Mapping And Analysis Of New Data Documents 
Still-Segregated America
Map & Data Resources
By Craig Gurian
Remapping Debate
January 18, 2011
http://www.remappingdebate.org/map-data-tool/mapping-and-analysis-new-data-documents-still-segregated-america

January 18, 2011 - In the first analysis of new 5-year
data from the American Community Survey at the Census
Block Group level, Remapping Debate has found that
reports that a long-term trend towards greater
integration "overall" has continued leave out
fundamental aspects of current-day residential reality.
Census Blocks Groups represent smaller geographic areas
than do Census Tracts.

Working with tools provided by Social Explorer,
Remapping Debate is also releasing interactive maps that
can zoom down to the Census Block Group level anywhere
in the United States, revealing high levels of
segregation that are cloaked at larger geographic levels
(see example in the box at the end of this article).

Key data findings

It turns out that these ACS data, covering the period
2005 to 2009 and released last month, reveal that:

In a country that is only 12.1 percent African-American,
30 percent of African-Americans live in Census Block
Groups that are 75 percent African-American or more.

75 percent of African-Americans in the country live in
only 16 percent of the Census Block Groups in the United
States.

50 percent of African-Americans live in Census Block
Groups that have a combined African-American and Latino
population of 66.85 percent or more (nationally, the
latino population is approximately 15.8 percent, so the
combined African-American and Latino population is just
shy of only 28 percent).

Mapping tools

The new maps, available here, highlight areas that
remain ultra-white, as well as areas that are
disproprortionately African-American or Latino or both.

Instructions for using the maps

When you go to the maps, use the second drop down menu
on the right to choose among 3 maps. Zooming and panning
tools are available above the map. Note that it takes
several clicks to go from the national level to the
census block group level. Tip: Holding down left mouse
button will allow you to draw desired geographical area.
Tip: once geographical area selected, you can toggle
among the maps and will stay at the chosen geography.

Go to the maps.

For the map that looks at African-American population,
one is able to identify those Census Block Groups that
have zero African-Americans, less than 1.0 percent, from
1.0 percent to less than 2.0 percent, and from 2.0
percent to less than 3.0 percent. One can also see those
Census Blocks Groups that are 50 percent African-
American or more. In other words, the areas highlighted
are those that are have an African-American population
no more than one quarter the national population of
African-Americans, or an African-American population
that is more than four times the national percentage of
African-Americans. Go to the maps.

For Latinos, the maps delineates areas under 7.0 percent
Latino (less than half the national average), and 50
percent or more Latino (more than three times the
national average). Go to the maps.

The last of the maps shows demographic combinations in
Census Block Groups that have less than 3.0 percent
African-Americans and less than 7.0 percent Latinos, as
well as those that have either African-American or
Latino population of 50 percent or more. Go to the maps.

If there are questions about the use of the maps, or if
you have suggestions for additional mapping and data
resources that you would like to see Remapping Debate
make available, please us the "contact" webform
available at the bottom of the page.

A wealth of additional demographic information -
including mapping of data as far back as 1790 - is
available on the Social Explorer website.

___________________________________________

Portside aims to provide material of interest to people
on the left that will help them to interpret the world
and to change it.

Submit via email: [log in to unmask]

Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3

Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq

Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe

Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive

Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate