Racial equity is a challenge cities across America are grappling with on a daily basis. In this episode, we will take a deep dive into the innovative and data-driven approach which Grand Rapids, Michigan is taking to meet this complex issue head on. Over the past six months, GovEx, through What Works Cities, has been supporting Grand Rapids' efforts to increase racial equity by improving data management practices and bringing data and evidence into the decision-making process, and bettering the connection with residents and their quality of life.

As a part of our collective effort, the City has launched its Housing NOW! dashboard to which allows everyone a clear view of the data collected and analyzed by Grand Rapids to "inform decision-making and dialogue so that [the City is] able to understand [its] community needs and how best to meet them."

We are joined by Alex Melton who is the Customer Service Community Liaison for Grand Rapids and Zac Thiel, the City’s Digital and Data Strategist. They are apart of Grand Rapids 311 Customer Service team, which is led by Becky Jo Glover.

Like Data? Listen and Get in Touch

You can find updates to the podcast in several ways.

• 
  
• Look for us on iTunes as GovEx Data Points
  
• Find up-to-date episodes on our website at http://govex.jhu.edu/podcast
  

Get in touch with us and let us know what you want to hear, suggest potential episodes, and give us feedback on how the podcast is going. You can contact us on Twitter at Gov_Ex or reach out via our website at govex.jhu.edu/contact.