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Focusing on neighborhoods that researchers consider particularly diverse, this paper assesses the ways scholars have characterized neighborhood racial diversity in the United States. Social scientists use a variety of methods to define and measure highly racially diverse places, resulting in a single label being used to capture very different aspects of a census tract’s racial demography. We examine the criteria used to classify neighborhood racial diversity to bring perspective on the logic behind various approaches. We then group the range of schemas into several broad types from which we choose a representative four. These form the basis for a series of empirical comparisons using U.S. Census data to reveal the contexts where the taxonomies produce similar outcomes and those where they do not. The analysis goes on to consider the implications stemming from the choices social scientists make when they opt for one approach over another.

Residential care has increased in number of facilities and has grown in density in urban areas, yet it is disproportionately dispersed in cities and only beginning to meet the current long-term care need of older adults as an alternative to institutional and in-home care. California State Department of Social Services residential care facility data were linked with Los Angeles County census tract data to examine the spatial distribution of facilities through hot spot analysis of small and large clusters of facilities and zero-inflated negative binomial regression of census tract facility counts on older age and race groups, older disabled adults, and older adults in poverty in the area. The results show clusters of large facilities west of downtown Los Angeles and clusters of small facilities in the northern suburbs of the city in the San Fernando Valley. Increases in pre- and early-retired adults and older Hispanics in census tracts are associated with the greatest decreases in facility tract capacity in the area, whereas increases in the oldest old and older disabled adults are associated with the greatest increases. Understanding spatial disparities in residential care can help local agencies and developers plan and partner in more intentional and equitable development of facilities. The greatest opportunity for such development may lie in institutional tools for eldercare facility development such as the eldercare facility ordinance of Los Angeles and development of board and care facilities in residential zones of Los Angeles and other cities.

Sex ratio research often ignores how structural inequalities influence sex ratio effects. Employing decomposition analysis and using standardized U.S. Census tract data from 1970 to 2000, this research investigates how adult sex ratio effects predict the proportion of single parenting women among White, Black, and Hispanic/Latino populations, examining both main and conditional effects of sex ratios on female-headed families. Analyses reveal that main sex ratio effects consistently predict the proportion of single mothers across all racial-ethnic groups, but the conditional effect of gender-distributed labor force participation differentially influences sex ratio effects across race-ethnicities. Specifically, relative labor force participation consistently weakens the sex ratio effects on female headship among Whites. However, the relative female employment alters sex ratio effects among Blacks only when examining the same area over time, and it does not alter sex ratio effects among Hispanic/Latino populations. Findings underscore the importance of understanding family as a sociopolitical phenomenon.

An econometric model is developed and estimated for all brands of coffee sold at the retail level in four supermarkets in Columbus, Ohio. These brands are segmented into 24 categories, and the four stores are classified into two groups, inner-city and suburban, based on 2010 census tract data. Using estimated measures of price-sensitivity, these 24 categories are further segmented into four groups to help guide and clarify the discussion. Estimated results show different purchasing patterns and different levels of price-sensitivity for inner-city and suburban shoppers. Further, these purchasing patterns and levels of price-sensitivity suggest alternative marketing strategies for retailers. Private-label coffee brands are shown to be quite competitive with many national brands, and indeed private-label brands command a market share among inner-city shoppers that is more than double that for the nation (21.95% vs. 9%).

Recent media attention and research have focused on the effect of housing vouchers on crime, with different conclusions. The purpose of this study is to bring further evidence to the voucher–crime debate, using annual data from 2000 to 2009 for Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. We study the relationship between crime counts and housing vouchers with quantile regression models with year and census tract fixed effects. We found that voucher households are associated with increased crime, controlling for past crime levels. Estimates vary, however, with the concentration of vouchers in the neighborhood, with little impact in areas with low concentrations. Estimates also vary with the neighborhood crime level. We extend the literature by examining the effect of different voucher family types, finding no evidence that elderly households or nonelderly households without disabilities and without children are associated with more crime. However, we found a very significant positive association for nonelderly household...

This study examined the possible impact of the Durham Community Land Trustees (DCLT) on home-owner-occupied rates and median rent in Durham since 1990. Establishing causality in community-based interventions is difficult due to the pragmatic barriers. However, by matching the DCLT census tract to other tracts and comparing them to Durham, the DCLT census tract changes were better isolated. This study used the Neighborhood Change Database to explore the neighborhood characteristics of the DCLT and similar neighborhoods and to test for differences in key housing variables. The results enhance knowledge of CLTs and ways they might contribute to community change.

