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“COVID Community Data Lab” is a research project focused on the analysis of data that can support an equitable recovery amid the 2020 pandemic in the US context. The project gathers and analyses data from creative sources and exposes the inequalities that Boston communities face as a result of COVID19.
According to the research team, this research can help shape an inclusive recovery. This project aims at directing policy makers towards more inclusive decisions in an evolving crisis. Through the analysis of a variety of data sources, it is proven that the crisis has served to exacerbate underlying racial and economic inequality.
This project is organised in two parts:
- a growing series of research briefs on topics like housing impacts and demand for social assistance programs; and
- a repository of charts and graphs analyzing real-time data sources that are being updated weekly.
The main focus areas of the project are the following:
- COVID19 and Equity
- Housing
- Economic Impact
- Social Assistance
- Mobility Patterns
- Census 2020
The latest report “Across Two Waves: COVID-19 Disparities in Massachusetts”, released on December 18th 2020, reveals and underlines broad concerns in the state of Massachusetts regarding the most vulnerable populations. Disparities in race, housing and income are predicted to continue being a pressing concern in 2021.
The work of the research team can serve as an advocacy tool and information base towards policies that enable the expansion and inclusivity of social assistance as well as housing assistance programs among others.
This project is a partnership between Boston Indicators and the Center for Housing Data at Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), with contributions from the UMass Donahue Institute.