All-
The U.S. Census Bureau last week released results from a study comparing the ACS data from 1999 - 2001 in the 36 test counties to the corresponding Census 2000 sample data. These estimates, along with measures of data quality, were compared at the county and census tract level. In addition to the analytical reports, the associated data tables and files are available on the ACS web site. To access these reports, please visit http://www.census.gov/acs/www/AdvMeth/acs_census/
These reports are probably the first look at small area data from ACS, and are very important for all of us to examine. To start a discussion on these reports, I quickly prepared a one page summary of *my observations* on each report (See attached MS Word document "Report_Summary.doc"). Please note that I wrote this just for discussion purposes, and I hope I did not mis-characterize any of the reports.
For those of you preparing responses to the Federal Register Notice on ACS - Current, and Proposed Tables, the last date for comments is July 14, 2004. http://www.census.gov/acs/www/product_review/acs_survey/fed_reg.htm
Nanda Srinivasan
<<report_summary.doc>>
I am forwarding an email from the Association of Public Data Users (APDU) listserv.
Although it isn't specific to Census data, I thought it might be of interest, particularly to larger MPOs.
Elaine Murakami, FHWA
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Reamer [mailto:reamer@thecia.net]
Sent: Mon 6/14/2004 7:04 PM
To: APDU Listserv
Cc:
Subject: [APDU] BEA Gross Metro Product
The following article regarding the possibility of a BEA Gross Metro Product
series appeared in the June issue of Stat-Scan, the monthly newsletter I
co-publish for EconData.Net (www.econdata.net). Please review and consider
responding to BEA with your thoughts.
Gross Metro Product: A Data Series Whose Time Has Come? BEA Wants to Hear
>From You.
The regional accounts folks at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis are a
pretty inventive bunch, creating highly useful regional data series on a
budgetary shoestring. They produce one of EconData.Net's favorite data
series, the Regional Economic Information System (REIS), which provides the
nation's most comprehensive tally of income and employment at the state,
metro, and county level. About ten years ago, BEA's enterprising analysts
unveiled Gross State Product (GSP), estimates of state-level economic
activity as measured by value added, for 63 industries and the state as a
whole. Typically, GSP estimates have been released 17 months after the end
of the calendar year; BEA has partial funding to reduce that lag to 6
months.
While the GSP acceleration effort is underway, BEA staff are planning future
regional data enhancements, one of which, potentially, is producing annual
estimates of Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP), by industry. However, with
budgetary constraints and pressing priorities on other topics (e.g.,
measuring offshoring activity), funding for a GMP series is difficult to
obtain. As practicing regional analysts ourselves, we know that a GMP series
would be a highly valuable addition to the practitioners' and researchers'
analytic toolbox. At present, we don't truly know the size and composition
of our regional economies as they unfold over time, a glaring hole in our
understanding. REIS provides total income figures, but total income reflects
only about two-thirds of regional value-added activity. While Global Insight
(formerly DRI-McGraw-Hill) annually produces GMP estimates on behalf of the
U.S. Conference of Mayors (see
http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/metroeconreport_0
20604.pdf), the relative accuracy of these estimates can be questioned (of
necessity, they use a top-down rather than bottom-up methodology) and
disaggregation by industry and component is not provided.
Now is your chance to provide your opinion. Would an annual Gross
Metropolitan Product series be of value to you? As EconData.Net has access
to one of the largest data-using communities in the country, we ask you to
let BEA hear your thoughts. A GMP series will not appear unless data users
express strong support. A critical mass of positive words from you and your
colleagues will have influence on top BEA executives, the BEA Advisory
Council, and appropriate Congressional committees as funding decisions are
made for upcoming fiscal years.
So: If you think that the availability of GMP would be of value, please take
a moment and write an e-mail to that effect to John Kort, Chief, BEA
Regional Economic Analysis Division, at john.kort(a)bea.gov. It'd be helpful,
we think, to say a bit about the nature of your work and interests and how
you would use a GMP series to enhance them. Please cc EconData.Net
(comments(a)econdata.net) so we can keep track of the communications. If you
want to get a sense of how a GMP series would look, you can explore the GSP
web site (http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/gsp.htm).
In a couple months, once BEA absorbs your missives, we'll let you know how
they've been received; if a funding request for GMP develops "legs," we'll
periodically update you on progress, and may ask you to weigh in again, if
necessary. Historically, the regional data community has not been a vocal,
well-organized constituency that is effective in seeing its needs are
addressed in federal budget and program decisions. Consider this request an
experiment in making ourselves heard.
_______________________________________________
APDUmem mailing list
APDUmem(a)apdu.org
http://apdu.org/mailman/listinfo/apdumem_apdu.org
Dear CTPP listserv members--
For those of you who also subscribe to TMIP listserv, you can delete this message! There has been an interesting discussion on TMIP listserv comparing regional model results to CTPP 2000 Part 2 (place of work) results, particularly on transit shares for HBW trips. So far, comparisons from San Diego, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Francisco Bay Area, and Atlanta have been posted.
To view the TMIP archives, here is the link. See the topic "CTPP CBD Mode Shares" in the June 2004 folder. http://listserv.tamu.edu/archives/tmip-l.html
You may also be interested in helping the TRB urban data committee (ABJ30) with their "Downtown Profile" project. See "Commuting to Downtown" in the CTPP Status Report, April 2004. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ctpp/sr0404.htm
As those of the us in the survey business like to say, "there is more than one data source." Each source has its benefits and pitfalls. So, for transit shares to CBD, other sources may include: on-board transit surveys, Automatic Passenger Count (APC) counts, O/D estimated from fare machines (generally currently limited to subways) and workplace surveys. One of the benefits of the Census data is the large sample size (1:6 households, nationwide in 2000) and high response rate. However, please remember that the Census is a survey of PERSONS, not TRIPS! And the Census question is for "usual mode used last week." Also, low income neighborhoods tend to have lower response rates than in upper income neighborhoods, similar to other transportation surveys.
Elaine Murakami
FHWA Office of Planning
206-220-4460 in Seattle
I thought this little exchange that was going on "off the list" may help
address others questions in this area. see below.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [CTPP] State DOT and MPO Review of CTPP 2000 Part 3 Data
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 12:11:53 -0400
From: "Srinivasan, Nanda" <Nanda.Srinivasan(a)fhwa.dot.gov>
To: "Michelle Musser" <musser(a)stcloudapo.org>,
<edc(a)berwyned.com>,<phillip.a.salopek(a)census.gov>
CC: "Bill Hansen" <hansen(a)stcloudapo.org>
Michelle,I passed your question to Elaine Murakami (FHWA) who should be
able to tell you more.Defining TAZs into TIGER/Line will depend on when
the next CTPP will be produced.The Census Bureau has told us that there
will be no long form in 2010, so the next CTPP (if there is one) will
need to be based out of the American Community Survey (ACS). The
probable schedules have not been thought about yet. ACS has just been
started on a nationwide scale, and because it is a continuous survey, we
don't expect small area data until 2010.Also, because ACS has a smaller
sample size, we don't know the geography at which the data will be
meaningful. Currently, we have an NCHRP project examining ACS test site
data, and decennial census data. I think we should know much more by
the TRB decennial conference in May 2005.Ed/Phil: Do you have anything
to add?Nandu
-----Original Message-----
From: Michelle Musser [mailto:musser@stcloudapo.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 11:55 AM
To: Srinivasan, Nanda; Ed Christopher;
phillip.a.salopek(a)census.gov
Cc: Bill Hansen
Subject: Re: [CTPP] State DOT and MPO Review of CTPP 2000 Part
3 Data
Hello - I know that this may be early - but could anyone tell
me when MPO's will be required to submit their TAZ boundaries
for the 2010 Census? Thanks - Michelle Musser Michelle Musser
Planner - GIS Operator
Saint Cloud Area Planning Organization
1040 County Road Four
Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56303
www.stcloudapo.org
In my previous message (copied below), I did not provide directions on how
to access the most recently loaded Part 3 ASCII data on the BTS TransStats
website. We've had some questions about where the taz and other detailed
geography flow data can be found, so I'm providing the directions below.
1) Go to www.transtats.bts.dot.gov
2) Click on the CTPP 2000 button on the upper right side of the page
3) On the CTPP 2000 page there are four sections: Part I, Part II, Part
III, and Part III Selected. The first Part III section contains data for
summary levels from state through census tract. The Part III Selected
section contains the State DOT and MPO detailed geography summary levels
(see below).
4) To access the State DOT and MPO detailed geography data for Part III,
click on the "CTPP 2000 Part III Selected" link. These files contain data
for summary levels 942 (State DOT detailed geography) and 944 (MPO detailed
geography). Click on the "Download" link, select your state, and then click
on the download button to save the file to your computer. The downloaded
zip file will contain two zip files within it. One of these contains the
documentation files and the other the data files. The zip file with the
data in it contains more zip files within it. There will be one file
containing the State DOT detailed geography (e.g., mo_ascii.zip for
Missouri), and a number of other files, one for each MPO in the state
(e.g., mpo1741.zip for the Columbia MPO).
If you have any questions about these instructions, please contact either
Nanda Srinivasan at nanda.srinivasan(a)fhwa.dot.gov or 202-366-5021 or Clara
Reschovsky at clara.a.reschovsky(a)census.gov or 301-763-2454.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip A Salopek
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
05/28/2004 02:45 cc:
PM Subject: State DOT and MPO Review of CTPP 2000 Part 3 Data
State Departments of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning
Organizations:
As announced earlier this week, all the CTPP 2000 Part 3 files
(journey-to-work flow data) are now available in ASCII format for
downloading from the BTS TranStats website at
http://www.transtats.bts.dot.gov. Unlike Parts 1 and 2, only these ASCII
files will be available for Part 3 in a preliminary version for review by
the State DOTs and MPOs. The reason for this is that we will not have a
revised version of the CTPP Access Tool (CAT) software that can handle the
Part 3 flow data soon enough to be used in the review.
We encourage you to download the ASCII files for your area and evaluate the
data as soon as you can. To assist you in your review we have provided a
data dictionary, Microsoft Access template, and dbase specs file for Part
3. The files in Part 3 are more manageable than the previous CTPP 2000 data
because there are fewer tables and the records are therefore shorter.
However, there are large numbers of records in some of the files so the
databases can still be quite big. Errors that come to our attention based
on review of the ASCII files will be fixed before the CAT software version
of the data become available. We expect to distribute the CAT software
version of the final Part 3 data late this summer. Stay tuned to the CTPP
listserve for details.
--Phil Salopek
Chief, Journey to Work and Migration Statistics Branch
U.S. Census Bureau
(301) 763-2454
FHWA, the Census Bureau and WSDOT are sponsoring a free hands-on computer-based workshop on Census data, focusing on the Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP), other Census 2000 data, and the American Community Survey. Each computer will have two students assigned. We have a few openings remaining. Please contact Seth Stark, starks(a)wsdot.wa.gov for more information.
Workshop Overview: Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) 2000
On July 13th, Ed Christopher and Elaine Murakami from FHWA, along with Clara Reschovsky from the Census Bureau, will conduct a hands-on computer-based workshop on the Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP). CTPP contains tabulations by place of residence, place of work, and flows between home and work. Cam McIntosh from the Census Bureau's Seattle Regional Office, and Larry Blain from the Puget Sound Regional Council will also be presenting.