This article examines how neighborhood racial diversity shaped segregation in Chicago from 1980 to 2000, utilizing data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 United States censuses. Three questions framed this research project. First, how racially diverse were Chicago neighborhoods? Second, which neighborhood factors were associated with racial diversity? And third, how has the change in neighborhood racial diversity changed patterns of segregation in Chicago? The Theil entropy score and the Theil H index were used to create racial diversity scores for each census tract and global segregation scores, respectively. Evidence is presented that supports the thesis that racial diversity in census tracts increased, which fostered a decline in overall segregation. However, new patterns of segregation are emerging between the Latino and black populations that are creating new spatial divisions within the city and suburbs.

While there are several studies of the health status of residents near hazardous waste landfills, relatively few have focused on the health of individuals living near municipal landfills. We assessed whether there were increased incidence rates of 18 cancer types and all cancers combined among residents near the Northampton Regional Landfill in western Massachusetts by conducting analyses for the cities of Northampton and Easthampton, as well as each census tract in these cities, between years 1982 and 2004. We also examined incidence rates within a 1-mile radius of the landfill and examined spatial patterns of all cancer cases in Northampton and Easthampton. The majority of cancer types occurred at, near, or below expected rates. No statistically significant association persisted over time. Within 1 mile of the landfill, all cancers combined occurred at rates comparable to the statewide average (SIR = 94, 95% CI: 69, 120) from 1997 to 2004, as did all individual cancer types analyzed. There were...

McClure does a good job of describing the history, scope, magnitude, and significance of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. McClure's investigation is based on identifying the location of LIHTC units placed in service from 2000 through 2004 by census tract. From these data McClure concludes that the state Housing Finance Agencies are not directing LIHTC allocations to areas where either a shortage or small number of affordable units exists. This comment will focus on the three aspects of the affordability criteria and tract-level census data that raise some questions about whether such strong conclusions are justified: (1) Units classified as affordable that may not actually be available to low-income renters, (2) Units classified as affordable that may be physically inadequate, and (3) The limitations of census tracts as units of analysis.

To determine clusters of trauma incidents with high injury severity and resource utilization and to test their association with census demographic information.Using "trauma band" unique identifiers and probabilistic linkage for unmatched cases, we matched injury location information collected from a centralized regional trauma communications center to the state trauma system registry for patients directly transported to two level I trauma centers for the years 2001-2003 in a three-county area. The injury locations were aggregated at the census tract level using a geographic information system (GIS). Moran's I analysis was used to determine clusters of census tracts that had a high incidence of either total trauma injuries, Injury Severity Scores (ISSs)15, or high resource use (in-hospital mortality, admission to the intensive care unit, or major nonorthopedic surgery). These clusters were then tested for association with census tract demographics using logistic regression.Eight thousand seven hundred fifty-one injured persons were directly transported from the tricounty area to a trauma center during the study period. The mean (+/- standard deviation) age was 37 +/- 21 years, 67.4% were male, 18.9% had ISSs15, and 29.8% had a high-resource-use indicator. Moran's I analysis demonstrated a single large cluster of incidents for total injuries, ISS15, and occurrence of a high-resource-use indictor that overlapped except for one small census tract. Logistic regression revealed that the high-risk cluster was associated with a higher prevalence of nonwhite population and vacant housing and a lower prevalence of foreign-born residents and family housing.GIS cluster analysis demonstrated high-risk census tracts for trauma incidents and associated population demographics. Geospatial analyses may assist injury prevention interventions and emergency medical services deployment strategies for trauma.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants in urban environments. Incomplete combustion of petroleum and coal are the primary sources of elevated concentrations of urban PAHs. The purposes of the study were: 1) to determine and compare the concentration of PAHs in soils taken from two major US cities, New Orleans and Detroit; and 2) to examine the main sources of PAHs in urban soils by diagnostic PAH ratios. A total of 107 New Orleans soil samples were taken from 6 census tracts (n = 13–19 per census tract) and compared with 106 Detroit soil samples from 6 census tracts. Sampling sites included house foundations, open spaces, and soil bordering residential and busy streets. The average total PAH (sum of 17 PAH concentrations) of Detroit soils was 7,843 μ g/kg, compared to 5,100 μ g/kg for New Orleans soils. Several diagnostic PAH concentration ratios were calculated for source determination for Detroit and New Orleans, respectively: phenanthrene/anthracene ratios (2.97 and 5...

