C T P P  2 0 0 0  Status Report December 1999 a product of the CTPP Planning Group          ctpp@fhwa.dot.gov
. CTPP 2000 Tables: Standard and Custom .					TAZ Verification		Workplace Update Program
.  Special Note .				Census 2000 Advertising Campaign				Census 2000 Products
TRB Subcommittee Message from the Chair			CTPP Contacts			Web Sites to Remember			Bureau Regional  Office Contacts

Congratulations to everyone for submitting their TAZs to the Census Bureau Geography Division!  As of November 26, the Census Bureau had received TAZ polygon equivalency files exported from TAZ-UP software for over 1400 counties across the United States.  The Census Bureau geographers are busy checking your submissions as well as updating TIGER to incorporate the changes and additions as best as they can.

Starting around April 2000, the Census Bureau Geography Division will issue a version of TIGER/Line 99. These will include preliminary census tract boundaries, census block-group Boundaries, TAZs, and 1999 municipal boundaries.  Using a revised version of TAZ-UP, you will be able to read in TIGER/Line 99 and compare the TAZs from that file to the TAZ boundaries you submitted in October 1999.  It is very important that you keep your TAZ directory on your computer?s hard drive intact so that this comparison can be made.  You will have one month from the time you receive TIGER/Line 99 to review the file. If changes are needed to fewer than 20 TAZs, you will need to only submit verification maps, if more changes are needed, a new polygon Equivalency File will need to be submitted along with the maps.

Several milestones have been passed in the Workplace Update program since the last CTPP 2000 Status Report. The purpose of the program is to give MPOs (and State DOTs if they wish) the opportunity to review, update, and correct the list of employers Census will use in coding Census 2000 place-of-work responses. (See the June and September 1999 CTPP Status Reports for more background.)

There are two methods for coding place of work to the block or TAZ level that Census uses in conjunction with one another. The first method uses the workplace address the respondent has provided on the census questionnaire. This information is compared against the address ranges in TIGER to assign the worker to a TIGER/Line feature and side. If the address range is not found or the information provided is insufficient, coding is attempted using the employer name provided by the respondent. The Census Bureau uses a geocoded list of employers to compare the respondents’ entry against. If found, the TIGER/Line and side associated with that employer are assigned to the record. Once the worker has been assigned to a TIGER/Line and side, that information can be converted to all the higher-level geography, from traffic analysis zone and block all the way up the geographic hierarchy to State and county.

For Census 2000, we are using a different method of compiling the list of employers than we have in the past. Previously, we began with our Census-confidential Standard Statistical Establishment List (SSEL) and supplemented it with entries from a number of other sources, including lists of major traffic generators from MPOs. One of the major drawbacks to this was the fact that we could never share the final list with anyone outside the Bureau because of the confidentiality of the SSEL. It was also difficult to unduplicate records among the various source files, which led to computer and clerical indecision when trying to code. Furthermore, the creation of an employer file was difficult for many MPOs, and Census had a difficult time handling all the submissions.

Instead of asking transportation agencies to submit the names and addresses of the major employers in their area, this time Census is providing a list and asking interested parties to review it. The list will be accompanied by software to help you organize and structure your review of the employer records. The software is being called Work-UP and is an extension to the ArcView GIS. ESRI is creating the software under contract to the Census Bureau. The contract was awarded and a kick-off meeting with a proof of concept demo was held in September. A prototype of the application was developed in October, and during November, Census and US DOT staff reviewed a beta copy of the software. Modifications to that version are currently underway, with a finished product expected in December.

Census will be sending a letter and form to MPOs and State DOTs during December to find out who is willing to participate in the program. Distribution of the software and employer files will follow soon after, in late December or early January. The turnaround time for reviewing the file will be relatively short. Census will want the work completed by the end of April. Questions concerning the program can be referred to Clara Reschovsky or Phil Salopek in the Journey-to-Work and Migration Branch of the Census Bureau at (202) 366-5000, option #4, or call them directly at (301) 457-2451.

In June 1999, the CTPP Planning Group held a meeting with a group of transportation planners from across the country, to find out what tables were the most important to be included in CTPP CTPP 2000. The loudest and most consistent message we heard was the desire to see a custom tabulation component of CTPP.  Therefore, in addition to defining a standard set of CTPP tables, we are also investigating our options for a custom tabulation program.

