[CTPP] Re: Geographic coverage, C2SS & ACS

Elizabeth Hartmann wrote: just to confirm what we spoke about on the phone. i cannot say with any certainty what the final geography will be with ACS nor even its content. as i noted, two efforts are underway within OBM. 1) to advise congress on the content and 2) on methodology (which impacts on geographic levels). how congress will respond is anyone's' guess. the mood in congress up to now has been to cut content and in january i am told the census issues will be moved over to another subcommittee that will have a chairman that is even more concerned about the questionnaire being "too" long. as far as getting ACS at a large scale geography (like the 65K areas) that should not be an issue. over the years we have been told that multiple years of ACS data can be pooled to produce small area summaries, but how small the areas will be and if this comes to pass, is not a done deal. most of the detail surrounding the ACS is still up in the air. in terms of the content, several of us within DOT have made our case to OMB on the importance and legal needs for the transportation related questions. i believe that right now OMB is review the information submitted by all the federal agencies and will reporting out on it sometime in the future--this is an issue we are following. i cross posted this to our ctpp-listserve for others who may have similar questions or who might be able to expound on any of the points raised. -- Ed Christopher Metropolitan Specialist Midwest Resource Center Federal Highway Administration 19900 Governors Drive Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 708-283-3534 (V) 708-283-3501 (F)