The traditional definition of concentrated poverty—40 percent of a census tract population living below the federal poverty threshold—is problematic in light of burgeoning working poor populations, increasing inner-suburban poverty, and problems with the federal poverty threshold itself. This article questions the meaning of concentrated poverty as traditionally defined and measured through an analysis of social and built environments in selected Los Angeles area communities that meet the 40 percent threshold. Such neighborhoods face significant challenges, yet do not conform to stereotypes of concentrated poverty areas. Findings indicate the need for measures that recognize the increasingly heterogeneous forms and landscapes of poverty in globalizing urban regions.

With interest in university-college partnerships increasing, this paper presents an example of an effective college-church partnership. A Christian college partnered with 19 urban churches to offer precollege activities for urban youth in grades 7 through 12. As expected, the level of poverty associated with young people's neighborhoods (i.e., census tract) is related to eventual college entry and type of postsecondary institution entered (two-year or four-year). This study demonstrates that a precollege program offered in partnership with urban churches is able to help at-risk young people persist in middle and high school and eventually enter some form of postsecondary education. Moreover, the ethnicity of the urban churches—African-American or predominantly white—is seemingly unrelated to ultimate college entry of a group of predominantly African-American students.

In this pilot study, research was conducted to explore the application of GIS technology to residential mortgage default. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between foreclosure rates and neighborhood characteristics in a metropolitan county in Utah. Neighborhood was defined as a discrete spatial entity that contains households and housing structures with similar characteristics, and is equivalent to a census tract. Regression analysis indicated that characteristics such as proportion of household units with second mortgages and racial composition of census tracts explained 80% of the variance of foreclosure rates among the communities. The geo-mapping analysis of Cache County showed that foreclosure rates were spatially differentiated. Clusters of foreclosures were prominent in the southwestern portion of the county.

Interracial exposure and isolation (p*) indices have been widely used in studies of residential racial segregation. However, a recent pilot study raised serious issues about the use of these indices, because they are based on the mean statistic, which may yield misleading results in the case of skewed distributions, as is often the case with census tract racial compositions. An alternative median exposure index (p*-md) is proposed, and mean and median indices of white-to-African-American and African-American-to-white exposure, as well as white and African-American isolation, are compared for the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The analysis shows that the mean and median measures produce different results, and that most of these differences are maximized in those areas that are most segregated and, especially for African-American-to-white exposure, in areas where the largest number of African Americans live. This creates significant problems in the interpretation and use of mean exposure and isolation indices, and in most cases, the median index yields a result more representative of the residential neighborhood situation of the majority of whites and African Americans. A particular problem with the mean exposure indices currently in common use is their tendency to overstate the degree of neighborhood-level interracial contact in U.S. metropolitan areas, and, in so doing, to understate the impact of racial housing discrimination.

The article utilizes ecological theory as a theoretical framework and extends previous analysis of the workload and minority‐threat hypothesis on lenient policing. Using a sample of 353 police officers from a mid‐western policing agency and 1990 census tract data, we assess the mediating role of police work load and the minority‐threat hypothesis on lenient policing within an Analytic Moment Structure (AMOS) model. Structural equation modeling indicates that crime is significantly mediated or accounted for by police workload in explaining lenient policing. Findings also indicate a significant direct relation between the percentage of black residents and lenient policing and in contrast to previous research, results indicate a negative and significant direct relationship between police workload and lenient policing.

In recent years, there has been continued interest in prospects for the development and sustainability of both mixed-income and racially diverse communities. We examine an important contributor to racial and economic diversity and segregation—the geographic patterns of homebuyers. In particular, we examine the extent to which neighborhoods within the Chicago metropolitan area have obtained significant levels of income and racial diversity in home buying and maintained such diversity over the 1990s. We analyze the racial and income composition of homebuyers by census tract for two periods: 1993 to 1994 and 1999 to 2000. First, by comparing changes in home buying to 1990 to 2000 changes in cross-sectional census data, we find that changes in home-buying patterns are significant contributors to neighborhood racial change. We then find a significant decline in the proportion of whites buying into neighborhoods where nearly all buyers are white. The policy implications of our findings are described an...

