UP 378 |
Syllabus |
Scope of Sevices |
Work Plan |
Tool KitTraining & Methods |
Neighborhood InformationData & Work in Progress |
ASNI CommunicationMeetings, Memos & Outreach |
LA 338 |
ARCH 374 |
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One facet of data collection within neighborhood planning is the collection of Census data. This activity has three major objectives: 1. To create a profile of the Alta Sita neighborhood in terms of population, housing, income, employment and education. 2. To identify trends in the data over the last few decades to show changing conditions. 3. To draw comparisons between the neighborhood data and the City of East St. Louis and St. Clair County. Tasks: 1.
Learn about the U.S. Census by reading this guide, attending the presentation
given by the Documents Librarian on Wednesday (1/27) at 2:00p.m., and surfing
the Census web page at http://www.census.gov
What is the Census? The U.S. Census conducts national social, economic and population surveys every ten years. In Planning, this tool is usually the most commonly used for profiling, forecasting, and analysis. Census data is organized by geographic levels – state, county, city, tract, block group. The U.S. Bureau of Census generally has collected data on the same variables since 1970. All variables are collected at the tract level and a much smaller group (about 40 variables) is available at the Block Group level. The boundaries of Alta Sita fall within parts of two tracts that are actually much larger than the actual neighborhood. To obtain more accurate data, we will collect both tract and block group information. See attached map. Where Do We Find the Data? The Documents Library (2nd Floor, Main Library) contains all the Census information you will need. The library has extremely helpful staff (see Mary Mallory during daytime hours) and has maps from the past thirty years. Data from 1990 is available on the Web at http://www.census.gov. Prof. Varkki George has created a tutorial for navigating through the data on the Web. Also, attached is a sample of tables created as part of the Emerson Park plan. The city, county and suburban ring data is already provided and can be used for the Alta Sita analysis. Which Variables Do We Collect? In
the past, we have typically collected data on the following variables.
There may be more variables that are appropriate to planning in Alta Sita.
For a complete list of census variables, CLICK HERE. How Do We Store the Data? Enter the data into an Excel spreadsheet. Attached is a tutorial for creating effective charts and graphs. Save the spreadsheets on the research drive. Ken will talk further on analyzing the data once it has been collected. |
Documents Library
Training on the Census, January 27, 1999
| Presented by: Shawn Nickels
and Stephanie Atkins
Library staff is available
to assist students at the following hours:
The first Census was held in 1790. At that time they only counted the number of free whites 16 years of age and over, the number of males under 16 years of age, the number of Native Americans paying taxes and the number of slaves per household. The Census is the most common tool used to apportion congressional representation, grants, revenue sharing and it is often used for environmental impact assessment. There are two geographical levels of data: governmental (city and county) and statistical (tracts and block groups). Pre-1960 the Census was a door-by-door count. In 1970 they began a self-enumeration where door-to-door was combined with surveys mailed to every house. This self-enumaration is most commonly used for social indicators. On Janaury 26th, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that the Census could not collect every variable by self enumaration random sampling. Over the years the Census has evolved dramatically to include more variables every ten years that carry more in-depth levels of detail. The major changes between 1960 and 1970 are how the questions are structured and how the variables are defined. The appendices of the 1980 and 1990 Census define the variables and the different parts of the Census. In 1970, the Census provided a Procedural History that has definitions of the variables in Chapter 15. Census data is stored in text form, on microfiche, on CD-ROM and also on the Web (1990 only). All forms are available at the Documents Library. Specifically, Workstation 3 has Census CD and Workstation 8 has Census STF3 data. Tract level data is available
in the books for 1960 though 1990. Block Group data is available
on Microfiche for 1980 and 1990 and on paper for 1960 and 1970. Block
group data is on reserve at the Doc desk - so just ask for it.
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| Please take the next few
minutes to complete the following phrase ten times!
1. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 2. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 3. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 4. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 5. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 6. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 7. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 8. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 9. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. 10. East St. Louis is ___________________________________. If you are like most first-time visitors to East St. Louis, the overwhelming majority of your responses to this exercise will be negative! Popular culture and the mass media have emphasized the most negative aspects of East St. Louis, blaming its current residents for the city’s economic problems while giving little attention to this community’s many strengths. All of us have absorbed these negative images of East St. Louis whether we realize it or not! These negative images may cause us to notice ESL’s many environmental, economic and social problems without fully appreciating this town’s extraordinary vitality and resiliency. While many older industrial cities have disintegrated in the face of the combined effects of suburbanization, deindustrialization, redlining and out-migration. East St. Louis has, with considerable state aid, managed to stabilize its economic base and tax revenues. These accomplishments have enabled the city to achieve a modest level of economic growth during the past five years when similar Midwestern cities have continued to decline. The city’s successful “turn around” flies in the face of what we think we know about East St. Louis. Therefore, the city must possess strengths, resources and assets which we, as outsiders, have failed to notice and appreciate. One of your major challenges this weekend is to uncover the “The Untold Story of East St. Louis”. How did this town manage to beat the odds in order to reverse its economic and fiscal fortunes? This will not be an easy story to gather! Many outstanding reporters, including Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes, have come and gone without uncovering the keys to East St. Louis’s success. We challenge you to use all of your best field research skills to uncover this critical story! -Take notice of the
variety of physical conditions existing in the
-Pursue every opportunity
to spend your time in East St. Louis speaking with residents who
have spent their lives in this
-Ask the city officials
you meet about the community, its people,
-Eavesdrop on conversations among local residents regarding their perceptions of the city; -Pick-up and read the
local newspapers when you are in town to see
-Study the election
posters, advertisements, and literature during this
-Watch the public behavior
of the people you meet to see what you can
Remember the job of any good analyst is to tell the people/world something they don’t already know about an import issue, place or time! The scholarly and popular press is filled with stories about the social deficits of aging industrial cities such as East St. Louis. Take time this weekend to help us better understand the strength of this community so we can better appreciate its resiliency! |
| Outreach
for February 9th ASNI Meeting
Good afternoon/evening, my name is _______ and I’m calling on behalf of Alta Sita Neighbors Inc. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to look over the literature that was delivered to you last weekend that explained the purpose of the Alta Sita Neighbors group and about the upcoming neighborhood meetings. The reason I’m calling is to remind you of a crucial first meeting to discuss the outlines for a neighborhood improvement strategi for our area. The timing The meeting is on February 9 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Regis Church, which is located at 3500 Market Avenue. Do you think that you or any members of your household will be able to attend? YES
NO
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| Alta Sita Neighbors, Inc.
Mapping Our Neighborhood Activity February 9, 1999 St. Regis Roman Catholic Church Long-term residents, business persons and institutional leaders (pastors, principles, coaches) in every community possess a great deal of information regarding the neighborhood where they live, work and serve! Community revitalization plans which tap this enormous reservoir of community knowledge are much more likely to produce the outcomes which residents want! During the next twenty to thirty minutes, we would like you to work in groups of five to help us identify the most important features of the Alta Sita neighborhood! With the assistance of planning and design students from the University of Illinois from Urbana-Champaign, we would like you to use the color markers provided to highlight the following key characteristics of your neighborhood on the maps you have been given! When each resident planning team has finished this activity, we would like to have a member of your group present your findings to the rest of our meeting! Important Features 1. Draw the traditional boundaries
of the Alta Sita neighborhood, as you
2. Draw the traditional boundaries for any recognized sub-areas of the Alta Sita neighborhood, please circle and name these districts (i.e. industrial area, shopping center, church row, etc.) using the blue marker. 3. Locate and label the names of the
neighborhood's most important local
4. Locate and label Alta Sita’s most important resources or assets (i.e. businesses, social service agencies, housing complexes, public service- oriented families) using the green marker. 5. Locate and label Alta Sita’s most
important problem sites/areas
When each team has filled in their map, we will ask a representative of each group to report on your work! As each group spokesperson makes their report, we will transfer this information onto our “wall-sized” map of Alta Sita. |
Document author(s) : Cathy
Klump
Last modified: 23-Mar-99,
C. Klump
