The Community Appearance Index, also known as the Litter Index, is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to visually evaluate the overall appearance of a community using litter as an indicator. Every year, 60 routes throughout the five wards of Norfolk are analyzed to determine the cleanliness of the city. After a thorough training, a team of volunteers conduct the analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4 with “1” indicating minimal to no litter and “4” indicating extremely littered. Methodology for this process includes recruiting volunteers who commit to attend a one-and-a-half-day Community Appearance Index scan. Each volunteer is thoroughly trained on the index to accurately and consistently survey a statistical sample of the city. The results of the scan are then averaged to produce the City of Norfolk Community Appearance Index score.

This dataset is updated annually; the data begins in 2010. The Litter Index survey is normally conducted in August; the 2020 survey will be delayed due to COVID-19.