Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition

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Social Equity
Environmental Integrity
Economic Prosperity
Summary Reports

 
    

 

 2009 Prosperity Index Report

 

a project of

Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition

 

produced by

Community Coordinating Council of Muskegon County

Annis Water Resources Institute – Grand Valley State University

Muskegon Area First

 

Click "Summary Reports" tab (top left) for 2009, 2008, or 2007 Summary Reports downloads.
Background

This is the third annual report of the Prosperity Index for Muskegon County and includes data for 2007. The Index grew out of several community conversations and initiatives. The conversations focused on: ensuring a future for Muskegon County, strengthening cooperation between various community sectors, identifying priorities and evaluating outcomes, and establishing a framework for action around prosperity.

 

The Community Coordinating Council, a State-endorsed community collaborative of human service agencies, conceived and developed the concept for an index that would support integration of various sectors of the community in achieving prosperity. 

About the same time, several area businesses and organizations were forming the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition out of a shared commitment to achieve prosperity and community success without sacrificing the assets and resources of future generations. The Coalition recognized the value of the Prosperity Index as a tool in monitoring progress toward prosperity and establishing cross-sector accountability for community outcomes. The Index was adopted by the Coalition as a key project, and the first summary report was produced in October 2007.

Sustainability

Achieving a sustainable community requires a balanced, integrated focus around the core values of:

    • Social Equity
    • Environmental Integrity
    • Economic Prosperity

Each core value is represented as a separate sector in the Prosperity Index. 

  

 2007 Overall

Prosperity Index Score

for Muskegon County, MI

3.0

 

 

Index Scores

Score

Prosperity Level

4.0 to 5.0

Thriving

3.0 to 3.9

Sustainable

2.0 to 2.9

Needs Improvement

1.0 to 1.9

Failing

Less than 1.0

Unsustainable

Index scores were calculated for each indicator based on how the measure compares to a fixed scale – or “rubric” – of standards. The rubrics allow score comparisons from year to year and monitoring trends within indicators and sectors.

 

The index scores are based on a 5-point scale with 5.0 being the highest score. Scores of 4.0 or higher indicate a community is “thriving.” A score of 3.0 indicates a “sustainable” level has been achieved.

  

Updates

This year, the Index report includes data and score averages for two groups of select counties in Michigan. In the summary tables, the numbers in each column headed “West MI” are the simple averages of data reported for Muskegon, Kent and Ottawa Counties. Each “East MI” column shows the averages of data reported for Bay, Genesee and Saginaw Counties. The East Michigan counties were selected because the overall size and configuration of urban and rural populations was deemed comparable to the West Michigan counties.

 

Based on research of reliability of predictors of sustainability, the Environmental Integrity indicators of “Land for Urban” and “Average Commute Time” have been replaced with “Urban Sprawl” and “Ozone.” Other revisions in data sources and rubrics were accomplished to enhance reliability and validity.

 

  

 

West Michigan Counties (Muskegon, Kent, Ottawa) Data Tables

Tables showing the indicators and index scores for each sector in Muskegon, Kent and Ottawa Counties for both report years are availalbe. Click the table title below to download.

 

 

Prosperity Index Trends

Based on the revised indicators and data sources, the overall Index score rose slightly to 3.0 – or sustainable – for both 2007. As shown in the chart above and the table below, overall averages for the Social Equity sector have stayed at or above a sustainable level since 2000. The averages for the Environmental Integrity indicators improved from 2000 to 2007. The Economic Prosperity indicator averages lagged the other sectors in 2006 and 2007.

 

 

Prosperity Index Scores and 2000 to 2007 Trends* by Sustainability Sector

Sustainability

 Sector

Sector Index

Muskegon County

West MI1

East MI2

Michigan

U.S.

2000

2006

2007

2000

2006

2007

2000

2006

2007

2000

2006

2007

2000

2006

2007

Social Equity

Score

3.7

3.5

3.5

3.8

3.6

3.4

3.6

3.2

3.1

3.6

3.2

3.0

3.3

3.2

3.0

Trend

down

down

down

down

down

Environmental Integrity

Score

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.6

2.9

3.0

2.7

3.2

3.0

2.9

3.3

3.2

3.1

3.4

3.5

Trend

rising

rising

rising

rising

rising

Economic Prosperity 

Score

2.7

2.4

2.5

3.0

2.7

2.9

1.9

1.7

1.8

3.1

2.6

2.2

3.5

3.1

3.2

Trend

down

steady

steady

down

down

Overall Average

Score

3.0

2.9

3.0

3.1

3.1

3.1

2.7

2.7

2.6

3.2

3.0

2.8

3.3

3.2

3.2

Trend

steady

steady

steady

down

steady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Only score changes greater than ± 0.1 are classified as rising or down.

 

Sustainability Sector Charts and Tables

Summary charts and detailed tables showing the data and index scores for the indicators for each of the Sustainability Sectors are available. Click on the tabs to the upper left or the title of the sector in the table above to be directed to the page with additional data and information about each sector and its indicators.

 

Indicators and Scores

The key considerations in the design of the Prosperity Index were it should be:

  • Simple and easy to understand.
  • Easy and inexpensive to produce and publish on a regular basis.

 

To achieve these elements, it was decided the indicators for each sector should be limited to no more than six. In addition, to ensure the Index would be valid and useful, data for each indicator should meet the following criteria:

  • Source data must be reliable, consistent and regular.
  • Indicator data must be available on a national, state and county level.
  • Source data must be readily accessible and simple to analyze.

 

The Prosperity Index is also a "fixed" index. That is, scoring is against a set of fixed standards or "rubrics," much like a school grading scale. A fixed index allows monitoring of progress and trends, and comparisons across geographic areas. Whenever possible, the levels and scales used for a rubric were based on prevailing sustainability standards or research.