EGEO-314 Web links and GIS Maps

 

If you find good sources of information (web, city, library, etc) or discover a bad link please let stefan know so we can update this page.

 

 

2000 Census data

See 2000 Census data for spreadsheets of 2000 Census data (Tracts and Block Groups) along with tips for accessing the Census Web site

 

 

Resources (see also WWU Maps & Spreadsheets and WWU Notes below):

 

The Wilson Library Map Collection (formerly the Huxley Map Library)

        The Map Library has:

            - Census Maps (no data, just a map of blocks, etc) for 1980 and 1990.

            - Various old City of Bellingham zoning, planning, neighborhood and landuse documents (1940-current)

 

            - A copy of the 2000 Neighborhood Census populations (neighborhood totals only)

            - A copy of the 1980 City of Bellingham Census data by Census Neighborhood
                            (portions of this 1980 Census Neighborhood Report are available online)

 

            Note that most City of Bellingham neighborhood boundaries changed (some radically) between 1980 and 2000...

            Stefan has done some work to estimate 2000 population and housing unit numbers using the same neighborhood boundaries as were used for the 1980 Census report (see notes below).

   

 

City of Bellingham (you might also consider visiting City Hall if you have specific questions...)

        COB Home page    http://www.cob.org/index.htm

        COB Maps    http://www.cob.org/services/maps/maps/index.aspx
        COB Planning & Community Development (PCD)  http://www.cob.org/services/department/pcd/index.aspx 

        COB Population and Demographic Data http://www.cob.org/services/maps/population/index.aspx

                    Including a PowerPoint slide show of Demographics (and some history stuff too), some of it by neighborhood  

                    Or (already downloaded for you) on the J:\ drive:

                               J:\saldata\Egeo314\COB_demographic_slides_2005.ppt

        Comprehensive Plan  http://www.cob.org/services/neighborhoods/community-planning/comprehensive-plan.aspx  

        Neighborhood information    http://www.cob.org/services/neighborhoods/index.aspx

        Neighborhood Plans and Zoning:  

     http://www.cob.org/services/neighborhoods/community-planning/neighborhoodplanning/neighborhood-plans-and-zoning.aspx

        Neighborhood Advisory Commission Contacts:

    http://www.cob.org/documents/mayor/boards-commissions/neighborhood/mnac-roster.pdf 

        Neighborhood maps:

    http://www.cob.org/services/maps/maps/neighborhoods.aspx  (Circulation, Land Use, Zoning)

        City-wide maps (Master Plan, Topographic, Parks, etc) http://www.cob.org/services/maps/maps/index.aspx

        Annexation Map (Date of incorporation into the City of Bellingham):

    http://www.cob.org/documents/gis/maps/COB_Annexations.pdf

 

        City of Bellingham Air Photos (1950, 1963, 1975, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004) http://www.cob.org/services/maps/aerial/index.aspx

                Note many of these are also on the J:\ drive ( J:\GEO\GEO_data\BHAM\AirPhoto_Bham )

 

       

 

Bellingham Herald

        Neighborhood Profiles (2007): http://www.bellinghamherald.com/neighbors/ 

 

 

Census Bureau

        Basic Census website    http://www.census.gov/

        Factfinder (mapping, enter zip code to start) http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

 

 

 

WWU Maps and Spreadsheets (Spreadsheets and neighborhood maps)

    There are two types of data resource available in the class folder: maps and spreadsheets.

 

    The SPREADSHEETS are comparisons between the 1980 Special Census Tabulation  and 2000 Census data. The spatial units used for comparison are the boundaries that the Census Bureau used to approximate the City of Bellingham neighborhood boundaries in 1980 (see Notes below). 

 

    MAPS are created from 1980 and/or 2000 data when available (or as close as possible) but all show the 1980 Census Neighborhood Boundaries (as discussed below) so that they match the spreadsheet data.

