33: Alex Alsup – Land Parcel Data with Regrid

In this episode, we're joined by Alex Alsup, Vice President of Research & Development at Regrid. We talk about the Detroit foreclosure crisis, Regrid’s work in collecting land parcel data, as well as transparency and accessibility in assessment.

We cover:

• Introduction to Assessment Matters podcast 00:00

• Alex’s bio and big ideas 00:35

• Alex’s experience in parcel mapping, data collection, and tackling the Detroit property tax foreclosure crisis

• How does land use and land taxation make housing so unaffordable in the US?

• What caused the Detroit property tax foreclosure crisis? 5:13

• Lack of consistent reassessment

• Difficult to navigate bureaucratic poverty relief programs

• Differences in homeowner vs renter experiences

• Perverse incentives featuring speculative and delinquent landlords

• What does the process look like to collect parcel data? 8:44

• Maximizing freshness, coverage, and depth of parcel data

• Incremental progress over a decade with regular updates

• Data sources

• What Regrid did differently from past parcel data collection 12:01

• Specific focus on parcel boundaries and shapes

• Broadening access to historically obscure and idiosyncratic knowledge

• Current R&D projects and interests: the Detroit Assessment Gauge 13:31

• comparing assessed values to US Census tract

• Helping improve transparency and public trust

• Providing the public with the technical language for assessments

• How to see more of Regrid 17:42

• Regrid's website

• Promoting data access via Data With Purpose: