Data University
Housing Information PortalThe Housing Information Portal provide data and resources about housing and property in Detroit, Southeast Michigan, and beyond. From our Data University project, learn how to use the tool below.

Housing Information Portal
Geographic Area Tool
High Level Overview
Who
Detroit decision makers and advocates at every level, from community leaders, policymakers, and nonprofit organizations to individuals and families
Where
Detroit neighborhood geographies, with inclusion of individual parcel-level data and state and county benchmark data
How
Data from the City of Detroit’s Open Data Portal, the American Community Survey, and other sources to provide neighborhood-level information
What
Detailed property data and general housing trends displayed through interactive visualizations that make them easy to understand
Why
To provide reliable, timely data and resources about housing and property in Detroit, Southeast Michigan, and the greater Metropolitan region
How to Use This Tool
First, visit hip.datadrivendetroit.org
Under “I want to learn about…” click the “Geographic Area” button to access the HIP Geographic Area Tool.
A pop up will appear to provide a brief, 3-step overview for using this tool.

From this window, you can also easily access the last seven (7) geographic areas created by past users, or view a gallery of all previous user generated profiles. If you’re exploring a frequently-searched area such as Eastern Market or Jefferson-Chalmers, this may be a good place for you to start!
NOTE: if you don’t find this pop-up helpful, you can check the “Don’t show again” box before clicking “Close”
Close this window to start a new search.
There are two ways search for a new geography:
1: Select an Established Geographic Area:
If you know the zip code or county- or city-level subdivision you want to explore, type it in the orange search bar on the left side of the header.

If you want to explore the geography around a specific address or point, you can:
- Type your address in the search bar on the left side of the over-map menu OR
- Click “Use your current location” to use your geographic location or address OR
- Double click your desired location directly on the map

2: Draw a Custom Geographic Area:
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Create your own geography!

Click the “Draw” tab from the over-map menu.
Select your desired geographic building block (e.g.: census tract, zip code) from the dropdown menu.
Find and click the first point of your custom area to begin your shape. You can drag and zoom in or out on the map as needed.
Once your first point is clicked, you can “draw” a custom polygon line by line to cover your area!
Click the first point again when you’re done to “close” the shape.
Is your area too big or too small? You can add or remove geographies by clicking on them after making your shape.
Click “Create Profile” to name and save your geographic area for you and others to quickly access for future use!

From here, you’ll be able to scroll down to see the Profile Page!
This page gives you a highly visual data summary under the map of your area.
You can jump to specific sections on the page by using the dropdown menu below the map.
Each section has permalink (chainlink) and back to top (up arrow) icons immediately underneath the title for easy navigation and bookmarking.
Want to learn more or explore a new geography? Click on “Menu” in the top-right corner to return to the home page, load a fresh map, or view the Topics page.
Now you have the basics, it’s time to exlore!
D3's Co.Lab
Co.act Detroit has partnered with nonprofits and business professionals from Southeast Michigan to offer free virtual consultation appointments with subject matter experts in a variety of fields. Each of our Tuesday Co.Lab sessions is dedicated to a different category of data topics. This allows our attendees to plan and register for the best session for answering their data questions!
Current Schedule
1st Tuesday: Data strategy and Management
2nd Tuesday: Housing and Neighborhoods
3rd Tuesday: Education and Early Childhood
4th Tuesday: Other Data Requests

Just AskD3!
