What are other states doing with updating their TAZs in preparation for the 2000 census? It is my understanding that if a state does not submit a TAZ update the counties will be used as TAZs for CTPP purposes.
The type of data we would be interested in at this point would be journey to work trips for county to county, city to city, and city to county. We do not currently have a statewide model but are interested in possible looking into the benefits of building one. Please inform me on what direction we should take.
Chris Herrick, P.E.
Statewide Planning Engineer
Kansas Department of Transportation
To: CTPP-News
This announcement is being distributed to a number of listservs.
Please forgive duplication through cross-postings.
===================================== APDU'99 Annual Meeting
APDU'99: 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Public Data
Users, will be held October 24-27, 1999. The location is the Holiday
Inn Hotel & Suites, Historic District Alexandria, 625 First Street,
Alexandria, VA 22314. This year's theme is "Responsible Data Use:
Protecting the Future of Public Data?"
A preliminary program, accommodations, and registration information is
available via the APDU homepage (http://www.apdu.org) in the section
"What We Do." Note that the cutoff for hotel reservations at the
conference rate is Friday October 8 and the cutoff for receiving a
reduced conference registration fee is Tuesday October 5. Individuals
who normally receive a printed conference brochure should have already
received those materials. For information on joining APDU or further
information about the conference, contact: Teresa Hall Allen /
TeresaH(a)smdi.com, phone: (703)-807-2327
APDU was founded in 1976 to serve the users, producers and
disseminators of government statistical data by assisting users in the
identification and application of public data; establishing
communication linkages between data producers and users; and bringing
the perspectives and concerns of public data users to bear on issues
of government information and statistical policy. APDU consists of
representatives from many academic, governmental, commercial and
private sectors.
Some APDU'99 conference highlights include keynote speaker Ken
Prewitt, Director, Bureau of the Census; and sessions on statistical
literacy, public policy perspectives on the year 2000 Census, public
access to scientific data (revisions to OMB Circular A-110), the
impact of welfare reform legislation on states, electronic products
from the 2000 Census, and intensive hands-on roundtable sessions on
the American Community Survey, UNICON's CPS applications, promoting
statistical policy, and PDQ- Explore.
This year's conference co-chairs are Lisa Neidert of the University of
Michigan (lisan(a)umich.edu) and Steve Dienstfrey of Schulman, Ronca &
Bucuvalas, Inc.(s.dienstfrey(a)srbi.com). We look forward to seeing you
at APDU'99!
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Government Auditors Examine Census 2000 Funding Request
Senate Weighs in on 'Marital Status' Question;
Race Tabulations Set for Redistricting Data
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) last week issued a report on
the increased cost of Census 2000 following a Supreme Court decision
that forced the Census Bureau to revise its plan. The analysis,
requested by House Census Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL),
examines the extra $1.7 billion the Bureau says it needs in fiscal year
2000 (FY00) to conduct a traditional census, without sampling methods,
for purposes of congressional apportionment. The Bureau's original FY00
budget request was for $2.8 billion; it revised the Census 2000 plan
after the Supreme Court ruled in January that federal law barred the use
of sampling to produce the population totals used for congressional
apportionment.
GAO auditors found that the $1.7 billion requested cost increase
"resulted primarily from changes in assumptions relating to a
substantial increase in workload, reduced employee productivity, and
increased advertising." They noted that the Bureau expected to visit 46
million instead of 30 million unresponsive households under the revised
plan, including 12 million whose characteristics would have been
estimated under the original census plan, and another 4 million
addresses identified as vacant or nonexistent by the Postal Service.
New quality control programs, such as re-interviewing a sample of
households, also added to the cost, although the GAO said it is not
clear if the new activities would increase census accuracy. Overall,
the expected workload increase resulted in higher cost estimates for
salaries and benefits, travel, data processing, supplies, and
infrastructure requirements (such as office space and telephone
capacity). The Bureau's revised budget request for FY00 also includes
an extra $72 million for more advertising, which it hopes will increase
public awareness and voluntary response. However, the Bureau did not
assume any potential cost savings from a better-than-expected response
rate, the GAO said.
The GAO reported that a 20 percent reduction in assumed productivity for
enumerators - from 1.28 to 1.03 households per hour - contributed
substantially to the added cost. According to the GAO, the Bureau did
not provide documentation to support the productivity rates, relying
instead on "senior management judgments" that the Bureau described as
"very conservative." In a letter to the GAO commenting on a draft of
the report, Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said the productivity
assumptions "represent prudent management," citing "an unyielding
calendar" and a "mail response rate [that] is largely out of our
control." Overall, the Bureau concurred with the information set forth
in the GAO study. In a statement issued after the study was released,
Dr. Prewitt said, "I can report to the American public that we have the
budget right, our plan is launched, and we are on schedule and on track
for Census 2000." He called on Americans to "take ownership of this
census" to produce the most accurate and cost-effective count possible.
According to the Bureau's written statement, GAO found that only $104
million, or six percent, of the $1.7 billion cost increase was not
related to the prohibition on sampling for congressional apportionment
purposes.
The GAO also reported that the projected cost per housing unit for
Census 2000 is four times greater than in 1970 and twice as much as in
1990. The GAO calculated (in constant fiscal year 1998 dollars) a cost
of $13 per housing unit for the 1970 census, $31 for 1990, and a
projected $56 for 2000. (Census costs are based on the full cycle of
census planning, implementation, and data dissemination, which for
Census 2000 will run from 1991 - 2003.)
Congressional reaction to the GAO study was sharply divided. In a
written statement, Rep. Miller said "the Bureau appears to be on shaky
fiscal ground." As evidence, he said the Census Bureau "ignor[ed]" the
1997 requirement that the Bureau prepare for a census with and without
sampling methods, "lower[ed] productivity rates without justification,"
and failed to include any cost savings that might result if more
advertising increases response rates. "Contrary to claims from the
Commerce Department, faulty Bureau assumptions and questionable cost
estimates by Bureau managers are not the result of the Supreme Court's
decision," Rep. Miller said. The chairman said the Bureau should
receive its full funding request for the coming year, but that a
thorough audit of the agency might be necessary in the future. "[I]f
not for the Republican Congress," he concluded, "the entire census would
have been completed illegally and cost billions to repeat."
The census subcommittee's senior Democrat, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
also released a written statement, saying the GAO "verified the accuracy
of the Census Bureau's financial plan" for Census 2000. "[T]he GAO
determined that the Census Bureau's internal cost model calculations
were both accurately drafted and reasonable projections," the
congresswoman stated. Referring to the likelihood that Congress will
have to pass a short-term spending bill to keep most federal agencies
running beyond the end of the fiscal year on September 30, Rep. Maloney
said the Bureau "needs and deserves funding which is adequate,
consistent, and predictable."
To obtain copies of "Census 2000: Analysis of Fiscal Year 2000 Budget
Amendment" (GAO/AIMD/GGD-99-291), write to U.S. General Accounting
Office, P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013; call 202/512-6000; or
visit the GAO website at <http://www.gao.gov>. The first copy of each
report is free.
Census questions still target of congressional concern: The U.S. Senate
approved an amendment to the Transportation Department spending bill,
expressing its collective opinion that the Census Bureau should continue
to ask all Americans about their marital status by collecting the
information on the census short form that goes to all households. The
Census 2000 long form that will be sent to one in six households
includes a question on marital status.
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), sponsor of the resolution, said, "It is
irresponsible for the U.S. government to suggest or imply that marriage
is no longer significant or important, but that is precisely the message
that will go out if marital status is eliminated from the short form.
..Americans should be disturbed that the U.S. Census Bureau obviously
no longer regards marriage as having any importance." The non-binding
'Sense of the Senate' resolution was adopted on September 15th by a 94 -
0 vote. In a statement on the Senate floor the next day, Sen. Daniel
Akaka (D-HI) said that moving the marital status question from the short
form (in 1990) to the long form (in 2000) was "hardly a frivolous
decision," but rather was an effort by the Bureau "to comply with
Congressional mandates."
