Urban and Regional Planning
Locate a variety of resources for urban and regional planning studies, as well as transportation studies.
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Finding Data in the Social Sciences
Link to the Guide for Finding Data in the Social Sciences.
The Center for Statistical Consultation & Research (CSCAR) provides free statistical consulting to all U-M faculty, staff, and graduate students to help with the design, planning, analysis, and presentation of results of research studies.
Statistics, GIS and Spatial Data Resources
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Government InformationFor government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international.
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GIS Open Data PortalThe Geographic Data Library catalogs the available GIS data that the State of Michigan provides for Internet access. Access to data within the Library is based upon geographic extent and theme type.
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U.S. Geological SurveyAn unbiased, multi-disciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology, geospatial information, and water, and the study of our natural resources.
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SEMCOG Data and MapsProvides information on Southeast Michigan and access to interactive databases and mapping applications featuring demographic, transportation, economic, land use, and public safety information.
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Open Urban Data Guide for Geospatial Analytics in MichiganA guide to open datasets related to Michigan urban planning. The guide is led by Prof. Xiaofan Liang from the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan.
Databases
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data.census.gov (U.S. Census Bureau)data.census.gov is an online source for accessing population, housing, economic and geographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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COVID-19 Data Resource Hub (from data.world)A resource site for publicly available, open source data related to COVID-19.
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Current Index to StatisticsThe Current Index to Statistics is a bibliographic index to publications in statistics, probability, and related fields.
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Data Driven DetroitD3 tracks social, economic and environmental indicators for Detroit, provides access to that data, and allows utilization of the data.
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data.worldData.world is a commercial data site for storing, accessing and sharing data. Free access is provided for limited use of the site. There is a community segment of the site which provides access to shared, open access datasets. They are including data associated with COVID-19.
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CANSIM @ CHASSData on a wide variety of social and economic aspects of Canadian life.
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Historical Statistics of the U.S. Millennial EditionHistorical Statistics of the United States has long been the standard source for quantitative indicators of American history. This edition includes data through the year 2000.
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ICPSR Data ArchiveICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) provides both data and publications based on data.
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International Financial StatisticsProvided by the International Monetary Fund, the IFS database contains approximately 32,000 time series covering more than 200 countries and areas. Data can be exported in Excel, CSV, Tab delimited, and HTML formats.
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LEHD - Longitudinal Employer-Household DynamicsCombines state and federal data on employment.
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Michigan Housing Data PortalHousing, economic, and demographic data from the state of Michigan.
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OnTheMapAllows map-based analysis using census data.
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OECD iLibraryOnline library of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Includes full-text of all books, papers, 24 periodicals and OECD statistical databases.
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Open Data BarometerProvides information about open data initiatives supported or provided by governments around the world.
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Open Data UKData provided by central government, local authorities and public bodies in the United Kingdom.
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PAIS Index (Public Affairs Information Service)PAIS International searches articles, government documents and statistical directories for information on public policy and public affairs.
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PolicyMapPolicyMap is a US-National web-based Geographic Information System used to understand communities.
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Polling the NationsCompilation of questions and responses from more than 18,000 national, state, local and special surveys from over 1700 polling organizations.
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ProQuest Statistical InsightsIndexes and abstracts federal statistical publications since 1974, business and state government publications since 1980, and international agency publications since 1983.
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SimplyAnalyticsAllows you to create thematic maps and reports using demographic, business and marketing data.
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Social ExplorerProvides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present. Create maps and reports.
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StatistaIncludes ready-made statistical charts, graphs and tables on marketing, demographics, communication, technology, politics, health, leisure and public opinion polls. About 20 percent of the data in Statista comes from government sources like the World Bank and the U.S. Census. The rest comes from industry, marketing, and trade groups. The tables, charts and graphs can be downloaded as images or into Microsoft Powerpoint and Excel. U-M user only.
Finding Articles using Library Articles Search
You can search across multiple databases by using Library Articles Search. This allows you to search across thousands of publishers and millions of documents. As part of your search, you can limit your results to articles from scholarly journals, from newspapers, or to articles that are available fulltext.
Things to remember:
Library Articles Search is a very good way to start researching a particular topic.
Library Articles Search is great for multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research.
Library Articles Search does not replace subject specific databases for specialized searching, so don't forget about the Avery Index, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, or any of those other standards you've become accustomed to using.
Library Articles Search is not a book catalog (though it does contain ebooks); if you want print and ebooks, search in the Library Catalog.
Last Updated: Oct 13, 2025 3:00 PM
Subjects: Social Sciences
Tags: city, detroit, development, environment, housing, land, region, statistics