These articles describe a debate about how best to measure segregation and/or integration, as well as a debate about Milwaukee.

Readings (from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel):

• “Study explodes myth of area’s segregation”
• “Life in Milwaukee, black and white”
• “Complaints not really about our methodology”
• Letters-to-the-Editor

Use SocialExplorer (individually or in groups) to compare the patterns of segregation that you notice in the following cities (map slide shows in SocialExplorer are linked):

• Milwaukee, WI (3 maps for White, African American, Latino populations)
• Birmingham, AL (3 maps for White, African American, Latino populations)
• Salt Lake City, UT (3 maps for White, African American, Latino populations)
• Houston, TX (3 maps for White, African American, Latino populations)

Do some of these cities appear more segregated than others? How can you tell? What similarities and differences do you notice?

Each student select one of these cities and make a report using the REPORT button to compare different census tracts in the city. [Tutorial] (Make sure you are zoomed in close enough to see the tract outlines.) Click on tracts that appear to be very segregated, and others that appear to be integrated, based on the map. In groups, compare what you find for different cities.

Here are some discussion questions for this activity:

• Are some cities more segregated than others? How can you tell?
• How are the types of segregation found in these cities similar? How are they different? How would you explain these differences?
• What do you notice about the segregation in these cities as you look back in time? Have the cities been segregated for a long time? Has there been some change in the degree of segregation? To what might you attribute these changes?

In SocialExplorer, use the FIND tool  to locate your home town. Change the “Population” menu to “Race,” and look at the population of each race category, one by one [Tutorial]. Try zooming in or out to see different perspectives. What patterns do you see as you select for different racial groups? Do you see evidence of segregation? of diverse populations living together?  What is the evidence? Make your observations as specific as possible.

Here are some discussion questions for this activity:

• Compare levels of diversity in different neighborhoods in your hometown. Is your home town segregated?
• How are you defining segregation?
• What does segregation “look like” on the map?
• Extension Activity: What policies have been implemented in your hometown that address issues of segregation. What would the authors say about this policy? Does it address the issues they raise in their article? If yes, how so? If no, what issues did the policy overlook, according to the material presented in the article.

Reading: Hypersegregation in the 21st Century (Wilkes & Iceland, 2004) (accessible through JSTOR)

Wilkes and Iceland say that segregation is a “multifacted social phenomena.” Their research considers multiple dimensions of residential patterns to determine whether commmunities are “hypersegregated.” While their research finds that hypersegregation has decreased in the past decade, Wilkes and Iceland argue that hypersegregation still “warrants continued attention.”

Here are some discussion questions for this reading:

• How would you describe the differences among the fivedimensions of segregation - evenness, exposure, concentration,clustering, and centralization?
• What is the difference betweensegregation and ‘hypersegregation?’
• When the authors “controlled forfactors such as income, nativity, region, and economic activity, [they]found that blacks continued to be significantly more segregated thanHispanics (and Native Americans)…” What does this suggest about thenature of segregation in urban areas?
• Given the informationpresented in the article, how would you define the problem ofsegregation?

What might Wilkes and Iceland say about the patterns of segregation you identified in your hometown?�

Racial segregation has been linked with many social and economic issues affecting communities today. Some social scientists say that segregation is decreasing, while others argue that segregation has not improved or is even getting worse. This lesson examines how we define, identify, and measure segregation. Key questions include:

• What does it mean for a community to be segregated?
• What does segregation “look like”?
• Are different groups of people segregated in different ways? are different cities?
• What is the relationship between diversity and segregation?

In this lesson, you will use Social Explorer and readings to examine segregation in different places in the US, identifying where different populations live, their relationships to one another, and a variety of perspectives about what it means to be segregated. By examining maps and reading an ongoing debate, you will learn how to make an argument for measuring and comparing segregation and diversity in a meaningful and socially relevant way.

Here are three activities, including some readings and research assignments using SocialExplorer:

1. Segregation in your home town
2. Compare segregation in 4 cities
3. The Milwaukee debate:  How segregated are we?

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Creating a Slideshow

We then clicked on a blank space in the slideshow bar to add that view of the map to the slideshow, then changed the year to the 1990 census tract. We added this view to the slideshow as well, and repeated this for the 1980 and 1970 censuses.

Making a Report

Here we are making a report from the 1970 map. We clicked the “Report” button at the top of the map, then chose Industry as the subject for our report.

We chose to select an area by placing points. We clicked to place points in the census tracts we were interested in.

We then clicked “Make Report.” Here is the report that resulted.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual survey designed to replace the long-form census.

The long-form census is sent out to some households during the census every ten years, and contains more detailed questions than the short-form census.

The ACS will be taken every year, to provide more consistant ongoing information and to allow the census to focus on counting the population. It will be used to help develop programs and services for communites. Information for smaller communities will need to be averaged over 3-5 years to provide more accurate and reliable data

For the Decennial Censuses, the Census Bureau has for many years conducted effectively two surveys, one 100% survey, in which every single person in the country is supposed to be accounted for, and one sample survey which is done for a random selection of households. For Census 2000 the sample survey was done for 1 in every 6 households.

