Ed:
Counties are not a problem for our TAZ layout for the Cincinnati metro
planning area. Our boundaries were configured using the counties (8 of
them).
Census boundary compliance will be the bigger issue as our TAZs were
initially drawn in the 60s and the census boundaries have changed more
in the mean time. However, we have begun a project to adapt our TAZs
to the 2000 census areas. I am coordinating the Census Statistical Areas
Review in 6 of our counties and am on the committees for the other 2.
With this knowledge of tract and block group boundaries, I expect that we
can revise most TAZ boundaries to match.
I anticipate our main problem will be the 'special' zones that we have set
up for commercial and industrial areas that follow land use edges instead
of physical features. This caused problems with the 90 CTPP where I
had to pick a TAZ for blocks that were split by TAZ boundaries. I did this
by giving more importance to the employment component of the block as
our use for the CTPP was place of work data. Thus many of these
'special' zones had households that should have been in the adjacent
zones. I accounted for this in preparing my demographic tables, but
others using our CTPP wouldn't have a clue about this problem.
By the way, I E-mailed my TAZ Update participation form to Tom Mank at
FHWA as his name and address were on the last page. Let me know if it
should go elsewhere.
Don Burrell
OH-KY-IN Regional Council of Govmts
Cincinnati
Agree with Chuck. County boundaries are relatively permanent, unlike
muncipal limits. The last time County boundaries were adjusted in
California was in the late 1940's, I believe, and even then the changes
were minor. A county was dissolved about 100 years ago. This seems
stable enough for travel forecasting work.
/Steve Colman
===
"If you find something you like, buy a lifetime supply-- they're going
to stop making it." --Bob Dolfay
As many of you know we (MPOs) will soon be in the throws of
defining our Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) within our urban
areas. When working through that process one constraint,
that is new for 2000, will be that TAZs respect county
boundaries. That is, a TAZ can not cross a county
boundary. Is this something that you can live with? Will
this be a big problem for any regions?
Here in northeastern Illinois we have tended to cross over
many different political boundaries over the years but we do
respect county boundaries in our planning work.
thanks
ed christopher
please respond to the list (all recipients) so others may
benefit from any comments.
If you are planning on attenting this year's Transportation
Reseach Board meetings be sure to support the activitities
of the data committees. Here is a link to all of the
information that you will need to know. Looking forward to
seeing you at session 133. Feel free to distribute this
link those you know that might be interested.
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/trbpgm99.html
(note this is from the preliminary program)
ed christopher
Within a limited budget, USDOT chose to work with only one software platform
for the digital TAZ submission process for CTPP 2000. After reviewing the
recent NARC GIS survey, and from communications with MPOs and State DOTs on
GIS platforms, we selected ArcView as the platform.
USDOT is not requiring the use of TAZ-UP for the submission of TAZ boundaries.
We are working with the Bureau of the Census to define the file
specifications needed to submit ASCII files for TAZs, so that any GIS package
can be used. However, we are requiring the use of TIGER/Line 98 for the base,
since the Census Bureau must tie the boundaries back to the "real" TIGER file.
In addition, as you see in the letter, we will also have a paper process, if
needed.
Because the TAZ boundary submission is very similar to that for Voting
Districts, it is likely that other vendors who are developing Voting
District programs for submittal to Census can assist you. We understand that
Caliper has a voting district program.
Elaine Murakami
Federal Highway Administration
Mr Yang
Part of your message go cut off, can you repley again and right tab
your message so i can read what you wrote.
Thank You
Vincent Pito
Geographer
US Census
vpito(a)census.gov
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: [CTPP] TAZ-UP
Author: "Sweson Yang" <SYANG(a)indygov.org> at SMTP-GATEWAY
Date: 11/18/1998 9:22 AM
I just got the information re: TAZ-UP program for ArcView to submit Traffic Anal
is Zone boundaries information to the Bureau of Census. Our TAZs are currently s
red in TransCAD format. Does anyone know whether there is a program similar to T
-UP for TransCAD or Maptitude users?
Sweson Yang, AICP
Chief Transportation Planner
City of Indianapolis/Indianapolis MPO
(317) 327-5137 FAX: (317) 327-5103
E-mail: syang(a)IndyGov.org
I just got the information re: TAZ-UP program for ArcView to submit Traffic Analysis Zone boundaries information to the Bureau of Census. Our TAZs are currently stored in TransCAD format. Does anyone know whether there is a program similar to TAZ-UP for TransCAD or Maptitude users?
Sweson Yang, AICP
Chief Transportation Planner
City of Indianapolis/Indianapolis MPO
(317) 327-5137 FAX: (317) 327-5103
E-mail: syang(a)IndyGov.org
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 16:05:08 -0500
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CONVENES NEW CENSUS PANEL
Ken Prewitt Sworn in As Census Director
The National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council
has convened a new panel of experts to evaluate methods and
operations through completion of the 2000 census. Dr. Janet
Norwood, a former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and
current member of the Academy's Committee on National
Statistics, will chair the Panel to Review the 2000 Census.
The nine panel members will evaluate the nature and
objectivity of operational and technical decisions leading
up to and during the census, including sampling and
statistical estimation procedures. They will issue a final
report after the 2000 census and may also issue interim
reports as needed.
The new panel is the fourth convened by the Committee on
National Statistics (CNSTAT) since the 1990 count to examine
aspects of census design, preparation and implementation.
The panel's first meeting will be held on November 9,
starting at 10:30 a.m. If you would like further
information or are interested in attending the meeting,
please call Joshua Dick at CNSTAT, at (202)334-3096.
Census director takes office: Dr. Kenneth Prewitt was sworn
in as director of the Census Bureau on October 23. The U.S.
Senate confirmed Dr. Prewitt's nomination only hours before
the 105th Congress adjourned on October 21. A public
swearing-in ceremony will take place later this month.
In announcing the confirmation, Commerce Secretary William
Daley called Dr. Prewitt "one of the country's most
distinguished social scientists" and "a proven manager of
complex non-profit and statistical organizations."
Secretary Daley also praised James Holmes for "successfully
guiding the Bureau at a very critical time." Mr. Holmes had
served as Acting Director of the Census Bureau since
February and will assist Dr. Prewitt during a transition
period.
Census Monitoring Board hearings: The Census Monitoring
Board will hold several hearings before the end of the
year. On Friday, November 6, the Board will review the
progress of census preparations and a series of reports
compiled by the Commerce Department's Office of the
Inspector General. New Census Bureau Director Kenneth
Prewitt, former Acting Director James Holmes and Associate
Director for Decennial Census John Thompson will participate
in the hearing. The meeting will be held in room 2203
Rayburn House Office Building (Washington, D.C.), from 10:00
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
On November 23, the Board will hold a hearing at Census
Bureau
headquarters in Suitland, MD, to examine a variety of census
methods including the use of administrative records to
identify people who may have been missed by conventional
counting methods such as the mailed questionnaire or
door-to-door visits. The time of this hearing has not been
announced. The Board will hold a third hearing on December
16 in Sacramento, CA, one of the dress rehearsal sites.
The Board must submit a report to Congress on February 1,
1999; another report is due on April 1, 1999. The Board is
housed at Census Bureau headquarters; the staff may be
reached at (301)457-9900 (Presidentially-appointed members)
or (301)457-5080 (Republican congressional appointees).
Census preparations: The Census Bureau's advisory committees
held a joint meeting on October 26 to discuss the paid
advertising campaign for the 2000 census. Last year, the
Bureau awarded a $100 million contract to Young & Rubicam (Y
& R) for a national ad campaign to encourage census
participation. In 1990, the Bureau relied solely on public
service announcements to promote the census. Y & R recently
announced that it is seeking a new subcontractor to develop
advertising aimed at African American communities.
Stakeholder activities: Census stakeholders continued to
feature the importance of an accurate census as conferences
and meetings in October. The National Federation of Filipino
American Associations featured the census in a keynote
speech at its annual conference. Juanita Tamayo Lott, of
the Census Bureau's 2010 census planning office, emphasized
the importance of census participation to the audience of
Filipino American
civic, business, professional and student leaders.
The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) devoted several
sessions at its annual conference to census issues.
Presentations included a lively discussion about census
reform by former Census Bureau directors Barbara Bryant and
Marty Riche and an update on congressional activity
affecting the census. Tom Hofeller, staff director of the
House census subcommittee, discussed the concerns of
lawmakers who oppose the use of sampling methods to conduct
the count.
The Urban Coalition, a St. Paul, MN-based research and
advocacy group that works with low-income and minority
communities, also featured census issues at its annual
conference. Topics included the role of local governments
in promoting an accurate census, tabulation of multiple
responses to the race question, and the shift to electronic
dissemination of census data. Organizations Concerned About
Rural Education (OCRE) received a briefing on the
difficulties of conducting the census in rural areas and
discussed ways that local educators, businesses, and
community-based organizations can help promote the
importance of an accurate count in these communities.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert
may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or,
by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at <Census
2000(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 17:17:02 -0400
From: Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
BUDGET WRAP-UP:
Congress Puts Off Resolution of Sampling Dispute, Confirms
Census Director, Before Heading Home
Congress has approved and sent to the President for
signature a $487 billion omnibus spending package that gives
the Census Bureau more money for 2000 census preparations
but sets up another confrontation next spring over the use
of sampling to count the population.
The spending measure allocates $1.027 billion for 2000
census activities, $179 million more than the Bureau's
request of $848 million for fiscal year 1999. Congress
provided an additional $104 million to improve compilation
of the address lists. Of the additional $75 million
provided by the budget negotiators, $23 million is for
opening and staffing all local census offices in 1999, some
earlier than planned; $17 million is for increased
promotion, outreach, and marketing activities; and $35
million is for modifying census forms so that six, instead
of five, people in each household can report information
directly without a follow-up visit from a census taker. The
Bureau will incur additional printing costs ($25 million)
and must modify the scanners that "read" the questionnaires
electronically ($10 million) to accommodate revisions to the
forms. Households may list up to 12 residents on the forms
and fill in demographic information for up to six of those
residents. Census takers will telephone or visit households
with more than six residents to collect data on the
remaining people.
The catch-all spending bill funds the Departments of
Commerce, State and Justice, and the Federal judiciary, only
through June 15, 1999. Failure to reach an agreement on
census methods by that date could stop the flow of funds not
only for census activities but also for American embassies
overseas, the FBI, the National Weather Service, and other
activities in that entire budget account. The
Administration and congressional Republicans, who are at
odds over the Bureau's plan to use sampling, hope the
prospect of a large-scale shut-down will pressure both sides
in the dispute to settle their differences quickly. All
other government functions covered under the omnibus bill
are funded through September 30, 1999, the end of the fiscal
year.
Congress allocated $20 million for the Census Bureau's
American Community Survey (ACS) program, substantially less
than the $38.5 million requested by the Administration. The
Census Bureau is developing the ACS to produce more timely
demographic and economic data throughout the decade,
eliminating the need for the traditional census long form in
2010. The Census Monitoring Board received $4 million for
its work in fiscal year 1999.
Census director confirmed: The Senate today confirmed Dr.
Kenneth Prewitt to be director of the Census Bureau. The
nomination was approved by a consent request with no vote,
since many Senators have left Washington to campaign in
their home states. Dr. Prewitt most recently headed the
Social Science Research Council in New York City. He stepped
down from that position after it became clear the Senate
would confirm his appointment.
Executive Branch activities: The Commerce Department's
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has just released a
series of detailed reports on this year's census Dress
Rehearsal. The OIG evaluated census operations in
Sacramento (two reports), Columbia, S.C. (two reports), and
the Menominee Indian Reservation, WI (one report). There
also are reports on the address list development program and
the Bureau's plans
for a quality-check survey to measure and correct
undercounts and overcounts (known as Integrated Coverage
Measurement). The reports are available on the Internet at
<http://www.oig.doc.gov/reports/>. The Census 2000
Initiative also is reviewing the reports and will provide a
summary of key findings and recommendations in a future News
Alert.
Stakeholder activities: The Population Resource Center (PRC)
will hold a briefing on Wednesday, October 28, entitled,
"Americans on the Move: How Population Shifts are Changing
the Political and Socioeconomic Landscape." Two well-known
and highly-regarded academics, Dr. William Frey (University
of Michigan) and Dr. Ronald Walters (University of
Maryland), will discuss the consequences of population
growth and change from political, economic and social
perspectives. The briefing will take place in 1216
Longworth House Office Building, from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00
noon. RSVP to PRC at 202/467-5030.
Civic and advocacy organizations have continued to focus
attention at their conferences on the importance of an
accurate census. The National Urban League signed a
partnership agreement with the Census Bureau at the League's
annual meeting in Philadelphia. The League of United Latin
American Citizens joined with other Hispanic advocacy groups
in Texas to discuss census outreach and promotional
activities in the communities they serve. The National
Association of Counties and the National Association of
Towns and Townships sponsored panel discussions on the
census at their annual conferences this summer in Portland
and Phoenix, respectively.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert
may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or,
by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at
<census2000(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
