel Andres, GIS and Data Analyst; Matt Nowlin, Information ...
New data published on savi.org
New data published on savi.org includes indicators about housing, calls for human service support, juvenile charges, and education ...
Police Use of Force Doubled Since 2015
Incidents where IMPD used force have nearly doubled in recent years. The department used force 1,688 times in 2019 and 873 times in ...
Data & Drafts: Impacts of COVID-19 on population needs and housing equity
Which areas of Central Indiana have experienced an increase in calls for help? Which populations have experienced a higher increase in ...
Polis Center project informs DMD Lift Indy program
The Polis Center is using SAVI to help the City of Indianapolis’ Lift Indy program. Lift Indy is a comprehensive community development ...
Polis Center joins the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI
The Polis Center is joining the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, positioning IUPUI to serve constituencies more ...
July 6 IndyStar article looks at Polis Centers coronavirus zip code data to see what it tell us about local impact
July 6 IndyStar article looks at Polis Center's coronavirus zip code data to see what it tell us about local impact.
Indiana COVID-19 zip code analysis neighborhoods black latino impact
July 2 IndyStar article references the Polis Centers zip code analysis of neighborhood impact of COVID-19 on Black and Latino populations.
SAVI Coronavirus Data Hub Looks at Neighborhood Unemployment Claims
We added two new maps to the Coronavirus Data Hub. One looks at Marion County COVID-19 Cases by Zip Code . The zip codes with the ...
Socioeconomic factors explain why some New York ZIP codes were hit hardest by COVID-19
New York City was one of the first cities to be infected by COVID-19 in the United States. It has also been the worst hit, with half a ...
COVID-19 Impact on Indiana Businesses
To look at the pandemic impact on Indiana businesses, The Polis Center analyzed retail data made available by SafeGraph, which ...
South Bend Coronavirus Neighborhood-Level Risk Factors
South Bend Neighborhood-Level COVID-19 Risk Factors. South Bend has large geographic areas with populations that are highly at risk. ...
Bloomington Coronavirus Neighborhood-Level Risk Factors
Bloomington Neighborhood-Level COVID-19 Risk Factors. Looking at socioeconomic status and age indicators that related to COVID-19 risk ...
The Inequalities Behind COVID-19 Disparities for African Americans in Indianapolis
The Polis Center at IUPUI published research outlining the inequities that black Indy residents face and that contribute to increased ...
Inside IUPUI: Polis COVID-19 Data Hub
Inside IUPUI featured the Polis Center COVID-19 Data Hub in its April 9 issue. Polis created the hub to show Central Indiana ...
Social Isolation in Older Adults and Food/Meal Locations in Marion County
We have expanded information on the Coronavirus Data Hub that The Polis Center created to show Central Indiana neighborhoods at ...
JAGNEWS: Polis Center COVID-19 Data Hub
JagNews featured the Polis Center COVID-19 Data Hub in its April 8 issue. Polis created the hub to show Central Indiana neighborhoods ...
SAVI Coronavirus Data Hub in the News
The Polis Center has received multiple media mentions about the Coronavirus Data Hub it created. This includes: The March ...
SAVI Indiana Coronavirus Data Hub
Our experts have created an information hub to help practitioners and policy makers during the COVID-19 public health crisis. ...
How to plan a healthy city? Indianapolis tracks its vital signs
Excited that The Polis Center will be featured in Apolitical’s ‘How to Innovate for Equity. 10 Days. 100 Ideas!’ Starting March 16, ...
Polis creates coronavirus dashboard for Indiana
Polis GIS Project Coordinator Marianne Cardwell created a coronavirus dashboard comparing county level COVID-19 cases to vulnerable ...
2020 Census: uncounted children leads to fewer resources
The March 26 Indianapolis Recorder newspaper interviewed Matt N for its article “2020 Census: Uncounted children leads to fewer ...
SAVI nominated for 21st annual TechPoint Mira Awards Honoring ‘The Best of Tech in Indiana’
The SAVI community information system has been nominated for the Community Impact category of The Mira Awards. This award celebrates ...
Matt Nowlin to Present at the City of Indianapolis’ Dashboard Open House
Matt Nowlin, GIS Analyst, is presenting on the importance of data and dashboards at the City of Indianapolis’ Dashboard Open House on ...
Matt Nowlin, Research Analyst, Interviewed for June WIBC Article
Eric Berman, chief political correspondent/statehouse bureau chief, WIBC-FM/Network Indiana, interviewed Matt Nowlin, research ...
Neighborhood Change Study in a Front Page IBJ Article
Matt Nowlin, Research Analyst, was interviewed for an article by Hayleigh Colombo in the Indianapolis Business Journal. This article ...
Explore Changes in your Neighborhood with this SAVI App
SAVI is excited to introduce the Neighborhood Change app, which allows you to explore the data we used in our newest Community Trends ...
Sharon Kandris of the Polis Center Selected as Network Steward of the Year
The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) has named Sharon Kandris, associate director at The Polis Center (IUPUI), as ...
Social Media Coordinator–Intern
The Polis Center at IUPUI is seeking a talented person who wants to make a difference. In this role, you will be promoting the SAVI ...
Polis Center, City of Indianapolis, GIPC to Receive National Award for IndyVitals
The Polis Center at IUPUI, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, are pleased ...
SAVI Talks: Public Transit in Marion County
Join us Thursday, September 14! Our fall SAVI Talks event will cover public transit in Marion County and feature data findings from ...
SAVI Talks! Unequal Access
Our SAVI Talks! program on tobacco retail access in the Indianapolis metro area on June 29 was a resounding success, imparting ...
SAVI Talks! Unequal Access: Tobacco Retail in the Indianapolis Metro Area
Did you know? In 2016, the smoking rates of the five healthiest states ranged from 9.1-13.8%. Indiana ranks 39th with a smoking ...