CTPP provides comprehensive and cost-effective data, in a standard format, across the United States. Data are tabulated from answers to the Census 2000 long form questionnaire, mailed to one in six U.S. households. Because of the large sample size, the data are reliable and useful for planning at all levels of government. The workshop will include:
1.Basics of Census data: terminology and geography issues;
2.Accessing Census data using several tools, including American FactFinder, CTPP Access Tool, and Public Use Micro Data (PUMS) Access;
3. Analyzing and presenting census data;
4. Troubleshooting the data;
5. Integrating census data with other data for modeling, and other uses;
The July 13th workshop will be held at:
Seattle Federal Office Building (909 1st Avenue in downtown Seattle)
The Workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end by 4:30 p.m.
Thanks Ed for the link - That's an excellent resource for census
geography boundary files. However, I am more interested in the actual
geography files that are being shipped with the cd-rom versions of the
CTPP Part 1 data. As I understand it geography files are capable of
being different from state to state. For example, I know that Missouri
is one of the few states that actually had the CTPP data aggregated to a
statewide block group coverage - thus, ctpp data exists statewide at the
block group level of geography...is this the same for Illinois and
Kansas? I don't think that they have the data at that level of
geography for the entire state and was hoping to verify this with the
boundary files that are being shipped with the cd-roms. Since it
doesn't appear that these specific geofiles have been released my second
plan is to capture the boundary files of interest for Illinois and
Kansas and then join the tabular data from the CTPP to the geography of
interest and see what sort of join rates exist - this should then give
me a better understanding of the geography files and their extent within
each state.
Lance
-----Original Message-----
From: ed christopher [mailto:edc@berwyned.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 10:19 AM
To: Huntley, Lance
Cc: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] CTPP Geography Files
you might try here. you may have do do it in three steps to get the TAZs
for 3 states.
http://arcdata.esri.com/data/tiger2000/tiger_download.cfm
"Huntley, Lance" wrote:
> Hello List,
>
> I am wondering if there is a way to get the CTPP 2000
> Geography Files via ftp rather than from a CTPP cd-rom? I
> need all the boundary files for Missouri, Illinois and
> Kansas - I can pull the geofiles for Missouri from my
> cd-rom, but I don't have Illinois or Kansas geographies and
> need those as well. Any help with this would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Lance Huntley
>
> Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis
>
> Columbia, MO 65211
>
> 573.884.3909
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> ctpp-news mailing list
> ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
> http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
>
--
Ed Christopher
Resource Center Planning Team
Federal Highway Administration
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell)
708-283-3501 (F)
Or here
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: ed christopher [mailto:edc@berwyned.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 10:19 AM
To: Huntley, Lance
Cc: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] CTPP Geography Files
you might try here. you may have do do it in three steps to get the TAZs
for 3 states.
http://arcdata.esri.com/data/tiger2000/tiger_download.cfm
"Huntley, Lance" wrote:
> Hello List,
>
> I am wondering if there is a way to get the CTPP 2000
> Geography Files via ftp rather than from a CTPP cd-rom? I
> need all the boundary files for Missouri, Illinois and
> Kansas - I can pull the geofiles for Missouri from my
> cd-rom, but I don't have Illinois or Kansas geographies and
> need those as well. Any help with this would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Lance Huntley
>
> Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis
>
> Columbia, MO 65211
>
> 573.884.3909
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> ctpp-news mailing list
> ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
> http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
>
--
Ed Christopher
Resource Center Planning Team
Federal Highway Administration
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell)
708-283-3501 (F)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
Hello List,
I am wondering if there is a way to get the CTPP 2000 Geography
Files via ftp rather than from a CTPP cd-rom? I need all the boundary
files for Missouri, Illinois and Kansas - I can pull the geofiles for
Missouri from my cd-rom, but I don't have Illinois or Kansas geographies
and need those as well. Any help with this would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks,
Lance Huntley
Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis
Columbia, MO 65211
573.884.3909