The options include working with existing programs at the Census Bureau such as American Fact Finder (AFF), or creating a separate custom tabulation system as part of CTPP 2000.  As of now, AFF is not designed to tabulate data based on traffic analysis zones, nor to provide tables based on workplace location or on commuter flows between home and work.  In coming months, the CTPP Planning Group will evaluate the pros and cons of working with American Fact Finder and of creating a separate system.

We are currently planning for the AASHTO contract to include some type of custom tabulation component, but it is not clear if current CTPP 2000 funding can support both pre-tabulated data and a full custom tabulation system.  We are also discussing how access to a custom tabulation system would work for the State DOTs and MPOs who financed CTPP 2000 through AASHTO, and whether it would also be available to other users.

So, what about the pre-tabulated data?  The content of the standard tabulations is still under development.  One issue still up in the air is how to tabulate race and Hispanic origin, but we want to see how this question is resolved for standard Census 2000 products before we decide what to do in CTPP 2000.

We expect to produce many of the same tables for CTPP 2000 as we did in 1990 (Parts A/1, B/2, and C/3, in particular) to promote trend analysis.  In addition, as recommended at the June 1999 meeting, we expect to add tables addressing welfare-to-work initiatives, environmental justice, and Title VI (Civil Rights) issues.  Our current goal is to have a set of preliminary table outlines ready for distribution in January at the annual Transportation Research Board meetings.

On October 27 the outreach campaign for Census 2000 was launched formally at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The aim of the program is to increase the response rates by generating public awareness.  The Census Bureau is spending $160 million in paid advertising for obtaining prime time advertisements and using professional services. This is a markedly different approach from previous efforts. In 1990, the Census Bureau relied on free advertisements and public service announcements to promote participation. Unfortunately these advertisements were run at times when viewer and listener audience were smallest.

The national advertising campaign began in October with an educational phase designed to make people aware of Census 2000.  The motivational phase will start early in 2000, before census forms go in the mail in mid-March.

State Efforts to Improve Response
Complete count in the Census is extremely important for all State and local governments in view of the federal funding, and congressional redistricting. Realizing this, some state governments are implementing their own efforts to reduce the undercount. California, the nation's most populous state has launched a Complete Count Committee, backed by an unprecedented level of state funds ($25 million), in an effort to reduce the undercount of Californians.  The transportation community in particular has a lot to gain from a successful Census campaign. The data are vital for many  aspects of our planning needs. It is therefore in our best interests to participate in the advertising campaign for Census 2000.

Participate in the Census 2000 Advertising Campaign
Your participation in Census publicity activity will go a long way in ensuring complete counts and subsequently reliable data for local analyses. In the 1990 census, many MPOs and transit agencies included interior and exterior bus signs promoting completion of the census forms. For 2000, the Census Bureau has developed several poster series that celebrate our nation's diversity, motivate response, reinforce messages, and encourage cooperation with Census 2000 workers.

You can Create Your Own Advertisement Materials
You can download copies of logos, taglines, and photos to develop your own materials from the Census Bureau web site at:
http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/advertise.html

You can get materials from the Census Bureau
Copies of these posters are available from your regional partnership specialists. A list of these contacts is maintained at:       http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/8assista.htm

Louisa Miller of the Bureau of Census presented a talk on Census 2000 products at the Association of Public Data Users (APDU’99) Conference held in Alexandria, Virginia in October 1999. The following table lists products, timeline, media, and geographic level for the products to be released. The first product released will be the Census 2000 Redistricting Data Summary File which is required to be produced by April 1, 2001. The transportation planning community will be very interested in access to the Microdata file (September 2000 for the short form data and January 2003 for the long form data. This product, dubbed the American Fact Finder, will allow tabulation from the confidential microdata files with disclosure limitation required under Title 13, Section 9 of the U.S. Code.

On one hand, it is hard to believe that the decennial census is just around the corner.  On the other, we probably won’t see small area data from CTPP until the end of 2002.

