Urban Patterns: Census Data

Urban Patterns: Census Data

A city is a mosaic of neighborhoods, differing in appearance, land use, the social characteristics of residents, and more. Some areas have stores and high-rise buildings; some have single-family dwellings. Some areas may have modest or even rundown houses; others have large and expensive houses. Some areas are ethnically mixed; others are more homogeneous. Within the next week, we will consider models of urban residential structure and land use. One of the ways geographers study urban patterns is by examining data collected as part of the US Census. The Census has variables that describe demographic, economic, and social characteristics of residents. The data are organized according to various spatial units (administrative regions). One of the most common are census tracts, which are areas ranging in spatial size that contain around 5,000 residents.

In this assignment, you will approach the study of urban patterns in Santa Barbara by retrieving and summarizing data from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing. Your assignment will be to obtain data from the Census web site for the 2010 Census that describe characteristics of residents and neighborhoods within two Santa Barbara census tracts (#11.02 and #29.24). (For now, we will leave the location of these tracts a mystery, to be discussed in section after you turn in your assignment.) You will compare data from these two tracts and answer several questions about the patterns in the data and what they suggest about the character of each census tract.

Follow the instructions below to get to the proper data tables. From the tables, record the values for the following 5 sets of variables:

Variables:

1. SEX AND AGE (aggregate age groups as needed)
a. % population 0-14
b. % population 15-24
c. % population 25-64
d. % population 65-older
2. RACE
a. % Black
b. % White
c. % Asian
d. % Other
3. HISPANIC OR LATINO
a. % Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
b. % Not Hispanic or Latino
4. HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE (out of all households)
a. % Family households
b. % Nonfamily households
5. HOUSING TENURE (out of all occupied housing units)
a. % Owner-occupied housing units
b. % Renter-occupied housing units

Getting the Data:
1. Go to the U.S. Census American FactFinder site:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/
2. Click on Advanced Search on the top menu.
3. To get data at the census tract level, click Geographies under Search Options in the left-hand column.
4. Under “Select a geographic type,” click Census Tract – 140. After the page updates, under “Select a state,” click California. After the page updates, under “Select a county,” click Santa Barbara.
5. Under “Select one or more geographic areas and click Add to Your Selections,” select Census Tract 11.02 and click ADD TO YOUR SELECTIONS below. After the page updates, select Census Tract 29.24 and click ADD TO YOUR SELECTIONS below. select Census Tract 10.00 and click ADD TO YOUR SELECTIONS below.Select Census Tract 29.22 and click ADD TO YOUR SELECTIONS below.Close the Geographies window.
6. Under Refine your search results (topic or table name), type DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010. Click GO.
7. Click the box for the third dataset, the 2010 SF1 100% Data. Click on View.
8. This will provide the data for the first census tract, and the second one can be accessed through the drop-down menu at the top of the table.

To turn in (next week in section)
1. Data for the variables, for each of the census tracts. This can easily fit on one page.
2. A written (typed) profile of each census tract. The profile should discuss what you think the tract looks like, given the values of the census variables. In other words, describe what you think you would see if you walked around the tract area: What would the houses and lots look like, what do the people look and sound like, how many people are there in the streets, how rundown or kept up is the neighborhood, what stores and restaurants are there, how many cars are parked on the street and what will they look like, and so on. Be creative, respectful, and thoughtful, but be sure to cite specific data patterns as evidence for your profiles.Your answer should be coveringminimum half a page and maximum 1 page for each census tract.