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The Boston Indicators website includes the biennial Boston Indicators Reports and offers special features of the Indicators Project that are updated regularly to provide content that is timely, informative and engaging.
Exploring the Features of the Boston Indicators Project Website
The special features of the website include:
The Biennial Boston Indicators Reports
Sector Homepages
Crosscut Filters
Geography At-A-Glance
Boston: Hub of Innovation
The Boston Data Portal
What's Next?
The Civic Agenda
Links and Resources
Searching This Site
The special features of the website can be accessed from the navigation menu in the header appearing atop every page in the website. See figures 1 and 2 below.
Figure 1. Main Header Navigation appearing atop every page.
| The Indicators Project Special Features Navigation Box appears on the right of the Main Header Navigation. Click the title of the feature you want to explore. (See below for descriptions of special features.) |
Figure 2.
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The Biennial Boston Indicators Reports
The table of contents for the 2002 - 2004 Boston Indicators Report appears on the homepage of the website and can be used to navigate to any of the report sectors and features. You also can view past reports by clicking on the year at the top of the table of contents. See Figure 3.
Sector Homepages
There are Sector Homepages for each of the ten sectors examined in the Boston Indictors Reports.
The sectors include: Civic Health, Cultural Life and the Arts, Economy, Education, Environment, Housing, Public Health, Public Safety, Technology and Transportation. You can reach any of the Sector Homepages by clicking on one of the ten sector boxes in the header atop every page. You also can click on one of the links contained in the footer of every page or open the "fly out" menu at the top of the left navigation on every page to navigate to any of the ten sectors or the Executive Summary of the 2002-2004 Boston Indicators Report.
The Sector Homepages contain the findings and analysis of the 2002-2004 Boston Indicators Report. The left navigation bar includes the report HIGHLIGHTS examing: What Has Changed?, Remaining Challenges, Innovations and Competition. The navigation bar also also includes links to sector INNOVATIONS, a CIVIC AGENDA, RESEARCH, LINKS AND RESOURCES. Under the INDICATORS section are listed the sector GOALS and an AT-A-GLANCE feature to let you view all of the sector goals, measures and progress from a single page. The AT-A-GLANCE feature contains links to take you directly to any of the report goals and measures in that sector.
You also can use the left navigation bar to select a sector GOAL to explore. Once you've have gone to one of the goals pages, you'll see left side navigation to the measures relating to that goal.
The right column of a sector homepage features announcements about events and new research relating to the sector.
See figure 4 below.
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Figure 3.
Report Navigation.
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Figure 4.
Report Features
Enhanced Graphics
 Throughout the Indicators Reports you'll see this Enhanced Graphic icon underneath many images.
Click on the image above the Enhanced Graphic icon to generate a Pop-up page showing an enlarged view of the chart, table, list, or map. If there is a map on the Pop-up page, there may be a link to a corresponding reference map. If there is a table or chart, there may also be links to a corresponding data set that you can view or download.
To return to the page with the thumbnail image, you must click the "Close Window" button in the upper left corner of the Pop-up or View Data pages.
Viewing and Downloading Data
When a Pop-up page of a chart or table has corresponding data available, there will be options on the page to view and download data of the the chart or table.
Viewing Data
 Click on the the "View Data on Screen" link next to the icon to view the actual data.
From the View Data pages, you can click on the "Return to Graphic" text link next to the Enhanced Graphic icon to return to the Pop-up page.
If you prefer to transfer the data to your own computer, you can download the data set.
Downloading Data
 When you see this Download Data icon on Pop-up or View Data pages, you can download the data into a spreadsheet. Click on the "Download Data" text link next to the Download Data icon to download an Excel file of the data.
In most cases, a pop-up window will offer the choice between opening the file or downloading the data to your computer. Please note: Depending on the operating system and local settings on your computer, the link may automatically display the data on your computer in an Excel spreadsheet. (To save the data on your computer, right click the "Download Data" text link and select "Save target as." Then select the location where you want to save the file.)
Project Features
Crosscut Filters
The Crosscut Filters tool can be found in the "fly-out" menu atop the left navigation bar atop every page.
Crosscut Filters allow you to search for subjects that span across the ten topic sections. The Crosscut filters allow you to pull up data by Boston Neighborhoods, Children and Youth, Competition, Race/Ethnicity, and Sustainable Development.
Each Crosscut Filter page offers a description of the subject, a left column Crosscut Menu of links to related Indicators and the Crosscut Filter tool. Selecting an Indicator from the Crosscut Menu will display the page for that Indicator with both the Crosscut Menu and the section navigation menu for that Indicator. The Crosscut Filters offer an opportunity to explore the relationships among subjects such as Children and Youth a cross spectrum of Indicators.
Geography At-A-Glance
The At-a-Glance feature provides one-page "data snapshots" of Metro Boston, the region's inner core communities, the City of Boston and all of Boston's neighborhoods. The At-a-Glance pages can be found in the "fly-out" menu atop the left navigation bar of every page and in the table of contents for the 2002 - 2004 Boston Indicators Report.
The At-a-Glance pages display demographic data drawn from the US Census that show change between 1990 and 2000 in such areas as total population, racial/ethnic and age diversity, and income and poverty. Land use and housing data are also provided.
Select a geographic area from the "fly-out" menu atop the left navigation bar of every page or the table of contents for the 2002 - 2004 Boston Indicators Report to view the related data and map.
Boston: Hub of Innovation
Visit the Hub of Innovation to learn about ideas that will affect our futures. You'll find a wealth of Boston innovations as well as cutting-edge ideas from round the world. At the Hub of Innovation page, you'll see an image of the globe with a view of Boston at its hub. Click on any on the ten "slices" of the earth to explore innovations in each of the ten Indicator Report sectors.
The Boston Data Portal
The Boston Data Portal page includes descriptions and links to the U.S. Census Bureau and some of the richest and most informative research sites with Metropolitan Boston data.
What's Next?
The Boston Indicators Reports offer analyses and findings that call for a comprehensive and collective response. Follow the work of the Indicators Project between the reports. The What's Next page contains notices of upcoming convenings and notes from past meetings.
The Civic Agenda
Participate in helping to set the Civic Agenda. The Civic Agenda page allows you to get involved in the Civic Agenda on four fronts: A Dynamic and Open Civic Culture; World Class Human Resources; 21st Century Jobs and Economic Strategies; and 21st Century Infrastructure. Click on the four photos to explore these aspects of the Civic Agenda.
Links and Resources
The Links and Resources page is a regularly updated compilation of links and resources related to each of the ten sectors research in the Indicators Reports.
Searching This Site
The Search feature is located in the upper right corner of the page header. Searches are limited to the content of the Indicators Site. Simply type keywords or phrases into the white text box and click on the "Search this Site" button. The results will be generated on a separate Results page. The Results page offers links to all related content and the date of the original publication. There also is an advanced search tool in the left column.
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