Frequently Asked Questions

What is this project about?

Neighborhood Movement explores how Dallas county neighborhoods change over time, focusing on movement and economic well-being. This approach challenges the assumption that staying in place is always good and moving is always bad. It highlights that movement can be a pathway to economic mobility.

What can I do with this information?

Neighborhood Movement offers a rich and complex understanding of how neighborhoods evolve and how those changes affect residents' economic wellbeing. This nuanced perspective can inform targeted interventions and strategies to promote economic opportunities for all.

How can this tool support your work?

Neighborhood Movement is intended for a range of users, such as nonprofit organizations, philanthropic professionals, public policy professionals, and neighborhood residents.

I’m in public policy or from a nonprofit or foundation. What would I use this for?

I’m a resident. What would I use this for?

This tool leverages data from ground-breaking research from Opportunity Insights and combining it with more current data we can see which neighborhoods face unique challenges and with your personal experiences you can work with your neighbors, local council representatives and nonprofits to find solutions and build a neighborhood where everyone has the chance to thrive.

How is movement measured?

Movement is measured by the percentage of people who did not remain in their childhood neighborhood (census tract) or commuting zone (MSA) after 25-30 years, using data from Opportunity Insights (OI).

How is economic wellbeing measured?

Economic wellbeing is measured by the average income of individuals who grew up in the census tract, regardless of where they currently live. This focuses on the economic outcome of people, not just the economics of a place.

How does neighborhood stability relate to this project?

Neighborhood stability is the inverse of movement. A stable neighborhood retains more of its residents, while an unstable one sees more residents move away.

Where are the neighborhoods? I only see census tracts.

Census tracts are used as proxies for neighborhoods because of the way data are made available. Also, there are not universal definitions of neighborhood boundaries for Dallas county.

Where does the data come from?

Neighborhood Movement uses data from Opportunity Insights, historical census data, and contemporary American Community Survey (ACS) data to provide a nuanced understanding of neighborhood change. For more details, please visit the Methodology page.

Why are there different years of data?

Because movement data are only available through 2015, we incorporated the most currently available data from 2023 on income and resident demographics to provide a picture of how things have changed.

Where can I find more detailed metadata about the data sets?

See our Methodology document to learn about our sources, information on data updates, and definitions of data variables.

What data limitations exist?

The primary limitations of this inquiry are the age of the data currently available through the Opportunity Atlas (2015), and the lack of an origin-destination file to understand where people moved over time. While this is an initial challenge, there are opportunities to establish a movement tracking database moving forward as a complement to the baseline tool. expand here with respect to long-term growth and evolution goal for the project

Who built the Neighborhood Movement tool?

The Dallas Neighborhood Movement tool was built by the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL). The Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) operates as an unofficial R&D department for Dallas, rethinking how data can be integrated into public systems, community programs, and neighborhood life to break cycles of intergenerational poverty.

How can I provide feedback, ask a question, or connect with the team?

Please fill out this contact form on the Child Poverty Action Lab website and we will get back to you.