This article examines the impact of New York City's Ten‐Year Plan on the sale prices of homes in surrounding neighborhoods. Beginning in the mid‐1980s, New York City invested $5.1 billion in constructing or rehabilitating over 180,000 units of housing in many of the city's most distressed neighborhoods. One of the main purposes was to spur neighborhood revitalization. In this article, we describe the origins of the Ten‐Year Plan, as well as the various programs the city used to implement it, and estimate whether housing built or rehabilitated under the Ten‐Year Plan affected the prices of nearby homes. The prices of homes within 500 feet of Ten‐Year Plan units rose relative to those located beyond 500 feet, but still within the same census tract. These findings are consistent with the proposition that well‐planned project‐based housing programs can generate positive spillover effects and contribute to efforts to revitalize inner‐city neighborhoods.

Poverty among inner-city residents is associated with their marginal status in the labor market. Marginalization in the labor market begins during youth when important educational and employment decisions are made. Analysis of 1990 U.S. Census tract data for San Antonio, Texas identifies the lack of a high school diploma, poverty, non-employment, and non-enrollment in school as conditions of marginality for youth. Spatial patterns of youth labor market marginalization show concentrations in the inner city and in sectors on the West, South, and Eastside. Regression analysis reveals that levels of youth marginalization are associated with neighborhood context represented by the employment, behavioral, and ethnic characteristics of the overall residential population of a census tract.

A growing body of research documents various prominent and important geographic dimensions to pediatric lead poisoning. This paper uses the Onondaga County Health Department database for 1992–1995 and the 1990 Census of Population and Housing data to analyze the spatial distribution of blood-lead levels in Syracuse, New York. Analyses are conducted at the individual, census block, census block group, and census tract resolutions. Regardless of geographic resolution, pediatric blood-lead levels contain positive spatial autocorrelation, with two conspicuous swaths being visible on maps. In apparent support of some previous research, average housing value is found to be a principal predictor of blood-lead levels; so is population density. The primary conclusion of the paper is that intervention strategies should focus on the old and poor neighborhoods of the city and ones housing minority groups, and should address issues of housing quality and maintenance practices, as well as soil contamination.

This paper reports on a study of the variation in the rate of DWI in small communities as represented by census tracts. The study examined the communities where the DWI offenders reside, not where they were arrested. The concept is that DWI prevention can be targeted at communities with high rates of DWI. The home address of every person who was convicted of a drinking and driving offense from 1990-1994 and resided in Erie County was geocoded (n=15,551). This provided a geographic reference that allowed all of the offenders to be aggregated into the appropriate census tract. The results showed that on-premise alcohol outlets were significantly related to the DWI rate. In addition, higher proportions of males, nonskilled occupations, and whites were related significantly to higher DWI rates. The findings strongly indicate that there is a spatial pattern of DWI offenders in communities. The specific characteristics of these high DWI communities can be used to more effectively target places and populations for DWI prevention programs.

This study investigated the relationship between race, gender, and 7 leisure benefits that are based on a Benefits Approach to Leisure (BAL) framework. A random sample of 47 blocks from a southern metropolitan census tract composed of racially integrated middle‐class neighborhoods yielded 99 African American and 107 European American households who rated statements representing 7 leisure benefits on a Likert‐type scale. Using 2‐tailed t tests, with an F (folded) statistic to test for equality of the 2 variances, significant differences (p < .05) between middle‐class African Americans and middle‐class European Americans were found on 4 of 7 leisure benefit scales (57%): relaxation, diversion, self‐expression, and social interaction. When gender was considered, African American and European American middle‐class men differed significantly (p < .05) on relaxation and self‐expression scales, whereas middle‐class women differed significantly (p < .05) on social interaction and self‐esteem scales. The 7 leisure...

We address the following question: What is the pattern of human exposure to ozone in Harris County (Houston) since 1980? While there has been considerable research on characterizing ozone measured at fixed monitoring stations, little is known about ozone away from the monitoring stations, and whether areas of higher ozone correspond to areas of high population density. To address this question, we build a spatial-temporal model for hourly ozone levels that predicts ozone at any location in Harris County at any time between 1980 and 1993. Along with building the model, we develop a fast model-fitting method that can cope with the massive amounts of available data and takes into account the substantial number of missing observations. Having built the model, we combine it with census tract information, focusing on young children. We conclude that the highest ozone levels occur at locations with relatively small populations of young children. Using various measures of exposure, we estimate that expos...

