Over the past several months the United States Census Bureau has made much of the data collected during the 2010 Census publicly available. Thanks to armies of enumerators that knocked on doors during the 2010 Census, pretty much everyone has some awareness of what the Census is. However, many people are unaware of the ways in which the information gathered is relevant to the improvement our community. The data products released by the Census Bureau can be extremely useful in a number of ways: they shed light on trends within Gloversville as well as provide better insight into many of the issues that are already on our minds. In fact, this is the perfect time for a careful and critical review of the progress we have made over the past ten years and where we stand as a community today.

The case can be made that the only way we can tackle many of the challenges that face our city is to closely examine and interpret the wealth of available information. By better understanding the demography, population trends, and other data we can prevent the perpetuation of falsehoods in our public discourse. For example, one common misconception is that the population of Gloversville is declining. While it is safe to say our population has been stagnant, the claim that it is still in decline is simply false1. Unfortunately it is not uncommon for basic misinterpretations to become the grounds for opinions, ideas, and ultimately decisions.

Much of the information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau is collected through the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey. The Census takes place every ten years and is used primarily for gathering basic demographic, population, and housing data. On the other hand, the American Community Survey provides data about education, employment, transportation, income, housing, and much more; all of which is relevant to improving this city. But the census isn’t the only source of data about to our community. Efforts by New York State, the Chambers of Commerce and others have also yielded useful quantitative information.

Recently, new projects such as charter review have been announced in Gloversville. Past efforts are being revived with the reconvening of the Recreation Commission and the Blight Committee. While these developments have drawn some valid criticism, the fact that we’re taking action on these issues is a major step in the right direction. As we move forward it is critical that those trying to affect change in our community become familiar with the tools available. This is particularly important for our elected officials and city leadership. Informed decision-making is imperative; past trends can be used to forecast future changes, as well as facilitating sound long term planning. The fact that much of this data is completely free and public is just icing on the cake.

Despite the negativity that often permeates the collective dialogue about Gloversville, there has never been a shortage of people with good ideas and a positive outlook. What we need as a community is for the spirit of creativity to collide with the technical and quantitative perspectives. Ultimately we need to take a hard look at why certain problems exist before we can ever really start to effectively solve them.

1Here are some highlights from the 2000 and 2010 Censuses: