Thanks for pointing this out, Ed.
I downloaded the redistricting dataset (PL94) and ran some comparisons to
2010 SF1 numbers. The first thing that jumps out to me is that housing and
population data are apparently adjusted independently of one another.
Here’s a sample block group from the city of Chelsea, MA:
2010 Census Counts
Demonstration Data
Difference
City
Chelsea
STATE
25
Housing Units (HU)
1,005
1,005
0
COUNTY
25
Households (Occupied HU)
946
573
-373
COUSUB
13205
Occupancy Rate
94.2%
57.0%
-37.2%
TRACT
160601
BLKGRP
1
Total Population
2,158
2,142
-16
Group Quarters Population
0
0
0
Population in Households
2,158
2,142
-16
Average Household Size
2.28
3.74
1.46
In this example, the significant reduction in occupied housing units
(households) is not matched by a reduction in population. The changes to
housing occupancy rate and average household size are significant.
Looking at all 2,438 block groups in our 97-city MPO region:
· 211 block groups (8.7%) have occupied housing unit changes of at
least +/- 100.
· Only 3 block groups have population changes of at least +/- 100.
· The shifts in households serve to fill some block groups at the
expense of others. The number of block groups with 100% housing unit
occupancy increases from 14 to 1,319. The number of block groups with less
than 75% occupancy increases from 21 to 166.
· 222 block groups have a change in average household size of more
than +/- 0.5.
The changes at the TAZ level are more significant given that our TAZs are
loosely based on block boundaries (there are a number of split blocks) and
the block data is more volatile. Over 300 out of 2,727 TAZs contain fewer
than 10 blocks.
Here are two examples from Boston and Chelsea:
2010 Census Counts
Demonstration Data
Difference
City
Boston
TAZ
74
Housing Units (HU)
13
13
0
Households (Occupied HU)
12
12
0
Occupancy Rate
92.3%
92.3%
0.0%
Total Population
1,644
1,903
259
Group Quarters Population
1,624
1,633
9
Population in Households
20
270
250
Average Household Size
1.67
22.50
20.83
City
Chelsea
Housing Units (HU)
660
660
0
TAZ
472
Households (Occupied HU)
619
315
-304
Occupancy Rate
93.8%
47.7%
-46.1%
Total Population
2,123
2,128
5
Group Quarters Population
0
0
0
Population in Households
2,123
2,128
5
Average Household Size
3.43
6.76
3.33
In the Boston example, the increase in household population results in an
average household size of 22.5!
Looking at the 1,901 TAZs within our MPO region:
· 116 TAZs (10.5%) have occupied housing unit changes of at least
+/- 100.
· 144 TAZs have population changes of at least +/- 100.
· The number of TAZs with 100% housing unit occupancy increases
from 64 to 815. The number of block groups with less than 75% occupancy
increases from 41 to 102.
· 222 TAZs have a change in average household size of more than +/-
0.5.
Another point of concern is with minority population data. Here are a
couple of examples from Boston:
2010 Census Counts
Demonstration Data
Difference
City
Boston
TAZ
199
Total Population
1,085
991
-94
Minority Population
326
210
-116
Minority Percentage
30.1%
21.2%
-8.9%
City
Boston
TAZ
74
Total Population
1,644
1,903
259
Minority Population
256
569
313
Minority Percentage
15.6%
29.9%
14.3%
For our MPO region:
· The minority population percentage in both datasets is 28.2%.
TAZs with minority population percentages higher than this are flagged as
minority TAZs.
· 116 of 1,901 TAZs (including both seen in the example) would have
a change in minority status: 46 from minority to non-minority and 70 from
non-minority to minority.
· 287 TAZs have a change in minority population percentage of at
least +/- 5%.
The changes are not as significant at the block group level.
We will be redrawing TAZ boundaries following the 2020 Census, and the
starting point for TAZs will likely be block groups. Given the volatility
of the block-level data after application of differential privacy, we’ll
require data from some other source where we need to divide block groups
into multiple TAZs. I think the block group population numbers we’ll get
post-differential privacy will be workable. But the household numbers are a
problem. We can’t be confident in our trip generation results if we don’t
know how many households are in each TAZ.
Since the 2006-2010 ACS was first released in 2011, we have used population
and household counts from the 2010 Census as the controls for normalizing
ACS statistics. We envision doing the same with 2020 Census and 2016-2020
ACS data when they are available. But, again, we need accurate population
and household controls.
Another area where the minority population numbers are a concern is in the
Environmental Justice (EJ) component of project scoring for our
Transportation Improvement Program. We create a half mile buffer around
project locations and summarize block-level population data for the buffers
in order to score each project. The uncertainty in the minority population
statistics, and in other EJ population statistics drawn from the ACS, could
raise questions as to whether our universe of projects is distributed
equitably.
I look forward to hearing from others who have an opportunity to look at
this data.
Paul Reim
*Paul Reim* | Chief Planner
CENTRAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING STAFF
857.702.3688 | preim(a)ctps.org
www.ctps.org/bostonmpo
[image:
https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B9edLsc4tnwxeEU0M3hmMEVw…]
*From:* ctpp-news <ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net> *On Behalf Of *Ed
Christopher
*Sent:* Wednesday, October 30, 2019 10:53 AM
*To:* ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
*Subject:* [CTPP] 2010 Demonstration Data Products
This may be of interest to some:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday the Census Bureau released the *2010 Demonstration Data Products*
to help data users understand how differential privacy may or may not
impact data products they are used to receiving. The products include the
2010 Demonstration Public Law 94-171 (P.L. 94-171) Redistricting Data
Summary File and the Demographic and Housing Demonstration File, which is
similar to Summary File 1.
Documentation and resources related to these products are available on the
Census Bureau’s website:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planni…
The Census Bureau is working on an FAQ document to provide additional
information about these data. You can also direct questions to the Census
Bureau via email:
dcmd.2010.demonstration.data.products(a)census.gov.
--
Ed Christopher
Transportation Planning Consultant
708-269-5237
--
*Please be advised that the Massachusetts Secretary of State considers
e-mail to be a public record, and therefore subject to the Massachusetts
Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66 § 10. *