East Side Community Assessment and Windshield SurveyAccording to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease, and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). For this to happen, an assessment must take place. A comprehensive or community assessment begins with data collection. This includes: community health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can come together collectively to help promote better overall health. My group's home base is in the East Side community of Buffalo, NY. For this mission, a study of the windshields of the East Side community was carried out. The Windshield Survey is an assessment of the community through my personal observations. This survey will include an assessment of four categories. These include the physical aspects, economic situation, services provided and social aspects of the community. In addition to the windshield survey, local census data was collected. Below are the East Side community results and local census data. East Side Community: Population Characteristics The East Side Community is located in the city of Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, New York is the second largest city in the state and is part of Erie County (Erie County Overview, 2012). Erie County covers approximately 1,058 square miles (Erie County Overview, 2012). According to the United States Census Bureau, the estimated population of Erie County in 2012 is 919,086 (United States Census Bureau, (USC...... middle of paper..... .United States Census Bureau (2012). American FactFinder: Erie County: Community Facts. (2012b). http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml#none United States Census Bureau (2012c). census.gov/. faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtmlUnited States Census Bureau (2012d). American FactFinder: 14208: Median household income. /pages/community_facts. xhtmlU.S. Census Bureau (2012e). American FactFinder: Erie County: Median Household Income. .xhtml.