Get ahead of the 2020 Census Data ReleaseÂ
In our recent webinar, Census 2020: Opportunities for Equity in Planning, our special guest speakers Lacey Loftin (U.S. Census Bureau) and Sara Ellis (City of Raleigh, NC) shared practical information about how to access and use Census data in planning as well as issues and opportunities facing planners.
Here are some of the highlights from the webinar:
U.S. Census More Than Decennial Data
You might be looking forward to the release of the decennial data, but did you know that the Census has 130 different ongoing surveys gathering data on businesses, people, and housing?
Here are some quick links for planners who are using the https://www.census.gov/ page to access data for their plans and programs:
- On The Map: https://onthemap.ces.ce​nsus.gov/Â
- Census Business Builder:Â https://www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html
- Data Tools and Apps: https://www.census.gov/data/data-tools.html
You can subscribe to the Census Bureau Media News Room so you don’t miss out on important news and event announcements.
Using Census Data in Local Government
Sara Ellis with The City of Raleigh, NC uses the Census to help understand the communities that they plan for, measure if they are doing a project that requires outreach, and whether they are reaching the right people or demographics.
A few tools used by The City of Raleigh to highlight Census data in planning for local governments include:
- Raleigh Data Book – updated every year. This webpage is where you can find data books dating back to 2012.
- Racial Dot Map
The Census impacts more than our understanding of the socioeconomic characteristics of our community.  It also informs the way and often the amount of Federal funding a community receives – whether it is funding for transit and transportation, emergency preparedness, community development or block grants, the census is driving how the money gets there. So it’s huge.
Ensure Your Outreach Efforts are Equitable
PublicInput’s Public | Equity Mapping allows you to overlay socio-economic information with your participant data, ensuring that your engagement is equitable and your most underrepresented populations are being reached. Schedule time with an expert to learn how Public | Equity Mapping can help you.
Want More?
Lacey and Sara shared a lot of information, watch the recording of the webinar to hear for yourself.
- Interactive Project Page: Watch Now
- Automated Interactive Meeting Transcription: 7/20/21 Webinar
