[CTPP] CB Federal Register Notice: ACS 5-year data products proposal

Fri Mar 6 13:24:41 CST 2009

Re:  opportunities to express opposition to disclosure rules.  

Nancy Reger  (nreger at morpc.org) suggested in February that the
Transportation user community prepare a letter to whoever is appointed
as the Census Bureau Director.   

LINK to the CTPP listserv archive:
http://www.chrispy.net/pipermail/ctpp-news/ 

Whether individual MPOs, state DOTs, AMPO, NARC, or AASHTO , or any
other organization, want to convey these issues to the CB is UP TO YOU!

I will be talking to my FHWA chain-of-command to determine if FHWA
(and/or FTA and BTS) will submit an official response from USDOT.  

And, just to make it clear, since the 2010 Census is a short-form only
Census, future CTPP will NOT use the 2010 Census.  It will use multiple
years of accumulated ACS records. And, after the 2010 Census, the ACS
weights should be adjusted to closely match the 2010 Census results.   

Elaine Murakami

elaine.murakami at dot.gov 

Note:  please update my contact information. My previous email address
will likely expire on March 11.

206-220-4460

________________________________

From: ctpp-news-bounces at chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces at chrispy.net] On Behalf Of Bill Moore
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 10:24 AM
To: 'ctpp-news at chrispy.net'
Subject: RE: [CTPP] CB Federal Register Notice: ACS 5-year data
productsproposal 

The new Administration's policies seem to be directed towards more
openess and transparency with respect to federal information - in many
cases completely reversing the more restrictive policies imposed by the
previous Administration.  Does this pose an opportunity to revive the
questions/arguments made by the CTPP users' community in opposition to
the disclosure rules promulgated after the 2000 Census?

I don't particularly like the notion of more politicization for the
Census Bureau, but I like even less (especially as a small metro area)
being denied access to transportation planning data that accounts for
the uniqueness of individual communities and travel patterns.  Perhaps
if we again raised this issue starting now, we might get some or all of
the less restrictive rules restored before the 2010 Census begins and
certainly before the time that a full Census-based CTPP would become
available.

Do others have any thoughts/opinions about such an approach?

Bill Moore, M.ITE, MPO Administrator

City of Pueblo - Urban Transportation Planning Division

PACOG MPO/TPR

223 N Santa Fe Avenue, Pueblo, CO  81003

Phone:  719-553-2945     FAX:  719-553-2950

E-mail:  bmoore at pueblo.us <mailto:bmoore at pueblo.us>      Web:
www.PACOG.net <http://www.pacog.net/> 

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	-----Original Message-----
	From: ctpp-news-bounces at chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces at chrispy.net]On Behalf Of Murakami, Elaine
	Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 10:38 AM
	To: ctpp-news at chrispy.net
	Subject: [CTPP] CB Federal Register Notice: ACS 5-year data
products proposal 

	Dear Everyone: 

	Today, the Census Bureau issued this Federal Register notice.
The 5-year ACS is the first ACS product for small area geography, e.g.
census tracts and block groups.    I have extracted KEY POINTS that will
GREATLY IMPACT data availability for transportation tables and result in
a lot of DATA SUPPRESSION at the tract and block group level.  As this
FR was just issued today, we have not had a chance to estimate the
amount of suppression that would occur given these proposed conditions.

	We are currently working on profile sheets using the 2005-2007
ACS (3-year data) that was released in December 2008.  We are finding
many tables to be suppressed.   So, even with the population threshold
of 20,000 for the 3-year ACS data, there is considerable suppression on
the current ACS standard table production, at least those tables of key
interest to transportation planners.   

	As most of you know, the first CTPP using ACS is a planned
3-year accumulation from ACS 2006-2008.  The table list will be
re-submitted by AASHTO to the Census Bureau in a few weeks.  

	The next CTPP product is envisioned as a 5-year accumulation
from ACS 2006-2010.  Because of the many rules the CB has established to
protect individual confidentiality not just for the ACS Standard tables,
but also for custom tabulations like the CTPP, we believe that the
5-year CTPP for small area tabulation (e.g. TAZs) will need to rely on
synthetic data generated inside the CB using the ACS microdata records.

	_________________________________________________________

	*Federal Register Notice: The 5-Year ACS Data Products Release
Plan

	Today the U.S Census Bureau published its data release plan for
the ACS 5-year data products in the Federal Register (E9-4803).
Beginning in late 2010, the Census Bureau plans to introduce 5-year data
products covering the January 2005 through December 2009 data collection
period.  The release of the 5-year estimates will achieve the goal of
the ACS to provide small area data similar to the long-form sample data
published after Census 2000.

	The Census Bureau is proposing to modify its current line of
data products to accommodate the 5-year estimates and is requesting
comments from current and potential users of ACS data products to help
guide this modification.

	We invite you to review the 5-Year ACS Data Release Plan and
provide your response to the contact listed in the Federal Register
notice. Please follow this link to the Federal Register notice (PDF
files) posted in the Highlights section on the ACS Main page:

	http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

	Comments are due to the contact listed in the Federal Register
notice by April 20, 2009 

	From the Census Bureau's pdf document: 

	2. Detailed tables with more than 100 cells cannot be released
at the block group level.

	5. For the Selected Population Profiles, there must be at least
50 unweighted sample cases

	over the 5-year period in the universe (specific population
subgroup) in a given

	geographic area for the profile to be released.

	6. For workplace tables, there must be at least 50 unweighted or
300 weighted workers in

	sample over the 5-year period in a given workplace for the table
to be released.

	7. For the residence and workplace tables where means of
transportation (mode) is crossed

	with one or more other variables, there must be at least three
unweighted workers in

	sample for each transportation mode in a given place for the
table to be released.

	Otherwise the data must be collapsed or suppressed and
complementary suppression must

	be applied. There is no threshold on univariate tables.

	Elaine Murakami

	FHWA Office of Planning

	elaine.murakami at dot.gov 

	Note:  please update my contact information. My previous email
address will likely expire on March 11.

	206-220-4460

________________________________

This e-mail transmission (including any attachments) contains
information that is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is
intended for the use of the addressee only. If you received this e-mail
in error, we request that you contact us immediately by telephone or
return e-mail, and that you delete this message from your computer. If
you are not the intended recipient, please be advised that any
dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited.

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