Economic Atlas Offers Information About Arkansas To Everyone

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A new Web-based economic atlas created by University of Arkansas researchers gives companies, city planners and other interested parties a window through which to look at economic indicators throughout every region of the state. The atlas will allow companies to make educated decisions when expanding into Arkansas.

The Arkansas Economic Atlas, a demonstration project developed by the U of A’s Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies in conjunction with federal, state, local and private organizations, offers users access to economic information for 100 cities and all 75 counties within Arkansas. With a few clicks of the mouse, users can find out how many electricity providers lie within a 30-minute commute from Blytheville, or how many elementary schools can be found in Woodruff County.

The site contains statistics compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Education and many other federal and state agencies that compile data.

"The trick was to take all of the data and turn it into useful information," said Brian Culpepper, a research associate with CAST.

The project grew out of a concern that the Mississippi Delta counties of Arkansas need to attract new businesses to the area to help ease economic distress. To attract businesses, organizations must have accurate information on an area’s workforce, infrastructure and resources. Researchers at CAST realized that making computer-based information available on the Web would provide companies and communities with a vital tool for communication.

"One of the top issues companies face when exploring places for relocating or expanding a business is labor," said Jubal Smith, project manager for Entergy’s Office of Economic Development in Little Rock and an advisor on the economic atlas project. "A labor pool is the area a business could potentially pull labor from. For example, Fayetteville's labor pool is not confined to just Fayetteville proper, but to Benton, Washington and Madison Counties. And the highway infrastructure will dictate where your labor comes from."

To address the labor pool issue, the researchers made the data available not only by city and county, but also by "commuter sheds." Arkansas has one of the highest commute times in the nation, so Culpepper and his colleagues developed 30 and 60-minute "commuter sheds" for the 100 cities listed, so companies could look at the potential resources within those areas.

The economic atlas provides information on natural resources, including rivers, lakes and public lands. People also can pull up information on public and private schools, universities and technical colleges by their location.

The atlas houses more information of potential interest to companies considering moving to Arkansas; the locations of airports, roads, locks and dams, railroads and electric power suppliers. It contains data on population, employment statistics, education attainment and average salaries by industry.

The information often includes links to other Web sites with further information.

"Our idea was not to serve as a repository for everything, but to pass people on to the source of the data," Culpepper said. The researchers have provided Web links to existing community Web sites, such as the Development Information Network of Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and many other resources.

People can view the information both in tables and in map form. This means people with less powerful computers can still access the Geographic Information System (GIS) data, Culpepper said.

The information has many uses for potential employers, potential employees and city and district officials.

"Until now, many local districts didn’t have a mapping tool to advertise their wares," Culpepper said. Now city and county planners can use this comprehensive, online database to showcase different aspects of their city or county when people request information.

"The more tools and avenues a state uses to market its products, the more competitive they remain," Entergy’s Smith said. "The Internet and computer bring the world to the offices of the site consultants and prospective businesses. If others have this [GIS] technology and you do not, you stand the chance of getting cut from the initial list and not having a chance of landing a new business."

Anyone with an Internet connection and a Web browser can customize maps for a region with their desired information and points of interest, and then download the maps in a printable format to use in presentations.

To visit the Arkansas Economic Atlas Project, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/econ_dev. To learn more about the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, please visit http://www.cast.uark.edu/.

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