Contact CERC's GIS Manager Mike Macionus if you would like to purchase a custom map.
July/August 2010
The month's map for demonstrates a tracking and prospecting project for a client covering the contiguous U.S. and part of Canada. The client's business provides specialized security services. Their current services cover urban areas and are expanding outward. CERC mapped their existing operation areas and provided key demographic data to identify priority target markets. This illustrates that though CERC's chief mission is to serve Connecticut, we have the ability to provide research and mapping at a national and international level to serve a client's needs.
June 2010
Summer is here! This months' map illustrates Connecticut's wine producers. The state is suffering from tough economic woes, but the vineyard and wine producing industry remains strong. While much of the growth occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s, multiple factors contributed to the increased popularity of medium- to lower-priced wine since then. One such factor has been the recommendation of red wine consumption for health benefits by medical professionals. Another has been increased environmental awareness to encourage 'buying locally' by consumers. Also, due to constrained budgets, there has been an increase of local tourism (day trips) by residents vs extended vacations further away. In the early 1990s, there were five vineyards in Connecticut. Today, there are 30, most of which are members of the CT Wine Trail. To learn more, read CERC President & CEO Bob Santy's article, A Forward Look, in the summer 2010 issue of UConn's Connecticut Economy quarterly review.
May 2010
May's map of the month illustrates Connecticut's film producers, which includes seven large studios with sound stages and a host of film and video production businesses. Much of the industry is located along the Fairfield County coast, undoubtedly because of its close proximity to metro New York and to accommodate the trade union's distance rules. The industry is, however, expanding deeper into this state. New production businesses have sprouted and there appear to be plans to construct new studio facilities in Stratford and South Windsor. Not depicted on the map are dozens of support industries vital for film such as post-production, sound engineering, finance, manufacturing, construction, security and accommodations. There are too many for one map but nonetheless they are an integral part of the film industry.
April 2010
As we all know, the month of April hosts 'tax day.' This month's map therefore involves an examination of tax data, depicting the change of state income tax paid per return from 2007 to 2008. What becomes immediately noticeable is that the greatest losses occurred in wealthy towns. Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Weston and Wesport had the most negative change, with Greenwich at -$7,736 per return. Many of the towns with higher losses in Fairfield and Litchfield counties have households of 'old money.' The losses are probably best explained by the economic crash in 2008 and the fact that these residents were far more likely to be deeply involved in money investments and stocks. Their capital gains took a severe blow that year.
March 2010
This month's map depicts the total quarterly adjusted personal income change from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2009 by state. It is immediately apparent where income has risen and where it has stagnated or dropped during this time period. The rustbelt region experienced losses undoubtedly due to problems in the auto industry. Connecticut ranked 44th and its poor standing along with New York was likely from financial and insurance losses in 2008. Worse off, California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida experienced housing bubbles and their job losses most likely were from the construction industry due to overbuilding. It is also well known that Nevada has taken huge losses in the entertainment and gaming industry. It ranks last - (-3.18%). The (+/-) changes in employment for these state are parallel in the same time periods.
February 2010
This month's Maps exemplify the usefulness of GIS in optimal siting of a new facility, in this case a self-storage business. The client wanted to open locations in six of Connecticut's largest cities but was in need of demographic and competitor data for each area to determine the suitable locations. CERC listed and mapped the locations of existing facilities, along with their sales data and years in business. In addition, key census blockgroup demographic data such as median household income, population density, age groups, and gender were collected and mapped to help narrow down ideal neighborhoods in the cities. Two of the these examples are depicted for New Haven. In spite of the multiple data features produced here, this was only the preliminary phase of the project. Further information such as marital status, length of residence, trade, and housing and zoning data was acquired. Ultimately, the 'Self storage clients' demographic envelopes were determined and mapped to maximize the most profitable locations for the new sites.
January 2010
This month's map is an example of using GIS to solve a market penetration rate problem for the Naugatuck Valley Community College. The administration worked with CERC to track high and low non-credit student enrollment rates to save on mailing costs and more effectively target weaker areas within its service region. CERC mapped their non-credit students by address and overlaid them upon USPS Carrier routes. Carrier route geography was chosen for its cost effectiveness in saturation mailing. After analyzing the accompanying carrier route demographic data (population totals, density) CERC was able to identify high penetration rate areas such as Waterbury and its immediate surrounding towns. These were areas where mailing was to be reduced, at least temporarily. In carrier routes with low rates, possibly because of their further distance from the college, such as Danbury, Brookfield, Shelton, New Milford and Derby, mailing was increased. An unexpected result occurred in Southington, which had a low rate, but was relatively close to the college. A possible reason could have been habitual gravitation to Hartford and its region for educational services, even though it is much further than Waterbury. The carrier routes in Southington, no doubt, were then prioritized for increased targeting.
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