Before you are able to find data for your community, you need to have available a precise geographical definition of your service area. This means you will need a set of boundaries (north, south, east, west) for the area which you need data.

Which of the following best describes your area?

a few blocks
a neighborhood
a cluster of neighborhoods
a borough

example: I am interested in the Northwest Bronx (click to view street map), a region that includes several neighborhoods, so I would select a cluster of neighborhoods.

note: HUD's new Online Mapping Library allows users to create maps of their areas using a variety of census and other data. Because you can't get actual statistical numbers off most of the maps, this option is good if you already have your statistics and are looking for free and easy maps to use to back up your numbers. However, the site is still new and is not always working.

click here to visit HUD's new Online Mapping Library