INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING Fall 2024
Community Profile Assignment
As noted in the syllabus, each student is required to prepare a Community Profile for one census tract of your choice (Excluding Census Tracts 4.04 in Albany County and 613.03 in Saratoga County) preferably in one of the following four counties: Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, or Schenectady. However, if you prefer to do the Profile assignment on a census tract that is not in one of the four counties listed above, please let me know in order to approve the selected census tract in advance before you begin the assignment. Included with these instructions is information on how to access Census Tract maps from the Census Web site in order to identify and select the Census Tract for the geographic area you are interested in preparing the analysis. Once you select a Census Tract, for a more detailed map that shows the streets and other features within the census tract, I suggest you also review/download a street map of the area included within your Census Tract boundary. As discussed in class and noted on the PowerPoint Slide Supplemental Notes, the separation of the census tract boundaries, are either coterminous with municipal boundaries or along the center line of the streets in urban settings or a permanent natural feature such as a stream. There are two parts to the assignment. The first is a comparative statistical analysis of the census tract in relation to the county it is located and the second is a visual assessment of the land uses and physical characteristics of the neighborhood located specifically within the Census Tract. The instructions to navigate and extract the 2022 ACS 5 Year Data Sets from the census website: https://data.census.gov are outlined in a separate handout. For the statistical analysis, you are required to collect and analyze the data for all 14 tables listed on the retrieval instruction sheet. The primary purpose of this part of the assignment is to prepare a socio-economic profile comparing each of the Data sets of your chosen Census Tract to the County it is located by translating the selected data sets into meaningful information and interpreting its significance. You are required to prepare your own customized tables for each data set and not just copy and paste the tables as listed on the Census Web Site. The order of the tables listed in the report you are submitting should be in the same order as listed in the Data Retrieval Instructions.
The data should be reviewed, analyzed, and communicated to the reader in an easy to understand table format. For each data set, you are required to prepare a customized table that, in cases where there are more than two categories or ranges, includes consolidating/combining categories. For example, the Census “Sex by Age” table includes a number of age ranges for males and females. For your report, the male and female categories shall be combined, and the number of ranges consolidated into something more manageable (for example: 10 year increments: 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39. … 70+). For the “Total Population” and “Median Gross Rent” tables, which include only one number, you only need to list that number for the selected tract and the county it is located. For each of the tables, you are required to prepare a written synopsis directly under the table highlighting the key characteristics (similarities and differences) between the census tract and county for each of the data sets.
The Households by Type table included with these instructions is the table format you shall use to display the Number and Percent Distribution for all the tables except for A pulation, Median Gross Rent, and Poverty Status by Age Group. The Poverty Status By Age Group table, also included with these instructions, is the table format, including the age ranges, you are required to use to display the Poverty data for your census tract and county. The Poverty table also includes the instructions on how to derive the percent of persons living At or Above Poverty and Below Poverty for the Population For Whom Poverty is Determined and for the selected Age Groups. To reiterate, do not simply copy and paste the tables as they appear on the Census web site and hand that in as your assignment. And, as noted above, for the “Total Population” and “Median Gross Rent” tables, since it is a single number each for the Census Tract and County, you only need to identify the number for the Tract and the County and do not need to include a Percent Distribution column. The second part of the assignment requires a visual assessment of the census tract (not the entire county) you have chosen. The intent is for you to “learn to look” in order to better understand your surroundings and its physical characteristics. You are required to provide a written description based on your insights and impressions about the land uses, housing/building types, and the general physical characteristics and conditions of the area located within the census. The visual assessment should include the perimeter as well as the interior streets of the census tract by either walking or driving around the neighborhood. Do not use Google Earth as the sole basis for your visual assessment. The assessment needs to be of sufficient detail that it is specific to the census tract, such as identifying key features and landmarks within the tract. The visual assessment should be at least three to four pages in length and will represent approximately 25% of the grade for the assignment. Photos of specific land use characteristics and buildings that exist within the census tract can also be included. Though collaboration is permitted, the collabor Tracts to analuze or he ca
Deriving Percent Distributions for Poverty To determine the percent of the Population Below Poverty under the “Census Tract” header, divide 442 (the number below poverty) by 5637 (Population for whom poverty is determined) = 7.8%. For the percent At or Above Poverty, divide 5195 (the number at or above poverty) by 5637 = 92.2%. Notice that the 7.8% below poverty plus the 92.2% at or above poverty equals 100%. The Percent Below Poverty By Age Group, is derived as follows: • First determine the total population of the age group. For 0-17 years old in the census tract, it is 120 (Below Poverty) + 1386 (At or Above Poverty) = 1506 total persons 0-17 years old. • Then divide 120 (Number Below Poverty) by 1506 (Total of Persons 0- 17) = 8.0% of Persons 0-17 Below Poverty. • Then divide 1386 (Number At or Above Poverty) by 1506 (Total of Persons 0-17) = 92.0% of Persons 0-17 At or Above Poverty. Once again notice that the sum of the two = 100%. • Follow the same procedure for each of the age groups for the Census Tract and County.
