Introducing Indicators

So what would these indicators look like? Well, that depends on what the community decides to focus their vision on. For instance, if a community’s vision for sustainability includes making the neighborhood more bicycle friendly, then two valuable indicators that might track progress in that direction would be the number of bike racks available and miles of bicycle lanes. If a community’s vision for sustainability includes the quality of its water bodies, then valuable indicators might include level of pollutants in the water and percentage of pervious surface in the neighborhood. Other examples of indicators could include: number of grocery stores within walking distance, percentage of certified green buildings, kilowatts of renewable energy generated, dwelling units per acre, number of vehicle miles traveled per household, and levels of particulates in the air.

Implementation and Monitoring

By identifying priorities and measuring conditions in the natural and built environment, residents will better understand how to improve long-term quality of life in their neighborhoods. Establishing benchmarks and tracking indicators over time will assist community members in making progress toward targets.

Study Boundaries

The current boundaries of the pilot study area include the neighborhoods of North Cleveland Park, Van Ness, and Forest Hills. Based on the data sources for the indicators developed through this study, the boundaries may adjust slightly.