        J:/saldata/Egeo314/Maps_1980_neighborhoods

        This folder now includes the following maps for all 23 neighborhoods:

                Air Photos (1976 and 2002)

                Basemap (streets, neighborhoods, etc., 2006)

                Buildings (and other structures, 1999)

                Census 2000 (Population Density) (1980 block level data not available)

                Census 2000 (Housing Unit Density) (1980 block level data not available)

                Parcels (ownership boundaries)

                Zoning (1980 and 2000) (zoning can be used as a substitute for land use)

 

 

Notes on WWU Maps and Spreadsheets:

Housing Unit Construction figures (Permints)

     Using a database of housing structures (with a Year Built field) I have created a table showing total houses built (single family as well as number of multi-family units) for each neighborhood (using the 1980 Census Neighborhood boundaries). This spreadsheet is on the J:/ drive ( J:/saldata/Egeo314 ). These figures are a bit approximate given the nature of the data, but should be fairly close. One would expect that the these units would be closely associated with the census data (either for number of Housing Units per neighborhood or for Population, using the average figure of 2.25 people per housing unit)

1980 and 2000 "Neighborhood" Census Data....

      Census data is collected by Census Block. These blocks are grouped into Block Groups, Tracts, Cities and Counties. The Census Bureau does not (typically) calculate statistics based on neighborhoods. In 1980 the City of Bellingham had census data tabulated for their neighborhoods (the printed documents are available in the Huxley Map Library). Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that the Census Department did not actually tabulate census data for the exact City of Bellingham neighborhood boundaries. Rather they used the Census Tract (or Block Group) boundaries that (more or less) approximated the neighborhood boundaries... In some cases these differences are quite small, in some, fairly large. A series of maps show the differences between City and Census for 1980 and 2000 (these maps are also available on the J:/ drive in the J:/saldata/Egeo314/Maps_citywide folder):
        1980 Census Neighborhoods vs. 1980 City Neighborhoods
        1980 Census Neighborhoods vs. 2000 City Neighborhoods
        1980 City Neighborhoods vs. 2000 City Neighborhoods

    2000 City of Bellingham Neighborhood boundaries, or course, do not match either the 1980 Census neighborhoods or the 1980 City neighborhoods... In fact, some of the Census Block, Block Group and Tract boundaries changed between 1980 and 2000. There have also been annexations to the City Limits itself (see also a map of City of Bellingham annexations). All of these changes make it extremely difficult to compare 1980 census data with 2000 census data, and even more so to compare neighborhoods...

    Fortunately, for most of the neighborhoods, the difference in area is fairly inconsequential with regard to population figures. This is due to the area differences being relatively small, or being in areas of very low population. Even for the areas that have been annexed into Bellingham since 1980, many of them were very low population in 1980 (pre-development). 

      The exceptions to this are (in descending order of error): Mt. Baker, Alabama Hill, Silver Beach and perhaps Roosevelt. These four neighborhoods changed so greatly in the boundaries used and the areas (some of which were relatively populated) that direct comparisons between the 1980 City of Bellingham "neighborhood" and the 2000 City of Bellingham "neighborhood" are virtually worthless (especially for Mt. Baker and Alabama Hill). Other neighborhoods had varying degrees of change (see maps above). Of the 23 Bellingham neighborhoods, Cornwall Park is the only neighborhood that uses the exact same boundaries for both the 1980 Census data and the City of Bellingham's neighborhoods (1980 and 2000).

    Given the lack of consistent boundaries between Census and City definitions of the neighborhoods the changes to the City's 1980 and 2000 neighborhoods the 1980 Census neighborhood boundaries were used for all comparisons. Likewise the 1980 Census neighborhood boundaries are shown on the maps. Using the 1980 Census neighborhood boundaries for all mapping and numerical calculations allows us to compare apples with apples (and not oranges). The 1980 Census neighborhoods were chosen because they provided the most detailed data for 1980 available. 2000 data (available in GIS format) was recalculated to fit these 1980 boundaries. Thus, it is important to keep in mind at all times (especially when using outside data such as a city neighborhood plan or a Herald article on a specific neighborhood) that what we are calling a 'neighborhood' is not the same as what the City calls a neighborhood.

      Also, for those of you who have been wondering about why the 1980 data (from the Special Census Tabulation for Bellingham Neighborhoods) and the "Total Persons" listed for the neighborhoods varies from one page to another... I think that the reason for this is that some data (such as population or housing units) comes from a "100% survey" - in other words they actually count every person. Other data (e.g., much of the age/income/gender demographics) come from a "sample" survey. These sampled figures are then used to estimate the total population demographics. Thus, depending upon which source of information a given demographic uses, the 'total' varies. Figures on P-1, P-2 and P-3 are from the 100% count, and thus should be more accurate (if you just want population).

 

See also 2000 Census data for spreadsheets of 2000 Census data (Tracts and Block Groups) along with tips for accessing the Census Web site

 

        If you have questions about these figures or maps, feel free to contact stefan