One of the reasons the Census Bureau has done this is because the sample survey has many more questions than the 100% count, and it would simply be too expensive to do it for every household and is mostly unnecessary, because the sample in the sample survey is so large the numbers are very close to the 100% count anyway. The sample survey however contains a much more detailed profile of US than the 100% survey which only asks several questions such as sex, age, race.

These “surveys” are then processed into summary counts or files.

Census 2000

For Census 2000, the Census Bureau has produced four Summary Files (SF). The first two (SF 1/2) are based on the 100% sample and the later two are based on the sample survey (SF 3/4).

So technically speaking, if the data you are looking for is located in the first two summary files (SF1/2), you should use those numbers, because they are more “accurate”, otherwise you have to use SF 3/4.

What is in SF2/4?

Most people have never used these two Summary Files (SF) because they are somewhat more complicated.  They basically contain the same data tables as SF1/3 respectively, but the tables are iterated for 336 race and ancestry categories. For example, if you are interested in Household Income for Japanese people, you would use SF 4. SF 2/4 provide data down to Census Tract level.

Census 1990

For Census 1990 the Census Bureau has produced four Summary Tape Files (STF). They are equivalent to the Summary Files in Census 2000.  Summary Tape File 1/2 (STF 1/2) contains 100% data on age, race, sex, marital status, Hispanic origin, household type and relationship, occupancy/vacancy status, tenure, units in structure, contract rent, meals included in rent, value, and number of rooms. Summary Tape File 3/4 (STF 3/4) contains sample data weighted to represent total population. Again as in Census 2000, STF 2/4 data tables are iterated by detailed race and ancestry categories.

Census geography is organized on a number of different levels. Some of the levels fit completely within one another, while others may cross the boundary of a larger level.

The basic hierarchical organization of census geography is Nation > States > Counties > County Sub-Divisions > Census Tracts > Block Groups > Blocks, with each level nested completely within its predecessor.

These levels cover all areas in the United States, and added up, their populations equal the entire population of the United States. Other levels, such as places, can cross the boundaries of other levels, and some, such as ZIP codes, do not cover all areas of the United States. ZIP codes only cover those where mail is delivered.

The diagram above shows the relationships between different levels of census geographies. A line between two levels represents a hierarchical relationship between them, meaning that the larger, generally displayed near the top of the diagram, can be subdivided into the smaller level.

Image from http://www.census.gov/geo/www/geodiagram.pdf

A Snapshot of the Nation

The official U.S. Census is described in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. It calls for an actual enumeration of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives among the states. The first official Census was conducted in 1790 under Thomas Jefferson, who was the Secretary of State. That census, taken by U.S. marshals on horseback, counted 3.9 million inhabitants. Since that time, the decennial Census has been conducted every ten years, generally on April 1 in years ending in a zero.

– The Census Bureau

Besides providing information needed for congressional and state legislative redistricting and distribution of funds for government programs, Census data are used in many other ways. Census data are used extensively in marketing applications, supplementing smaller surveys, cooking up estimate and projection numbers, helping scholarly researchers learn more about residents and neighborhoods and many other uses. Census data are available for many levels of geography, including states, counties, cities and towns, ZIP codes, census tracts (neighborhoods) and blocks.  In Census 2000, there are a total of 114 geographic levels, and about 2.4 million potential variables down to Census Tract level. Given the vast amount and coverage of these data, it is easy to get lost in all these datasets.

About

This is the main page for Social Explorer. The blue bar at the top lets you navigate to different sections of the site.

Hint: Click on images to enlarge.

The blue bar contains buttons that take you to the different sections. The “Home” tab takes you to the main page, shown above.

The “Maps” tab takes you to the main maps page, where you can select the data sets to view maps from, and then browse the maps.

The “Reports” tab takes you to the main reports page, where you can select the census year to create reports from, and then view and download data.

The “Blog” tab takes you to the Social Explorer blog, with news and information about Social Explorer.

The “Help” tab takes you to the help system, where you are now.

The “Contact” tab takes you to contact information for Social Explorer.

Sections

The two main parts of Social Explorer are maps and reports.

Maps

The maps section of Social Explorer allows you to visualize thousands of variables of data.

Social Explorer maps present census data in a clear, visually comprehensible manner. Maps can be made on a variety of subjects with data from several censuses. Maps can then be used to make reports or slideshows, which can be exported to other programs.

To open the map application, click on the “Maps” tab on the blue bar at the top of the home screen, then select the group of censuses you would like to use.

Below is an overview of the tools available in the map application.

