About

The Unpacking the Census program was inspired by the work of Dr. John V. Moeser.  During his time as a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Moeser founded the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and wrote several books on racial politics, city-suburban relationships, and poverty.  Upon retirement from VCU, Dr. Moeser was named Senior Fellow at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Richmond.  He served in that capacity from 2005-2017. Over the years, Dr. Moeser compiled his research into a presentation about race, class, and jurisdiction that was periodically offered to civic and community groups.

In 2010, Dr. Moeser connected with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and Initiatives of Change/Hope in the Cities.  Together, they explored ways for Dr. Moeser’s work to reach more people and inform public policy in the City of Richmond and surrounding counties.  His presentation was recorded in 2011 and nearly 40 volunteer facilitators were trained to lead community dialogues based on the DVD recording in 2012.  Over a period of one year, diverse facilitator teams led over 80 presentations and dialogues, reaching business, education, government, nonprofit, and religious sectors in all jurisdictions across the region.

At the kick-off of the Unpacking the 2010 Census program in March 2011, then-Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced the creation of an Anti-Poverty Commission.  That body’s work, in tandem with the heightened public awareness from the Unpacking the Census presentations and dialogues, helped lead to the creation of the City of Richmond Office of Community Wealth Building.

Since the Unpacking the 2010 Census program, University of Richmond students supported by the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement have regularly updated maps using American Community Survey data.  These updates have been disseminated widely and are among the most accessed pages in the University of Richmond’s Scholarship Repository.

Unpacking the 2010 Census: 4-Part Video Series