Use Cases for Property Condition Data

Having a city-wide, accurate assessment of property condition is a foundational data set for climate change resiliency.

• During regular times, the data can be used to
  • develop strategies for code enforcement,
  • adaptive reuse of vacant property,
  • and rainwater storage areas,
  • and also to evaluate the performance of blight eradication initiatives.
• Immediately after a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, data based on post-disaster imagery can be used to
  • rapidly assess potential for repopulation,
  • and the need for support services such as
    • mobile first aid clinics,
    • food trucks,
    • and temporary housing.
• During recovery, a city-wide property condition census conducted at regular intervals can provide crucial updates, and be used to strategically deploy case management and other supports to push city blocks and neighborhoods over the recovery tipping point. 

 

If the data is collected with geospatial integrity, it can be integrated into municipal enterprise data systems to provide a more complete picture of rebuilding activity.

Characteristics of properties could be used to inform other use cases.

• For example, firefighters could use data on whether a property’s use is commercial or private for conducting safety inspections of commercial properties.

• The City could use that data to verify if properties are being taxed at the right level (commercial taxes are higher).

• Hazard mitigation experts could use data on building height (slab-on-grade, raised a little, raised a lot) to assess residual risk for hurricane flooding, which could inform zoning or hazard mitigation assistance.