Objectives: Using primary census data in
assessing racial inequality and recognize the characteristics and patterns of segregation in US cities
1) Decide which city you want to use for this study. Ideally it should be your hometown, but small towns will in many cases not have much of a racial diversity. If that is the case, you might want to choose a larger city that you are somewhat familiar with
2) Open the
following website of the Tiger Map Service from the US Census.
It will go by default to
3) Seek out
two neighborhoods of the city. Now select the criteria that you want to compare
the two neighborhoods. At the bottom of the map you find a series of legends
and options to set values. At the Map Census Statistics, set the level to the
smallest spatial dimension, that is Block Groups or Census Tracts and set the
theme for a series of demographic characteristics that you are planning to
examine. Start out with racial characteristics and then compare it to other
indicators, such as population density, hh income,
family size, or owner occupied. If you do not have a racially diverse
population, seek a larger city.
4)
It’s best to open two windows, and then compare the two areas (or two
different themes – f. ex. Black vs. White) side by side.
5) Describe
the pattern for the city as a whole. Is there an even racial distribution or
not? If uneven, describe where racial groups are concentrated. You might want
to compare White vs. Black to White vs. Latino and vs. Asian, or Black vs.
Latino and Asian and see what you find. If you know the city, zoom in on the
urban areas and then compare it with the suburban areas.Do
you find a pattern of hypersegregation (high
concentration of Blacks only?) as discussed by Conley?
6) Make print outs of the various maps and compare them to each other. Tip for the" web advanced": Instead of printing out the entire legend every time, you can save only the image of the map, by selecting the map, right click and use the option of "save picture as". You can then print out the picture only. You should do the same thing with the legend too, so that you have both of them together on one page. Make sure you keep the area of the city constant when you run your comparisons. That means: look at racial distribution first, and then at other indicators, and then compare it with another section of the city.
7) Discuss your findings in a 2 page essay, covering the following points:
a. What was the degree of racial isolation in both areas? (The legend
is sometimes garbled, in that case you have to use
your own judgment to interpret what you find). Describe the findings. Make sure
you are detailed in your description.
b. In what aspects do both areas differ? Look for differences in ethnic/racial
composition, family size, age groups, household income, population density, etc.
c. In what aspects are they the same or similar?
d. Discuss whether the area/s you examine corresponds to the characteristics of "inner
city" and “suburbs” discussed by Conley. If you know the
"reputation" of an area, discuss it along with your findings.
Present your findings in a folder, including the various print-outs of maps and tables, clearly indicating what theme you chose, together with your essay. You don't need to have color copies. Black and white prints are fine. Make sure to identify the city and the neighborhoods you are studying.