The Smart Location Database (SLD) is a nationwide geospatial dataset developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure the built environment and location efficiency of neighborhoods across the United States. With more than 90 indicators covering development patterns, land use, transportation access, employment, and demographics, it gives researchers, planners, policymakers, and community organizations a detailed way to understand how the design and location of a neighborhood can shape how people live, work, and travel.
On Social Explorer, the Smart Location Database is available at the Census block group level, providing a highly detailed view of communities across the country. Rather than relying on broad city- or county-level averages, users can examine variations from one neighborhood to the next and connect built-environment measures with other demographic, economic, and geographic data available in Social Explorer.
Measure the Built Environment in Detail
The Smart Location Database organizes many of its measures around several characteristics commonly associated with travel behavior and location efficiency.
Density measures how intensively land is developed, including residential, population, and employment density. Diversity describes the mix of housing and employment uses within an area. Design captures characteristics of the street network, including measures such as intersection density. Transit accessibility describes proximity to and availability of public transportation, while destination accessibility measures how easily people can reach jobs and working-age populations by automobile or transit.
Together, these measures provide a practical framework for examining why neighborhoods with similar populations may function very differently.
Explore Transportation, Employment, and Demographic Context
The dataset goes well beyond a single measure of neighborhood form. Smart Location Database variables include transit service frequency and distance to the nearest transit stop, employment totals and employment mix, housing and population density, household vehicle availability, and measures of access to jobs and workers.
That breadth makes the SLD useful for investigating connections among land use, transportation, employment, and community characteristics. A planner might use it to identify areas that combine residential density with strong transit access. A transportation researcher can examine how street design relates to commuting patterns. A policy analyst can compare access to employment opportunities across neighborhoods.
The Smart Location Database also serves as the foundation for other EPA resources, including the National Walkability Index, which uses selected SLD variables related to land-use diversity, intersection density, and proximity to transit.
Compare Smart Location Database Data from 2013 and 2021
Social Explorer includes 2013 and 2021 Smart Location Database data, giving users access to two important editions of the EPA resource in one platform.
The two releases can help researchers explore how neighborhood conditions and the data used to describe them have evolved. However, comparisons should be made thoughtfully. EPA updated geographic boundaries, source data, variables, and some calculation methods for the 2021 release, so not every measure is directly comparable with its earlier counterpart.
Social Explorer makes it easier to investigate the two editions alongside other datasets and geographic context, helping users identify the variables that are most useful for a particular research question.
Use the Smart Location Database for Planning and Community Analysis
The Smart Location Database supports a wide range of applications, including transportation planning, transit-oriented development, land-use analysis, walkability research, scenario planning, accessibility studies, and research into the relationship between neighborhood form and travel behavior.
Because the measures are standardized across the country, users can study an individual neighborhood, compare communities within the same metropolitan area, or examine broader regional and national patterns.
And because the data is available through Social Explorer, there is no need to start with raw geographic files and build an analysis from scratch. You can bring Smart Location Database measures together with demographic and socioeconomic data, map patterns, compare places, and move from a neighborhood-level question to a clearer picture of the surrounding community.
Explore the Smart Location Database on Social Explorer
See how density, land use, street design, transit access, and proximity to jobs vary across U.S. neighborhoods. Sign up for a free trial of Social Explorer to map Smart Location Database data, compare communities, and add built-environment context to your research.