The long form produces data for areas as small as 'block groups,' while
short form data is produced for areas as small as blocks, a level of
detail that is needed primarily for redistricting. Following the 1990
count, Congress criticized the length of the census forms and directed
the Census Bureau to reduce the amount of data gathered. In response,
the Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (which oversees
federal data activities) decided to collect only data mandated or
required by Federal law or Federal court decisions in the 2000 census.
The marital status question was moved from the short to the long form
because the data is not needed at the block level.
As required by law, the Census Bureau submitted to Congress on March 31,
1997 (three years before Census Day) the subject matters it intended to
include on the short and long forms. It submitted on March 30, 1998
(two years before Census Day) the actual questions it would include on
each form, also as required by law. The Bureau did not receive any
comments from Congress on the proposed shift of the marital status
question. When the Senate adopted the Helms resolution on September 15,
1999, the Census Bureau had already printed almost 250 million
questionnaires for Census 2000. 'Sense of Congress' resolutions do not
have the force of law. The Helms amendment does not actually require
the Bureau to change the forms. 'Sense of Congress' provisions in
spending bills often are dropped by House-Senate conference committees
that must produce a final measure; however, USA Today reported on
September 23rd that members of the House Family Caucus might champion a
similar resolution in that chamber.
Race/ethnic tabulations set for redistricting data: After consultations
with the U.S. Department of Justice and other stakeholders, the Census
Bureau has decided to provide data for 63 race categories, combined with
the separate Hispanic origin responses, in the block-level data
transmitted to the States for redistricting by April 1, 2001. The 63
categories represent all of the possible single and multiple responses
to the race question (there are five distinct races, plus "Some other
race"); each category is then identified as "of Hispanic origin" or "not
of Hispanic origin." (Hispanic is considered an ethnicity, not a race,
in the federal standards on the collection of race and ethnic data.)
The redistricting files (often called P.L. 94-171 data, after the public
law requiring the information) also include voting age tabulations (18
years of age and over).
Census Bureau staff are continuing their discussions about how to
tabulate responses to the race question for all other Census 2000 data
products. Other tabulation methods being considered include the "all
inclusive" distribution (multiple-race responses would be assigned to
each of the selected single race categories, resulting in totals that
exceed 100 percent of respondents), and the "single race" distribution
(single race responses would be reported independently, and all
multiple-race responses would be included in a category called, "Two or
more races.")
State legislative activity update: The State of Alaska has asked the
U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) to approve a new law prohibiting the
use of census numbers derived with sampling methods for post-census
redistricting. Alaska enacted Senate Bill 99 last spring after Governor
Tony Knowles (D) returned the measure without his signature to the state
legislature, allowing the broader redistricting bill to become law
despite his opposition to the anti-sampling provision.
Alaska is one of 16 states covered in whole or in part by section 5 of
the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which requires approval from USDOJ for any
changes to election law. The 'pre-clearance' process is intended to
prevent changes that have the purpose or effect of denying or abridging
the right to vote of racial, ethnic, or language minorities. Because
Alaska has only one representative in Congress, the new law would affect
the redrawing of state Senate and House of Representatives district
lines if it passes USDOJ muster. USDOJ has 60 days after a state
submits the law to approve or disapprove the measure, or to ask for
additional information.
Congressional hearing scheduled on address list program: The House
Subcommittee on the Census will hold a hearing on September 29 to review
the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program. The LUCA program
was designed to involve local governments in developing the nationwide
address list (called the 'Master Address File,' or MAF) for Census 2000,
essentially replacing the pre-census and post-census Local Review
operations used in 1990. The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in
room 2247 Rayburn House Office Building.
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 . For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
Attention: All agencies participating in theTAZ-UP Program
Attached is a list of all agencies that have asked for an extension for
submission of TAZ equivalency files to October 29, 1999. If your agency is not
on this list, and you have not submitted your TAZ equivalency file, and would
like to avail the extension, please send an e-mail to ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov by
Friday, October 1, 1999. All agencies not on this list are expected to submit
their plans by October 1. If you have already submitted your equivalency file
to the Census Bureau and have received their confirmation on the transfer,
please ignore this e-mail.
Please direct all your questions (or notify any errors) on this issue to
Nanda Srinivasan at 202 - 366-5021.
