Use of Geospatial Technologies for Census Data Collection: Issues and Considerations Timothy Trainor U.S. Census Bureau

In order to be useful a census must be: government, census tract, census block data accuracy location data accuracy location correct reliable

Geographic Support for Data Collection Activities

Components of a Census Geographic Support System

Who does the work???  Geographers  Geographic area criteria and delineation  Cartographers  Map the data  Software programmers  Write the code to process the data  Database Administrators  Maintain the integrity of the data  IT specialists  Keep the hardware working properly  All of the above??

GEOGRAPHY DIVISION ORANIZATION CHART

Organizational Structure Geography Division Program Management Geocartographic Products And Services Mapping Geographic Area Criteria and Delineation PartnershipsDatabase Systems Address Systems Spatial Data Systems Geoproccessing MAF/TIGER Maintenance FeaturesAddresses

Technology Considerations  Learning and developing organizational capabilities  Buying expertise  Commercial vs homegrown vs hybrid solutions

Recent Technology Developments  Maturing GIS  Imagery availability  Global Positioning Systems (GPS)  Mapping system development  Spatial database development  Address list development

The Evolution of the Census Bureau’s TIGER System  Data collaboration  Era of pre-Commercial Off The Shelf environment for database technologies  Development of an in-house system

Modernizing TIGER in Response to Changing Technology  Data integration issues  Use of GPS and imagery  Accuracy improvements  Street centerlines  Data model improvements  real world features  Database developments  Use of Oracle – emphasis on maintaining topology

Challenge  Control the Cost and Improve the Accuracy of the Decennial Census

Issues in Preparing for Geospatial Technologies  Proposal Justification  Funding  Geospatial Data Sources  Data Sharing  Data Quality  Workforce

Proposal Justifications  Why are geospatial technologies needed in a census?  What are the benefits?  What would be the impact without geospatial technology?  Could this investment benefit others?

Funding Issues  Adequate budget  Hardware  Software  Communications  Data  Personnel

Geospatial Data Source Considerations  Existing geospatial data  Data collection  Census field operations  On-going data updates  Data integration

Data Sharing Issues  Partnerships  Public  State  Local  Tribal  Federal  Private  Copyright issues  Maintaining value-added benefits

Data Quality Issues  Variable data - Large non-uniform differences in spatial errors in a relatively small area  Inconsistencies  Metadata Mason Starbridge 10m 100m

The Workforce  Geographers and cartographers (50%)  IT staff (50%)  Contractors supplement existing staff

Conclusion  Learn from the experience of others (both good and bad)  Share expertise and learned best practices  Keep it simple