Community Analyst Helps City of Fullerton Win $270,000 Grant

Cloud-Based GIS Quickly Generated Reports and Supplied Answers for Caltrans Grant

Using Esri Community Analyst, the City of Fullerton, California, won a State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Planning Grant. The grant will be used to explore opportunities for a transit loop extension, including a fixed-route trolley, in the downtown area. City staff used Community Analyst to gather information on the number of households and local employment statistics required to complete the grant application.

“Community Analyst provided answers to questions we couldn’t have easily found otherwise,” said Diana McCarthy, GIS specialist, Community Development Department, City of Fullerton. “We were able to access data across several census block groups, nailing down information to a very specific area.”

Fullerton's proposed transit loop serves a variety of schools.

To accomplish this, staff created a custom quarter-mile sphere of the proposed study area to accurately identify information such as the types of population potentially served and the number of single-occupant vehicles passing through the area. Using Community Analyst, city staff were also able to obtain information about existing businesses, find out what types were missing, and create a plan to draw new establishments into the area.

Fullerton boasts an active educational environment, with six colleges and universities and eight high schools. The proposed transit loop would give students, as well as local residents, access to the trolley from the existing transit center, which provides convenient access to the Metrolink and Amtrak trains and Orange County transit buses. “Community Analyst created a vehicle for collaboration society officials could actively engage citizens, including those actively involved in local high schools and universities, and help them encourage students to use alternative modes of transportation,” said Chris Thomas, Esri director of government markets.

Using Community Analyst, a hosted cloud solution, Fullerton staff were able to

• View the latest American Community Survey variables on a thematic map.
• Use comparison reports to determine which improvements should be funded and the impact of these decisions on populations and households.
• Find optimal locations for the improvements to serve the most people.

For more information on Community Analyst, visit esri.com/ca.

[Source: Esri press release]