As far as preparatory work, we are in the home stretch.  The States and MPOs have defined their TAZs  and 26 States have ponied up their financial contribution.  The only things left are for the States and MPOs to verify their TAZs in early 2000 against the new TIGER/Line 99 files and to help the Census Bureau staff update its employer-based geocoding files.  Once that is complete it will be time to focus on the data, how to use it and that special analysis you have just been waiting to do.

There is, of course, the matter of getting people to fill out their census forms and to return them! This is especially important for those who get the long form (the transportation community’s bread and butter) and in those areas where undercounting is perceived as a problem.  While it is in an area’s political interest to assure a good total population count, it is also important for the transportation community to protect its interest.

Coming into the 1990 Census, many states and MPOs aggressively promoted the completion of the long form to its largest employers with special mailings, posters, pay check inserts and employee newsletter articles.  The intent of the effort was to have the employers remind their employees to complete the long form, if they received one, and how best to identify the work location to aid in its geocoding.

While the Subcommittee is not orchestrating any particular program or activity, it is important that the entire transportation planning community work to make this a good census.  A quick telephone call to the local Census Office can put you in touch with all the materials, ideas and any other information you need to promote the completion of the Census forms.  Keep in mind that the Census is much more than just a count of the population.  For more information on how you can partner with the Census call the national partnering office at (301) 457-2989 or visit http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/8assista.htm

On other fronts there are a variety of census data issues of which the subcommittee is aware and is following. These include:
 

• The Metropolitan Area Standards Review Project (MASRP). During the 1990s the Office of Management and Budget began a full-scale review of the metropolitan area standards (boundaries). The review will culminate in the publication of standards for the following decade. Plans call for publication of the final standards before census day (April 1) 2000.  These standards will establish new metropolitan area boundary definitions.  The best place to stay updated on this issue is by visiting the census bureau's web site at http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/masrp.html

• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This system is replacing the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.  It promises to provide better, more detailed information that will likely enhance metropolitan planning.  NAICS is coming on line with each new census data product and was rolled out with the recent 1997 Economic Census.  As NAICS comes into play the subcommittee is interested in learning how it is being received and used within the transportation planning community.  For more information on NAICS visit: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html

• American Community Survey (ACS). From a research, planning and data mining perspective the ACS is promising to keep our agenda full for many years to come.  In short, the ACS will be the replacement for the decennial census long form and will yield data on an annual basis.  To properly discuss the ACS would take several volumes--suffice it to say the subcommittee will be following the ACS closely. For more information on it visit:  http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

In general, the subcommittee is interested in hearing of any transportation-related uses of census-related data or products.  We are particularly interested in any research underway related to the use of NAICS or the ACS.  If you know of any work feel free to drop me an email at EdC@TRBcensus.com

Happy Y2K!   If you will be at TRB in January, the subcommittee meeting will be Monday, January 10, at 9:00 a.m. in the Hilton Farragut room.

Ed Christopher
TRB Subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation Planning (A1D08(1))

Census Population Division (JTW questions)

Census Geography Division (for TAZ-UP questions)

Jamie Rosenson PH: 301-457-1099  FAX: 301-457-4710  jrosenson@geo.census.gov

Valerie Murdock PH: 301-457-1099  FAX: 301-457-4710  vmurdock@geo.census.gov

Bob LaMacchia  PH: 301-457-1022  FAX: 301-457-4710  rlamacchia@geo.census.gov

FHWA

Elaine Murakami  PH: 202-366-6971  FAX: 202-366-7742  elaine.murakami@fhwa.dot.gov

Nanda Srinivasan  PH: 202-366-5021  FAX: 202-366-7742  nanda.srinivasan@fhwa.dot.gov

Mark Sarmiento PH: 202-366-4828 FAX: 202-366-3713  mark.sarmiento@fhwa.dot.gov

FTA

Paul Branch PH: 202-366-6694 FAX: 202-493-2478 paul.branch@fta.dot.gov

Jim Ryan PH: 202-366-0954 FAX: 202-493-2478 james.ryan@fta.dot.gov

Sherry Riklin PH: 202-366-2419 FAX: 202-493-2478 Email: sherry.riklin@fta.dot.gov

 

BTS  Ed Christopher (See under TRB Committees)

AASHTO Deborah Buchacz PH: 202-624-5839 FAX: 202-624-5806 debbieb@aashto.org