Measure of America, at measureofamerica.org, is a tool for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity throughout America. The American Human Development Project provides easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity in America and stimulating fact-based dialogue about key issues: health, education, and living standards.

This document is the successful Waterbury, CT FY 2014 TIGER Capital Project Grant Application, submitted by the City of Waterbury. The project is now underway.

From the application: The Waterbury Active Transportation and Economic Resurgence (WATER) project is potentially the biggest catalytic project to be undertaken by the City of Waterbury in the past 50 years. WATER is a multi-faceted mobility enhancement project that will revitalize Waterbury’s river/rail corridor neighborhoods and downtown center and drive the economic resurgence of the City and region. This bold project proposes to construct an integrated system of “active transportation” improvements including: a downtown riverfront trail, a reconstructed and expanded network of local streets, and a comprehensive array of pedestrian/bicycle safety improvements and linkages, all designed to better connect downtown to the historic McKim, Mead & White designed train station and riverfront. These improvements will serve to complement on-going City and State investments in downtown revitalization, brownfield reclamation and provision of expanded transit options at the train station. WATER will benefit all of Waterbury’s 110,000 residents by improving connections between neighborhoods, jobs, schools and green spaces.

This document presents data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES), a product of the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program. The LODES dataset combines wage records, employer reports, administrative and demographic information, and records from the U.S. Census Bureau. The most recent dataset was available for the year 2011. The LODES dataset offers an unprecedented level of geographic and demographic detail compared to other economic datasets. Employment locations are aggregated to the Census Block geography to protect privacy and are for general planning purposes only. LODES data was supplemented with data from the Connecticut Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Statistics from the different data sources do not match up perfectly due to differing data collection methods. For example, the Connecticut Department of Labor data classifies all government employees into one category while the LODES dataset separates them by function (public school teachers would be considered “educational services” employees). These discrepancies were marked in the report with an asterisk.

Findings include:

• The Central Naugatuck Valley Region (CNVR) had a total employment of 98,453 in 2011, a loss of 5,100 jobs (-4.9%) from 2002.
• Comparatively, there were 130,968 employed persons living in the region, a net export of over 32,500 workers.
• Half of all CNVR residents now work outside the region and over 40 percent of all CNVR workers live outside the region.
• Recovery from the 2007-2009 economic recession has been slow, particularly for goods-producing sectors.
• Regional employment peaked at 104,492 in 2007 and declined to a low of 96,423 in 2010. Employment has grown slowly since 2010 but only education and health services has exceeded pre -recession employment levels.
• Service-producing sectors now make up nearly 80 percent of the region’s total employment. The service sector contains a mix of low paying jobs (accommodation and food services, retail trade) and high paying jobs (finance and insurance, management of companies and enterprises).
• The region has high concentrations of manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, and health care and social assistance employment compared to other parts of the state.
• The region has very low concentrations of employment in the finance and insurance, arts, entertainment and recreation, management of companies and enterprises, and information sectors compared to other parts of the state.
• The wholesale trade sector was identified as the strongest major sector of the CNVR economy. It saw employment growth from 2002-2011, has a high job concentration relative to the state and nation, and has seen positive regional trends. Much of the wholesale trade employment in the region is found in Cheshire Industrial Park near the I-84 and I-691 interchange.
• After decades of decline, manufacturing employment is projected to stay relatively stable from 2010 to 2020. Manufacturing subsectors such as plastics and rubber product manufacturing and chemical manufacturing are projected to add jobs statewide.

Johnson Memorial Hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment addressed a number of areas of interest, including obesity, diabetes, behavioral health, and alcohol/substance abuse. The report identified problems, Johnson Memorial Hospital’s strategies to fix the problems, and specific programs in place.

This Community Health Needs Assessment was carried out in 2013 to identify current and future healthcare needs in the community and to improve and strengthen programs and services provided to address them. They surveyed residents in the service area and local community agencies, and compiled this report which addresses areas of interest, including cancer, diabetes, and prenatal care.

Click on the link below to view the main report page, or on the document link to download a PDF of the complete 2013 report.

Excel Bridgeport is a movement of parents, students, and other community members to advocate for excellent schools. We believe that going to college and having successful careers should be the expectation and not the exception for Bridgeport children. To get there, we need to focus on 1) Achievement, 2) Good Governance, 3) Effective Leadership, & 4) Community Empowerment. This report provides a summary of 2013 student achievement data, in order to equip parents and community members to be informed advocates and suggest strategies for moving forward. We know that these scores matter in determining future success in school and in life, particularly in third and tenth grades.

This Community Health Needs Assessment was carried out in order for Griffin Hospital to gain a better understanding of the Valley community around it. Based on the results, the hospital will improve the services it provides.