Androscoggin Valley COG,Jesse Jacobs
Association of Monterey Bay Area Government,Todd Muck
Atlanta Regional Commission,Stefanie Allen
Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission,Jeffrey C. Agee-Aguayo
Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study,John Sterbentz
Central Midlands COG,Ben Mauldin
Central Virginia Planning District Commission,Lee Hood Capps
Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Comm,Mark Wilkes
Chattanooga-Hamilton County MPO,Greg Weathersby
Chicago Area Transportation Study,Dean Englund
Columbus MPO,Michael Felschow
Department of Planning and Community Development,Don Chapman
Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO,Felix C. Nwoko
Flagstaff MPO, David Wessel
Genesse County MPC,E. Raymond Lenze
Grand Junction-Mesa County MPO,Cliff Davidson
Greenville County Planning Commission,Jim D'Amato
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission,Mike Kimbrel
Huntsville MPO,James E. Moore
Johnson County COG,Kevin L. Doyle
Kentuckiana Reg. Planning and Development Agency,Lori A. Kelsey
KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission,James Roueche/Salahmeh S
Lincoln-Lancaster MPO,Mike Brienzo
McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg MPO,Edward L. Molitor
Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities Area,Robert J. Paddock
Mid-Ohio RPC,Nancy Reger
Montana Department of Transportation,Lynn Zanto
Mountainland Association of Governments,Shawn Eliot
Naples-Collier County MPO,John Bussiere
North Carolina Department of Transportation,Mike Bruff
Northwest AL -Council of Local Government,Melissa Bailey
Northwestern IN Regional Planning Commission,Lauren Rhein
Ocala-Marion County MPO,Ann Mcgassic
Palm Beach MPO, Paul Larsen
Polk Transportation Planning Organization,Tom Deardorff
Pueblo Area Council of Governments,Don Vest
Regional Planning Commission,James Harvey
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments,Bill Yim
Santa Fe MPO,Reed Liming
South AL Regional Planning Commission/Mobile MPO,Kevin Harrison
Southeast Michigan COG,Edward Limoges
Springfield-Sangamon County RPC,Veralee Williams
Stanislaus council of Governments,Chip Sellers
Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council,Danielle Zebley
Transportation Advisory Committee -Burlington,Bob Harkrader
Transportation Advisory Committee -Gastonia,Elizabeth Grad/RobertCook
Transportation Advisory Committee -Greensboro,Kenneth King/Tyler Meyer
Transportation Advisory Committee -Rocky Mount,Bob League
Waccamaw RPC,Mark Hoewleler
Wasatch Front Regional Council,Wayne Bennion
Washoe County RTC,Judy Althoff
West Piedmont Planning District Commission,Robert W. Dowd
Yakima Valley Conference of Governments,Wallace F. Webster
Yuma MPO,John Gross
Thank You,
Nanda Srinivasan
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
cc:
Subject: IMPORTANT! Employer Files for Workplace Geocoding
The Census Bureau Population Division and ESRI are in the process of
developing a custom extension to the ArcView GIS called Workplace-Update
(Work-UP). MPOs and State DOTs (if interested) will be asked to use
Work-UP to review and update the commercial employer database Census has
leased from InfoUSA (formerly ABI). This file includes all sizes of
employers, even those with 1-5 employees. The purpose of Work-Up is to
take advantage of local knowledge to improve the database before it is
used in workplace geocoding in Census 2000. This in turn will improve
the quality of workplace data contained in the Census Transportation
Planning Package (CTPP).
We expect that most agencies will find it less labor intensive to review
the Census-provided employer file, rather than build a file from scratch
as they were asked to do for the 1980 and 1990 censuses. However, some
agencies may already have a locally-maintained employer file, which may
be better (more complete and up-to-date) than the file Census has
obtained. The question of how to deal with these local files has
significant implications for the development work to be done in creating
the Work-UP extension. We cannot guarantee that the Work-Up software
will include a feature to use local employer files, but we would like a
good estimate of how many MPOs and State DOTs will be affected if it is
not included in the software. Therefore, if you have a local file we
ask you to respond to the following questions.
1. Do you have a locally maintained employer file for your region that
you would prefer to use? What counties does it cover?
