Mapping Populations

Under the direction of First Things First (FTF), the Arizona State University Morrison Institute conducted a regional analysis of key indicators in domains that contribute to a greater overall risk for poor child outcomes including: low socio-economic status, adverse perinatal outcomes, substance use, additional community stressors, and education challenges. Many different data sources were used for the analysis, and in some cases, the data sources used a geographic boundary or definition that did not align with FTF region and sub-region geography. To address these issues and ensure data accurately reflected FTF geographies, experts from the ASU’s School of Geographical Science and Urban Planning and ASU’s Geospatial Research and Solutions group transformed data from the mismatched sources to better align with FTF geographies. Population weighted areal interpolation methods were utilized to ensure that resources were properly allocated to populated areas.