I was fortunate to attend the Tulsa Town Hall lecture by eminent astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, today.  Tyson is an engaging speaker, and provides a manageable point of access to the cosmos, physics, and the sheer vastness and mystery of the universe as we currently understand it.  Besides that, he’s kind of funny, to boot.  If you get a chance to check him out – you should. Tyson is also an outspoken advocate for increased investment in science and engineering, as well as “STEM” education – science, technology, engineering, and math.  He closed his presentation with a couple of maps.  I had to go track them down – they were compelling.

Tyson provided a slide that showed the scientific output of the world – as gauged by peer-reviewed scholarly articles.  The relative outputs of various nations are shown stretching the size of their country of origin’s boundaries in proportion to the outputs of other nations (source after the jump):

The map is striking.  Africa almost disappears – and South America and Central Asia don’t fare much better.  Japan, Europe, and the US loom large.  Check out the supporting data HERE. Dr. Tyson pointed out an interesting correlation – the places with high output also tend to have much higher standards of living – it makes sense.  It is, however, the second map he shows that tells the more interesting story.   The map below shows the growth in science output from 1990 to 2001.  It shows who is make more recent investments in science.   

Where the top map shows China in a smaller role – the bottom map shows Chinese scientific output exploding.  Europe appears even bigger than before – South America returns to the map (thanks to Argentina and Brazil).  You might notice – the US shrinks in relative importance.  So – while the US is still putting out a vast amount of science – others are coming on strong – and picking up the pace faster than the US.  Source for the growth map is HERE.

So – where did this map come from? Check out WORLDMAPPER.  This is an intriguing way to look at data on a global level. They’ve got around 700 maps which “distort” borders to relative sizes on various subjects: from human poverty, to container ports, torail networks. For something equally striking – take a look at the comparative map for numbers of illiterate women.

This is indeed the “World as you have never seen it before” – Worldmapper’s tag line, not mine – and perhaps it brings some clarity beyond our usual view of the world as shaped by familiar borders.

The world isn’t that big of a place anymore.  In economic development circles, you often hear about competing in the world marketplace, and the pressures that communities and regions face to develop capacities to think and act globally.  New Scientist published a set of maps and charts in 2009 that demonstrate just how connected we really are.  To begin, here’s a heat map showing the travel times (by land transportation) to major population centers, and the darker the color, the more remote the area.  The remainder of the charts show road, rail, water, and travel time information, presented in graphical form. 

BONUS:  Google Docs has a Heat Map gadget!

The US Census Bureau is in the midst of collecting mail-in forms for the 2010 decennial census.  If you haven’t filled out your form – do so today and get it in the mail!  The Census provides valuable information on community demographics, trends and patterns, and areas of focus for services and development.  Our country has conducted a census every ten years since 1790.

The Census Bureau reports that the current participation rate for the mail-in portion of the effort is 34%. 

For every 1% increase in mail participation, the Bureau will save $85,000,000 of taxpayer funds required to field census-takers on the street. (source)

The Bureau provides an interactive mapping tool where you can see response rates from a national level:

You can use this map to drill down further to a local level:

Economic development (and representative government) lives and dies by the quality of the data used to derive decisions and set priorities.  The Census is the cornerstone of our country’s attempt to understand who is here, where people live, and the general make-up of our nation.  Participate!

The latest self-sufficiency standards report has been released, and I’ve got a copy of the Oklahoma-specific report to review.  This guide – prepared for various communities all around the United States by the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington– is essential in figuring out a close estimate of what it actually costs to survive in a given area.  Survive – not live in luxury, not live free from worry – just survive…

Here are Tulsa County’s self-sufficiency standards for selected family types:

A close reading of this table shows that the average adult living in Tulsa county needs to earn roughly $9.23 per hour.  The Federal minimum wage for jobs covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act is $7.25.  So – a minimum-wage worker in a covered job needs to find an extra $2.00 per hour to make up the difference for basic survival.

A single adult with a preschooler and a school-age child (not an uncommon situation!) needs to earn almost $19.00 per hour to meet the same standard of living.

More great discussion about the standards and the application of this information HERE.  Clearly, thinking carefully about the kinds of jobs that we choose to target for development, and the accompanying wage levels, is a critical component of good economic development strategy.  The number of jobs is not enough – those jobs must also provide an avenue to self-sufficiency.

"With food stamp use at record highs and climbing every month, a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children."

Check out Jason Deparle and Robert Gebeloff's excellent series "The Safety Net"  on the strains, stresses, and trends of our social programs, as found in the New York Times.

The graphically-minded Times also includes an interactive map providing food stamp usage data across the US.  Here's an example from Tulsa County, Oklahoma:

There are some great, public (read: free) resources for analyzing economic data, though many times you have to be willing to wade through and reformat information for presentation purposes. The US Census Bureau collects and analyzes a mountain of useful data.

 "LED on the Map" (for the curious, that stands for Longitudinal Employer-household Dynamics)

 - Provides a map-based view of where people live and work, with several additional layers of analysis on wages, industry, and commuting patterns.

 - Data lags a bit - the current most-recent analysis only covers through 2006 so the current economic situation is not reflected.

Here's an example: 

This map shows where workers earning $1200 per month or less live who are employed in Tulsa County.  Remember - this is up through the end of 2006.

January, 2008 through September, 2009

Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission