What expert researchers know
Policy is the solution to a problem, which means that it can be found at any stage including the identification of the problem. For this reason, there are a variety of source types for policy, including government information and government data. To understand the ways in which cities operate, one must understand the ways that Federal, state, and local policies interact and shape Urban Life.
Scholarly Databases
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Criminal Justice AbstractsIndexes and abstracts international journals, books, reports, dissertations, and unpublished papers that have articles on policing and race and the criminal justice system.
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EnvirolinkSource of global environmental news and information
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Ethnic NewswatchProvides journals, magazines, and newspapers from ethnic and minority presses in various communities across the United States.
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GenderWatchA full text database of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject including business, education, the arts, health sciences, history, political science, public policy, sociology and pop culture. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, government and NGO publications. 1978 - present.
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News ResourcesLink to a variety of news resources at Yale, including some local news sources
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NexisUniNexisUni includes a mix of sources: newspapers, magazines, TV and radio transcripts, company and industry information, and legal information, including local administrative codes and regulations. From the main NexisUni interface, you can either enter a legal citation or topic to search (in any of the boxes on the first page)
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Sociological AbstractsInternational literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences
Database Trial
Between now and October 30, 2021, Yale will be hosting a trial for PolicyCommons. Policy Commons is a comprehensive content-and-discovery platform for public policy, with more than 2.5 million reports, briefs, analyses, media, working papers, and datasets from IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and global research organizations.
To access the site by proxy, students/faculty will need to use this link:
https://yale.idm.oclc.org/login?URL=https://policycommons.net/
To provide feedback on whether this should be a Yale Purchase, please fill out the following form:
https://yalesurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1MO6B7WVUSMJkln
Government Sources
Federal Agencies
To find state regulations
To find Municipal and City regulations
Environmental Considerations
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EPA Toxic Release InventoryAllows searching of a specific neighborhood for the information on toxic sources within that area
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Clean Cities Coalition NetworkCoalition of various cities to engage in actions that reduce metropolitan carbon footprint
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State and Local Communities ResourcesResources provided by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to facilitate more efficient energy use
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UNT Environment and Policy CollectionProvides items that may be useful for case study by county
Websites
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American Planning Association ChaptersUse this to find local information about city planning by state
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Community WealthBroad range of resources on community wealth building
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Issue LabSearch across a variety of foundations for the research they have done on a variety of topics
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National League of Cities ResourcesContains resources from the NLC
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Next CityA news source dedicated to providing insight into promoting change within cities
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TRID OnlineTRID combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database. TRID covers all modes and disciplines of transportation and contains nearly 1.2 million records of published research worldwide. More than 236,000 records contain links to full-text documents.
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Urban InstituteThink tank that focuses on issues within urban spaces
GIS Projects of Interest
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Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal AmericaCreated by three teams at four universities, Mapping Inequality presents data - drawn primarily from the federal government's Home Owners' Loan Corporation between 1935 and 1940 - to illustrate the discriminatory practice of redlining (a legal way of denying goods and services to particular populations). Includes downloadable data.
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Mapping PrejuidiceExplores the use of covenants to segregate Minnesota and specifically Minneapolis
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Urban DisplacementAccording to the site, the Urban Displacement Project aims to understand the impact of gentrification and urban displacement
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Mapping Indigenous LAAccording to the website, "Mapping Indigenous Los Angeles aims to uncover and highlight the multiple layers of indigenous Los Angeles through a storymapping project with youth, community leaders, and elders from indigenous communities throughout the city. The website resulting from this collaborative research makes visible the rich Indigenous identities and histories that are often hidden within other racial formations yet deeply embedded in the history of Los Angeles."
Data, GIS, and Statistical Sources
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Atlas of Urban ExpansionOne of several data sets produced by the Lincoln Institute.
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Census data (current and historical)This research guide provides an overview of Yale Census resources including several listed on this page
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Data.govMain data portal for government produced by the United States federal government and some of the State Governments.
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)Resources on Geographic Information System available through Yale University Library
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Sanborn Fire Maps"The online checklist is based upon the Library's 1981 publication Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress and will be continually updated to reflect new acquisitions. The online checklist also contains links to existing digital images from the collection and will be updated as new images are added."
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SimplyAnalyticsMaps people's behavioral and lifestyle choices to census information to facilitate better understanding of how business or marketing may work in an area
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Social ExplorerUseful for historical exploration of the census and the census over time, also incorporates other data including the Uniform Crime Report (Voluntary Crime Reporting to the FBI).
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Social Science Data Resources GuideSources for locating published statistics on topics broadly related to the social sciences, as well as numeric datasets for statistical analysis.
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Yale Seto LabYale Lab dedicated to the study, teaching, and research around urbanization
