Projects
Our archive of recent projects demonstrates our ability to create unique solutions for our partners. If you see something you would like to adapt for your community, contact us.
Putting a Data Dashboard to Work for Greenville’s Transit System
Greenville County’s transit system provides 750,000 rides a year—workers, students, and residents who depend on it to reach jobs, healthcare, and opportunity. A custom dashboard built by the Shi Institute is giving advocates the data and tools they need to make the case for a stronger, more connected county.
Extreme Heat Is a Health Crisis. The Hard Part Is Knowing Exactly Where
South Carolina already endures about 15 days a year above 95°F—and that number is expected to grow dramatically. Extreme heat kills, worsens chronic illness, and strains communities in ways that vary dramatically from block to block. The Shi Institute is helping municipalities see exactly where the threat is greatest, and act on it.
What Will the Upstate Look Like in 2100? We Have a Choice.
The natural spaces that define our region could vanish within decades – or they could thrive for generations. Our modeling reveals how smart decisions today can preserve the Upstate for future generations.
A Trusted Guide for Climate Resilience Action in SC Communities
South Carolina is home to 10 federally designated Community Disaster Resilience Zones — communities where climate risk and social vulnerability are high, but resources to act are often limited. Finding the right funding, technical expertise, and partners can feel like navigating a maze. That is the problem the Southeast Navigator Network program was built to […]
Protecting Spartanburg’s Northside Neighborhood from Displacement
Rising property values in Spartanburg’s Northside neighborhood bring both opportunities and risks. Our research reveals how strategic interventions can preserve community stability while residents benefit from increased equity.
The Business Demand Is There. Why Isn’t SC Capitalizing on Renewable Energy?
South Carolina companies, large and small, want to buy renewable energy. Many have hard commitments to do so. Research from Dr. Matthew Cohen and the Shi Institute finds that state policy is the main thing standing in the way and that the investment dollars may end up elsewhere if SC isn’t more proactive.
Preserving the Farms That Define Our Communities
South Carolina stands to lose 586,000 acres of farmland by 2036. That’s 67 acres disappearing every single day. Shi’s mapping tools can help change this trajectory.
What Does “Affordable” Actually Mean? A Data-Driven Approach.
Cities debate housing supply a lot. But the data suggest the deeper problem is wages. When most Black households earn far below the area median, a supply-side solution is unlikely to close the gap. Our interactive tool makes that visible.
Protecting Sterling’s Community Character Amid Intense Market Pressure
Sterling sits in one of Greenville’s fastest-growing real estate markets, where community leaders’ foresight in acquiring key properties years ago now provides crucial protection against displacement pressures.
The Map That’s Helping Greenville Fight Food Insecurity
Food insecurity isn’t spread evenly across a community. Some neighborhoods face far higher risk than others, but without reliable local data, the organizations working to address hunger are often unsure where to focus. Furman’s Shi Institute partnered with LiveWell Greenville to build an interactive map that changes that.
Racial Displacement in Greenville, SC
Greenville’s revitalization has been a genuine success story—for many. But in the historically Black neighborhoods that ring the urban core, three decades of data tell a more complicated story. The Shi Institute and Furman University measured what’s been happening, block by block.
The Paper Trail of Exclusion: Mapping Greenville’s Racially Restrictive Covenants
Many people have never heard of racially restrictive covenants. But between 1900 and 1968, they were written into thousands of Greenville County property deeds—legally barring Black households from buying or renting homes in entire neighborhoods. Furman researchers searched over 400,000 deeds and found more than 12,000 covenants of this type.