GEOG 855
Spatial Data Analytics for Transportation

1.5 Webinar for Next Week

PrintPrint

Speaker

Our next webinar will be with Mr. Michael Ratcliffe. Michael is Assistant Division Chief for Geographic Standards, Criteria, Research, and Quality in the Census Bureau’s Geography Division, where he is responsible for geographic area concepts and criteria, address and geospatial data quality, and research activities. During his tenure at the Census Bureau, he has worked in both the Geography and Population Divisions, on a variety of geographic area programs, including urban and rural areas, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and other statistical geographic areas, and has led staff engaged in product development and dissemination. In addition to his work at the Census Bureau, he is an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where he teaches Population Geography. Prior to that appointment, he was an adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Mr. Ratcliffe holds degrees in geography from the University of Oxford and the University of Maryland.

Geographic Areas Used by the Census Bureau

The Census Bureau defines many different geographic areas which can be used to organize and aggregate data. The areas the Census Bureau uses can be divided into those which are legally defined and those which are not. The Census Bureau refers to non-legally defined areas as statistical areas.

Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities. More information in text description below
Figure 1.1: Standard Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities
Click for a text description of Standard Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities.
Standard Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities

  • Nation

    • Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Related Statistical Areas

    • Urban Areas

    • ZIP Code Tabulation Areas

  • Regions

  • Divisions

  • States

    • School Districts

    • Congressional Districts

    • Consolidated Cities

    • Planning Regions

    • Economic Places

    • Estates

    • Urban Growth Areas

    • State Legislative Districts

    • Public Use Microdata Areas

    • Places

  • Counties

    • Voting Districts

    • Traffic Analysis Zones

    • County Subdivisions

      • Subminor Civil Divisions

  • Census Tracts

  • Block Groups

  • Census Blocks

    • AIANNH Areas (American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian Areas)

    • Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Related Statistical Areas

    • Urban Areas

    • ZIP Code Tabulation Areas

    • School Districts

    • Congressional Districts

    • Consolidated Cities

    • Planning Regions

    • Economic Places

    • Estates

    • Urban Growth Areas

    • State Legislative Districts

    • Public Use Microdata Areas

    • Places

    • Voting Districts

    • Traffic Analysis Zones

    • County Subdivisions

      • Subminor Civil Divisions

Source: United States Census Bureau