Go to the Data.census.gov web site: In the Search Box, type in the name of the County and the State where the county is located (ex: Albany County, New York Census Tract Map); Then hit the Search symbol button on the right hand side of the box. When the new screen appears, along the top of the screen, select “Maps”. On the new screen will appear the County map that you selected. To the left, under “Filter”, is a list of Geographies. Select “Census Tract” and then in the pop up window select New York (if the Census Tract is located in New York) and then select the County where the census tract is located. Then select “All Census Tracts within the County”. Then close the tab and a map will then appear displaying the Census Tract boundaries for that County. Enlarge the map to focus in on the area of interest to identify the specific census tract you want to choose for which the data will be collected.
Retrieving 2022 American Community Survey 5 Year Demographic Data 1. Go to data.census.gov web site. 2. In the search box near the top of the page, type in the Table Number for the first table listed below (B01003). Use the exact table number. Do not type in the Table Name. Once the table number is entered, hit the Search symbol button located to the right of the box. 3. Then select “Filters” which is located on the left hand side of the screen. Then scroll down to “Surveys” and select “American Community Survey”. Then in the pop-up window, select “5 year estimates”, then select “Detailed Tables”. That selection will then appear under “Filters”. 4. Then under “Filters” under “Geographies”, select Census Tract. Then on the pop-up window, select New York (if that is the State that the Census Tract you selected is located in, and then select the county where your census tract is located and then select the Census Tract. Once the Census Tract is selected, it will appear on the left hand side in the filter. Then under “Geography”, select “County” then select the State the County is located and then select the County. Once the County is selected, it also will appear under Filters below the selected Census Tract. Then close out the Geography window by hitting the “X” in the upper right hand corner. 5. Then under Tables, select the Table with the Table Number you are searching for and the results will then be shown for both the County and Census Tract for the selected table. 6. Next to the Table Title header (Ex: B01003 Total Population), hit the arrow button and make sure it states “2022: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables”. If not, then hit the drop down menu and select the “2022: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables”. 7. On each table, there will be separate columns showing the Estimate and Margin of Error for both the County and Census Tract. 8. To download the table, select “More Tools” and then select “Excel” in the drop down menu. Once downloaded, save the table on your computer. There are two tabs: “Information” and “Data”. Select “Data” and this is the data that you will use to incorporate into your customized tables for each category as outlined in the instructions.
8. To download the table, select “More Tools” and then select “Excel” in the drop down menu. Once downloaded, save the table on your computer. There are two tabs: “Information” and “Data”. Select “Data” and this is the data that you will use to incorporate into your customized tables for each category as outlined in the instructions. Then go back to Census Table and in the Search Window at the top of the page, enter the next table number and hit the Search symbol button. Once again, as noted in Step 6 make sure it states “2022: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables” And, if not, hit the drop down menu and select the 2022: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables. Then download into Excel as noted in Step 8. 10. Repeat entering the table number for each of the following tables that are part of the report. Make sure that in each case as noted in Steps 6 & 9 that the data displayed is the 2022: ACS 5 Year Estimates Detailed Table.
• B01003 Total Population • B02001 Race • B03003 Hispanic or Latino Origin • B01001 Sex by Age • B11005 Household By Presence of People Under 18 By Household Type • B25002 Occupancy Status • B25003 Tenure • B15003 Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over • B19001 Household Income in the Past 12 Months (In 2022 Inflation Adjusted Dollars) • B17001 Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months By Sex By Age • B08301 Means of Transportation to Work • B25064 Median Gross Rent • B25070 Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income in the past 12 Months • B25075 Value (S)
11. Once all 14 tables are downloaded and saved onto your computer, you need to edit and redesign each table as necessary to meet the requirements of the assignment as outlined in the instructions. For the final Community Profile report that you will be submitting, the order of the 14 Tables should be in the order presented above. As noted on the assignment sheet, and illustrated on the example tables provided, do not include the Margin of Error columns and consolidate the categories as appropriate. Prepare a written analysis highlighting the similarities and differences of your selected census tract to the county for each table directly underneath that particular table.
12. An example of the Community Profile assignment is available for review on Brightspace which ! encourage you to check out as a reference. However, in some cases, the ranges that you choose for your census tract may differ from what is shown on the example. For instance, in the example, Household Income is subdivided into $25,000 ranges. For your census tract, it may be preferred to use $10,000 increments for the first $50,000 if there is a higher concentration of lower income households in your census tract. Remember, the objective is to create a customized table that portrays the data about, in this case, household income for your census tract and county so some judgment is required on how to convey the message in a streamlined fashion without compromising the significance of the data set. Also, note that two of the tables included in the Sample (Gross Rent and Median Value) are different from what you are required to download for this specific assignment. I, along with the Graduate Assistant Seymour Yarovoy, are available for consultation to provide guidance on how you may want to consolidate and customize each of the categories to display the data sets in your report. For the Poverty Status By Age Group and Households By Type tables included with the instructions, those are the specific categories to use to display the data regardless of the census tract you choose.