The Bottom-Up Revolution How To Turn Public Data Into Stories That Drive Change
Nov 18, 2025
Karl Urich, a data analyst and the mastermind behind Albany Data Stories, shares his journey of transforming complex public financial data into engaging narratives. He discusses the importance of unbiased storytelling in journalism, highlights surprising findings about Albany's property taxes, and emphasizes community collaboration. With practical insights for aspiring data storytellers, Karl demystifies data analysis with tools like Excel and QGIS, making it accessible for everyone to engage in local issues and drive meaningful change.
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From Personal Curiosity To Community Project
- Karl Urich started AlbanyDataStories after realizing he had never closely examined his own city's public data despite a career in analytics.
- That project led him to use Strong Towns' Finance Decoder and to create HudsonFinanceDecoder to scale the work for other communities.
Bias-Free Presentation Builds Collective Buy-In
- Presenting data with impartiality builds trust and avoids turning analysis into partisan 'gotcha' journalism.
- Dispassionate, evidence-based stories encourage cooperative problem solving rather than blame.
Tax-Exempt Land Explains Revenue Limits
- Albany's widely cited claim that ~64% of land is tax-exempt was confirmed by parcel analysis but can be broken down into state vs nonprofit ownership.
- Verifying and dissecting that figure gave residents clearer understanding of fiscal constraints and revenue challenges.