1. Map title - shows what map is currently visible or the title of your slideshow
2. File menu - links to various tools
3. Previous or Next Map - allows you to navigate between maps
4. Initial View - returns you to the default map
5. Print - allows you to print your map
6. Find - allows you to search for a certain area or address
7. Navigational Tools - allows you to zoom in, zoom out, or pan
8. Report - creates a report with a table of the chosen data in the selected area
9. Legend Menus - allow you to chose a census to report the data from, what kind of data is being shown, and how to show that data
10. Slideshow - allows you to create a slideshow of different maps
11. Legend - shows what kind of data is being shown and how it is represented on the map
12. Slideshow Controls - plays back the slideshow

Reports

Social Explorer allows you to create reports comparing a variety of subjects in multiple areas and download data for further processing.

The amount of data you have access to varies with your subscription level.

To open the Reports application, click on the “Reports” tab on the blue bar, then select the group of censuses you would like to use.

You will be taken to a page where you can begin to create your report. Learn more here.

FAQ

1. How do I view/browse maps?
   Select the maps tab from the blue bar at the top of the main page, then select the set of data you would like to use. Learn more here.
2. What data is available?
   For a list of available maps and data, please click here.
3. How do I look up statistics for a place?
   Data for places, such as towns or cities, can be found on the Census Places geography level. You must be a subscriber to use this feature.
4. How do I download data?
   After creating a report, choose the “download data” tab. Learn more here.
5. How do I print a map?
   Push the print button, or select “Print” from the file menu. Learn more here.
6. How do I download a map as an image?
   Press the print button or select “Print” from the file menu, then right-click on the image and choose “Save.” Learn more here.

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Saving

You must have an account and be logged in to save a map.

To save, go to the file menu and choose Save or Save As, if your map is not already named.

Opening

To open a previously saved map, go to the file menu and choose “Open.” Select the map you wish to open from the menu that appears. You can also open other people’s maps that are saved publicly.

Sharing

To share a map, check the box that says “allow everyone to view this project” when saving. To share a map after saving it, choose “Sharing…” from the file menu and check the box in the window that appears.

Here is an example of creating a report. First we choose the census year to use from the main reports page. We are using the 1930 census.

Then we select the geographies. We chose to select the geographies from the list. We selected “State” for geographic type, then selected Arizona and clicked “Add.”

We then went back and chose “County” for the geographic type. We chose Arizona for the state again, selected three counties by clicking and dragging, and pressed “Add.” We then pressed “Next.”

Alternately, we could have chosen to enter the geographies with FIPS codes. In that case, we would have pressed the “FIPS Codes” tab at the top of the page.

Then we selected the geographic type “State,” entered “04″ for Arizona.

Then we pressed “Add.”

We then went back, selected “County” for the geography type, and entered “04001,” “04003,” and “04005,” for Apache, Cochise, and Coconino counties. Note that the county codes are all preceded by 04, the state code.

We then pressed “Next.”

We were taken to the page where you select the subject of the report. We chose to use a report of pre-selected tables. We chose Age and pressed “Add,” then went back and chose Literacy too. Then we pressed “Show Result.”

This is the report that was created.

When you have created your report, you can download the data in CSV format, which can then be opened in Microsoft Excel and other programs, or choose to download straight to Excel.

To use the CSV format, start by clicking the “Download Data” tab from the results page, circled below.

Then click on the blue link under “Download data by geography type.”

A box will come up, asking what to do with the file. Choose the program you want to open the files in and press “OK.”

Your data will appear in the program you selected.

To download straight to Microsoft Excel, choose the “Excel” tab from the results page.

Select the version of Excel you would like to download to from the bottom of the screen.

Social Explorer allows you to create reports comparing a variety of subjects in multiple areas and download data for further processing.

To open the Reports application, click on the “Reports” tab on the blue bar, then select the census year you would like to use. You will be taken to a page where you can begin to create your report.

Creating a Report

After you select a census year, creating a report is divided into three steps: selecting geographies, selecting tables and results. The steps are outlined on the “You are Here” bar at the top of each page. You can always go back to previous steps and change your selections by clicking on the appropriate step in the “You are Here” bar.

Selecting Geographies

The first step in creating a report is selecting the geographies you would like to get data for. You can select the geographies either from a list or by entering the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes. FIPS codes provide unique identifications of each geography and can be strung together to form a unique ID for every geography on all geographic levels (with a few minor exceptions in 2000 where the census id is used instead). For example, each state has a unique FIPS code, and each county within each state has a unique code (they may repeat between states though). Putting them together, a state FIPS code (2 digits) followed by a county FIPS code (3 digits), creates a unique identifier such as ‘36047‘ for Kings county in New York State. This is often the preferred method used by professionals to identify geographies.

Creating a Slideshow

With the slideshow tool, you can easily create slideshows of different maps. Just click in the blank spaces in the slideshow bar, and the current view of the map will be added to the slideshow. After putting your view of the map in the slideshow, you can change the view by zooming, panning, or changing the year or subject in the legend, and then add the new view to the slideshow by clicking the next blank space. You can then play it or export it to PowerPoint.

The box in the lower right-hand corner of the window contains the controls for the slideshow.

Playing a Slideshow

The box in the lower right-hand corner of the window contains the controls for the slideshow.

1. These buttons allow you to pause, play, rewind, and fast foward the sl