Mortgage activity has commonly been measured with two variables: the volume of loans and the success rate of applications. I argue that these measurements represent distinct portions of the overall mortgage market and correspond to different social, racial, and economic attributes. Using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for 1991 and 1992 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, I compare a variable measuring the percentage of loan applications denied with a variable measuring the number of loans per 1,000 housing units. I find that these two variables display disparate spatial patterns, that they are associated with different census tract characteristics, and that they correspond to separate dimensions of social geography. These differences suggest that the evaluation of bank performance in meeting fair housing objectives depends on how this performance is measured. Both measurements are useful, but care must be taken in their application.

This study investigates hypotheses regarding the association of census tract variables with the risk for homelessness. We used prior address information reported by families entering emergency shelters in two large U.S. cities to characterize the nature ofthat distribution. Three dense clusters of homeless origins were found in Philadelphia and three in New York City, accounting for 67 percent and 61 percent of shelter admissions and revealing that homeless families’ prior addresses are more highly concentrated than the poverty distribution in both cities. The rate of shelter admission is strongly and positively related to the concentration of poor, African‐American, and female‐headed households with young children in a neighborhood. It is also correlated with fewer youth, elderly, and immigrants. Such areas have higher rates of unemployment and labor force nonpartici‐pation, more housing crowding, more abandonment, higher rates of vacancy, and higher rent‐to‐income ratios than other areas.

This paper reports on preliminary efforts to study at the census tract level the reciprocal relationships between AIDS and street crime, particularly prostitution and drug offenses and the prevalence of AIDS. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health provided the number of reported AIDS cases by census tract. The data on reported crimes and arrests, organized by reporting districts, came primarily from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles City Police Department. Although this strategy needs replication and extension, the present findings suggest that sexual orientation, drug use and prostitution are useful risk variables at the census track level.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the degree to which three ecological models can predict the direction of neighborhood change. Three models —the life cycle, arbitrage, and composition—are commonly found in the literature on neighborhood change, but each focuses on a different aspect of this process. To date, researchers have evaluated these models individually, but few have compared their predictive ability. Using census tract data from Cleveland, Ohio, this study conducts a regression analysis to evaluate the efficiency of each model. The lifecycle model had the greatest predictive value, but none of the models performed well. The state of Cleveland's industrial-based economy combined with the diminished federal role in urban development were identified as contributing factors to a declining inner-city environment. The condition of Cleveland's housing market was reflected in the models.

Based on aggregate data, during the 1970s racial segregation decreased in most U.S. SMSAs. Using census tract data, this study employs the Index of Dissimilarity, noting the limitations of the methods and the variations in different parts of the country, particularly the South. Although reduced segregation levels in younger SMSAs may reflect recent social trends, it is not clear from these findings that greater interracial contact and social assimilation have resulted from these trends.

The argument is advanced that rental affordability problems are the key symptom of the rental housing crisis. These problems may be measured by the rent-to-income ratio as reported by the 1980 census for five different income groups. Of special significance is that these data are available in a standardized form for every county, city and census tract in the nation. To demonstrate the use of these data, a rent burden indicator is constructed from these data and then applied to all counties in Texas with at least 100,000 population. One county, Travis, stands out with a particularly high incidence of rent burden, and this incidence is only slightly reduced when the rent burden indicator is adjusted to a standardized income distribution. This provides clear evidence of an unusually severe rental housing crisis.

The paper presents a methodology for describing spatial variations in recreation participation and a means of explaining the extent to which these variations are a function of demographic and residential structure. For exemplary purposes, “locational quotients”—indices reflecting the extent to which each of a set of areas departs from some regional average—are calculated for each of the 1981 Census Tracts (N = 65) for the membership categories of the Central YM-YWCA in London, Ontario. These quotients are mapped illustrating both the spatial variations in membership and the degree to which each category is concentrated in certain areas of the City. In order to demonstrate the contribution of demographic and residential structure to the spatial variations, a demand model is constructed for each membership category employing the quotients as the dependent variable and relevant census tract descriptors drawn largely from the Census data as independent variables. The discussion focuses on the importa...

A Block Income Estimating Procedure (BIEP) in presented for estimating the average income of the households of a Census block, using block housing information and Census tract distributions relating to housing and household income. Such block income estimates are very useful when dealing with household data sets which do not include income but where the household's address is known. In addition, BIEP can be used to estimate the average income of geographic areas that do not coincide with Census tracts or postal zip code areas, the smallest spatial units for which official data are available. BIEP's efficacy is tested using a special Census tabulation for Philadelphia school feeder areas, and it is compared with its closest rival, a tracts-average procedure. BIEP is found to work well relative to the other procedure.

Suburban growth is a complex process attributable partly to decentralization and partly to deconcentration. Data on source of migrants and population density are used to operationalize these concepts in an empirical study of the Cleveland, Ohio SMSA for the period 1950 to 1970. Statistical analysis of census tract data for the suburban ring reveals a piling up of densities at the inner edge and suggests a complex pattern with respect to sources of the migrants contributing to suburban growth.

The purpose of this paper is to evalute the degree to which three ecological models can predict the direction of neighborhood change. Three models — life-cycle, arbitrage, and composition — are found commonly in the literature on neighborhood change, but each focuses on a different aspect of this process. To date, researchers have evaluated the models individually, but few have compared them. This study uses regression analysis to evaluate the three models using census tract data from Cincinnati, Ohio. The life-cycle model was clearly the most parsimonious model for both upward and downward succession tracts. The arbitrage model had predictive value for upward succession tracts but not downward ones. The composition model was found to have little predictive value. The contributions of each model to the neighborhood change process is discussed.

The age distributions of the black and white populations vary, as do the ways in which blacks and whites of differing ages are distributed geographically in metropolitan areas. The nature of these differences is such that, in racially mixed neighborhoods, black families with children are often mixed with childless or elderly white adults. For this reason, it is hypothesized that the school-age (5 to 17 years of age) population is more residentially segregated by race than is the total population. To test this hypothesis, segregation indices based on census tract data were computed for the St. Louis SMSA for 1980, for the total population and the school-age population. This analysis confirmed that the school-age population was somewhat more segregated than the total population. The implications of this finding for the problem of school segregation are discussed, as is the interrelationship between housing segregation and school segregation.

Differences among census tracts in academic performance are estimated and related by path analysis to social class, race, and school characteristics in the only American state without local autonomous school districts. Contrary to the Coleman Report, school has a significant effect and race does not, but social class is the major cause of census tract difference in academic performance. Without appropriate data on family resemblance, a genetic component in class structure cannot be delineated.

This report presents the results of a questionnaire survey of official health agencies on the current uses of census tract data with special reference to studies of health as related to socioeconomic status. Interesting studies are now being conducted, but for health program purposes a need is seen for a further extension of use of census tract data. Comparison of mortality, for example, of the population in areas of equal socioeconomic status in the various cities across the country offers new possibilities in the evaluation of the effects of such as air pollution and climate on mortality.

This exercise has been used successfully by more than a thousand students is an introductory college course, and it probably could be equally successful with high school students. Census tract data are used in a simulated research project. Quality of housing in the dependent variable (whose distribution we wish to “explain”), with owner-occupancy and age of housing as independent (or “explanatory”) variables. The distribution of the three variables is compared visually (by maps) and statistically (by scattergrams). A regression line is placed on the better scattergram, and residual values are mapped to provide a basis for the formulation of better working hypotheses.

Three demographic dimensions previously isolated by cluster analysis procedures (using BC TRY System computer analyses) were compared in different metropolitan areas for their stability over time and place. Also, the social areas discovered within the communities were studied for their stability over time and place. The three demographic dimensions (socio-economic independence, family life, and assimilation) accounted for the generality of 33 census tract (1940) characteristics in two communities. It was also shown that the three basic dimensions were essentially unchanged during the decade which included World War 11. The stability of these dimensions was retained even though there was considerable change in residents in each metropolitan area during the decade. The validity of cluster-search procedures is demonstrated by the stability of the three demographic dimensions.

Tabulations by city blocks make possible many uses of small area data beyond those which can be made from census tract tabulations. Block data can be economically analyzed and summarized by the use of summary punched cards. Some uses of block data are illustrated from the St. Louis experience. Suggestions are presented for new census data needed by blocks. The publication of a local block map and street directory facilitates the compilation of new data to supplement those obtained from the decennial census. Despite the many uses and advantages of block data, they do not replace census tract tabulations which meet a somewhat different need.

(1934). Certain Effects of Grouping upon the Size of the Correlation Coefficient in Census Tract Material. Journal of the American Statistical Association: Vol. 29, Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, pp. 169-170.