2. To use the file instead of the Census employer file, you will need
to re-format the file to meet the standard file structure (field names,
field length, and position) Census is using in Work-UP. Your file will
also have to be geocoded using TIGER/Line 98. Would you be willing to
perform these tasks on your file before using Work-Up?
3. Do you think your agency would also be interested in reviewing the
Census file, or would you only want your file used in Census 2000?
If you have a local employer file which you would prefer to use, please
send your replies to these questions to Clara Reschovsky at
clara.a.reschovsky(a)ccmail.census.gov by close of business, Tuesday,
September 28, 1999. We apologize for requesting such a quick response,
but the development schedule for Work-UP is very tight and we need to
address this issue now. Thank You.
by gloria_a_swieczkowski/pop/hq/boc_at_boc@ccmail.census.gov
Dear Mr. Reim,
Unfortunately, we only have the documentation for the 1980 UTPP
in printed format. We would be happy to make a copy and send
it to you. If you have scanning capability, it could be
scanned and converted into a machine readable format. If you
do not have scanning capability, please let us know and we
could do this for you.
Please let us know what you would like us to do.
Gloria Swieczkowski
Journey-to-Work and Migration Statistics Branch
Population Division
Bureau of the Census
To:
All agencies using TAZ-UP for TAZ definition for CTPP 2000
By now most of you are completing the TAZ definition for the Census Bureau
using TAZ-UP. As you proceed to complete your plans, please remember to store
and archive your TAZ-UP directories.
In early 2000, phase II of the TAZ definition program will be the opportunity
for you to verify that TIGER/Line 99 has correctly added your TAZs, and for
you to submit changes, if needed. Because the new version of TAZ-UP for the
verification phase will use the files you submit in October *99, it is
important to keep a copy of these files and have them available in January
2000. Also, please make sure you will have adequate room on your hard drive
when TIGER/Line 99 files arrive January-March, 1999 because you will need to
have both- Files processed from TIGER/Line 98 and the new files processed from
TIGER/Line 99 for verification.
Thank You,
Nanda Srinivasan
I have completed TAZ updates for all 8 Counties in the Indianapolis Metro Area using TransCAD 3.5 District Manager Phase 2 Utilities developed by the Caliper Corp. Significant time saving was achieved through tagging atomized polygons.
Attached is a copy of procedures used in Indianapolis. It has been expanded to cover joint operations of coding statewide zones in addition to MPO zones. It also touches on how to code statewide zones in non-MPO Counties.
Sweson Yang, AICP
Chief Transportation Planner
Indianapolis Metro Planning Organization
Phone: (317)327-5137
FAX: (317)327-5103
e-Mail: syang(a)IndyGov.org
We are starting a Y2K-induced retirement of our IBM mainframe. In preparation,
I have begun to offload all of our Census data from 9 track tape to CD, and would
like to include document files for all of the datasets on the CDs. The only digital
document that I have for the 1980 UTPP is the data dictionary definition file included
on the original tapes. However, I do not have the CENSPAC software required to
decode the format statements. I am hoping someone out there has the UTPP
data dictionaries in one of the following formats: ascii text, Microsoft Word, PDF
or HTML. Any help would be much appreciated.
To all --
Nanda's message correctly notes an error in the listing of our phone
number in the most recent CTPP Status Report concerning updated municipal and
town boundaries. However, instead of calling, it is still best to sent me an
e-mail noting which counties you are working on (with their state and county
codes). We will process the newer boundaries and e-mail you files and
instructions.
Thanks
Kim Brace
Election Data Services, Inc.
In a message dated 9/13/99 8:37:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Nanda.Srinivasan(a)fhwa.dot.gov writes:
<< Subj: [CTPP] Status Report - Corrections
Date: 9/13/99 8:37:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Nanda.Srinivasan(a)fhwa.dot.gov (Srinivasan, Nanda <FHWA>)
Sender: owner-ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
The voice mail for EDS was wrongly listed as 1-800-877-6067 on page 1. The
correct number is 1-800-337-2004. The error is regretted.
We would also appreciate any information on upcoming statewide MPO meetings
or
conferences. Please e-mail such information to ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov.
Thank You,
Nanda Srinivasan >>