Spatial Data

The Demand for Space on the Internet -- Internet domain names bring the location back to the (more or less) location-less Internet. A domain name provides a virtual street address for any website or service on the Internet. This is project study quantitatively researches the dynamics of domain registrations for existing top level domains (TLD) such as .com, .gov, or .org. It estimates the demand for domain space that is not met by the current top level domains. This unserved demand gives a measure of the value that can be released by the rapid expansion of domain space: Traditionally, virtual space has been segmented into 22 global top level domains (and many country specific extensions). By the end of 2014, consumers will be able to choose from nearly 1000 new extensions for their online presence.

Physical factors for economic and social outcomes -- Social scientists are increasingly aware of the importance of physical factors in understanding economic and social outcomes. However, in most cases the only way to incorporate physical features such as elevation, soil type, or flood risk is through the use of expensive, complicated, and time-consuming GIS software. This project aims to reduce the dependency on GIS software by automatically tabulating physical variables by census block. For each of more than 40 variables—everything from land cover to cell tower locations to wind speed—we will compute summary statistics at the block level. The blocks can then be aggregated into larger units such as census tracts, counties, or metro areas. When complete, this data will be posted on this website for download free of charge.