Kate Rabinowitz - D.C. Policy Center

Kate is the Founder of DataLensDC (datalensdc.com), an organization dedicated to understanding communities through data; her work through DataLensDC has been featured in The Atlantic’s CityLab, City Observatory, Washingtonian, and Washington City Paper, among other publications. She is a Co-Captain of Code for DC, a civic hacking group dedicated to solving local issues. Kate is also a leader in DC’s Women in Tech community, both as co-organizer of the Tech Lady Hackathon and creator of wespeaktoo.org, a website that promotes women speakers. Kate is now a graphics reporter at the Washington Post.

D.C. Policy Center contributors are independent writers, and we gladly encourage the expression of a variety of perspectives. The views of our contributors, published here or elsewhere, do not reflect the views of the D.C. Policy Center.

Written By Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Data | DataLensDC

D.C. Government just released a list of (nearly) all of its data

This week, in celebration of Sunshine Week and as stipulated in D.C.’s Data Policy, the Chief Data Officer released the first Enterprise Dataset Inventory. The inventory is a near comprehensive list of enterprise datasets within government—all the spreadsheets, records, and databases that government agencies create and use internally to make decisions. Its…

March 15, 2018 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Business Conditions | DataLensDC | Housing

The knowns and unknowns of Airbnb in D.C.

Last month, researchers from McGill University released a report on the outsized role of commercial Airbnb operators, and the impact of Airbnb rentals on New York City’s housing supply.[1] Commercial operators are hosts who list multiple whole-units or at least three private rooms—in other words, hosts who are not simply renting out…

March 1, 2018 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Business Conditions | DataLensDC

D.C. nightlife is booming, but not necessarily for much longer

Higher closure rates in 2015-16 suggest the biggest of the nightlife boom may be behind us. Nightlife in D.C. has grown dramatically in recent years, from just over 800 bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in 2008 to just under 1,300 in 2016. While the conventional wisdom that most restaurants don’t survive their first year is far from…

August 14, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Business Conditions | Data | DataLensDC

As D.C. nightlife grows, it’s becoming more of a bar town

Restaurants still dominate D.C. nightlife, but bars are quickly growing. D.C.’s nightlife boom since 2008 has increased the number of liquor licenses for bars, restaurants, and nightclubs by nearly 50 percent. But it hasn’t been an even gain across each category. From 2008 to 2016, the number of liquor licenses for…

July 26, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Data | DataLensDC

Mapping D.C.’s nightlife boom

Liquor licenses for bars, clubs, and restaurants in D.C. have increased by over 50 percent since 2008 and expanded the footprint of the District’s nightlife, broadly in step with gentrification patterns. In 2008, D.C. had just over 800 bars, clubs, and restaurants. In 2016, there were nearly 1,300. Over this general time…

June 29, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | D.C. History | DataLensDC

A timeline of LGBT places and spaces in D.C.

Washington, D.C. is home to one of the largest pride celebrations in the country. Started in 1975, the celebration now referred to as Capital Pride is just one piece of a larger LGBT movement in D.C. over the past six decades that sought, and continues to seek, equal treatment and acceptance. Bars,…

June 8, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | DataLensDC | Demographics

Prince George’s County a Popular Home for Many Former D.C. Residents

While D.C. is an international city, with residents arriving from and departing to places all over the world, most of its domestic migration is very local: Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Alexandria are the top five places within the U.S. that D.C. residents move to and from….

May 11, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | DataLensDC | Public Health

The health wealth gap in D.C.

Recent research from a team headed by Stanford economist Raj Chetty made headlines last year when it outlined the stark divide in health outcomes between high- and low-income Americans. As the New York Times reports, the Health Inequality Project found that longevity has steadily increased across the nation for the richest Americans,…

May 2, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | Criminal Justice | Data | DataLensDC

Why visualizing open data isn’t enough

With a new proposed Data Policy, release of high profile datasets on topics like 311 and taxicabs, and Open Government Advisory Group, the D.C. Government looks interested in moving up the ranks of open data cities. This is good news for policymakers, businesses, and citizens. But with open data comes the duty…

April 3, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz

Articles | DataLensDC | Demographics

A decade of demographic change in D.C.: Which neighborhoods have changed the most?

The Census Bureau recently announced that D.C.’s population has risen to a four-decade high of almost 700,000, a boom driven largely by an influx of new residents. These new District residents have undeniably changed the demographic makeup of D.C., which on the whole has become whiter, wealthier, and younger over the past…

March 2, 2017 | Kate Rabinowitz