Comments on: Planning Commission Weighs In on Parks

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:37:59 +0000

DrData, where may citizens access the population data from the census for our local area, once it is available?

(Sorry to hijack the thread, but inquiring minds want to know.)

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By: DrData

DrData — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:32:47 +0000

Because the American Community Survey (ACS) is the replacement for the census long-form. The ACS has what the census long-form did.

For units of geography that are 65,000+ you get long-form census data every year instead of once a decade. Units of geography that are between 20,000 – 64,999 get a 3-year moving average, updated annually. And finally, small units like census tracts, unpopulous counties, small towns etc. get 5-year data, updated once a year. This was the first year for the 5-year data.

If one is comparing units of geography, they need to all be based on the same period (1-yr, 3-yr, or 5-yr). I’m sure many people will not do so. Likewise, comparisons of change over time for the 3-yr or 5-yr data should be based on non-overlapping times: 2005-2007 vs 2008-2010; not 2005-2007 vs 2006-2008.

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By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:21:51 +0000

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know WHY this year’s Census included only the short form? The depth of data from the long form sample was so useful for many purposes.

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By: DrData

DrData — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:35:29 +0000

Re 2010 Census data:

Some of the characteristics in the table labeled “Statistics from the 2000 Census” will not be available from the 2010 Census. The most recent census is a short-form only census. It gathered information on relation to head, age, sex, Hispanic, race and tenure (ownership of dwelling unit).

The American Community Survey data are available for census tracts as of December 2010. This allows one to describe neighborhoods by median income and disability status. One should not use the ACS data for population counts (of people or dwelling units).

Likewise, some of the margins of error are large so users should be be wary of reporting on individual census tracts. The appendix in the Compass series describes how to combine units of geography. So, one could combine several census tracts and create neighborhood characteristics with smaller margins of error.

We will be receiving the first local data from the 2010 Census with the redistricting data – to be dispersed on a flow basis from Feb 1 to March 31. That will provide population counts but with very minimal other information as the main purpose is for redistricting. The characteristics are Race/Hispanic for the total population and the population 18+.

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By: Joel Batterman

Joel Batterman — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:44:48 +0000

I hope that the commissions will continue work to link our parks together, particularly those along the Huron River. Ann Arbor has lagged many of our peer cities, including Madison and Boulder, in developing a linked system of waterfront parks well connected by trails. It should be much easier to reach Gallup Park by foot or bike from the Broadway Bridges and Bandemer/Argo than it presently is.

There have been some improvements in recent years, like the new trails along Argo Pond, and the concept of a Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail has drawn some attention. To make it a reality, though, we need to make a Huron River greenway system a higher priority, along with the Allen Creek corridor. Such a system would be important for both recreation and transportation purposes.

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By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:22:49 +0000

Re. census data: At this afternoon’s park advisory commission meeting, I asked Amy Kuras why 2010 census data wasn’t used. She said the data they need from the 2010 census isn’t yet available. When it comes, she plans to update the chart in an appendix.

Re. Bader Park: Kuras said the city has no intention of selling it.

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By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:35:33 +0000

Thanks so much for this thorough coverage and for the sectioned pdf files.

Question: I heard some informal complaints from those watching the process that demographic data from the 2000 census was being used and that staff was resisting using the 2010 census information. Was that discussed or is there any more information?

I used to live near Devonshire. That area profits immensely by the nearby Gallup Park and Arboretum, two of our crown jewels. Also, the controversy surrounding Bader Park comes in here. Is the city contemplating the offer from the church that bought the old Bader school to buy the park?

Regarding changes in neighborhoods over time, I assume that each neighborhood has life cycles like my neighborhood’s. When I moved here (Sunset/Brooks area), there were many houses occupied by aging couples or singles whose children were long gone. Now many houses are occupied by young families again and our neighborhood parks appear to be well-used. I’d hate to see decisions made because a neighborhood is at the wrong point of its life cycle.

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By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:33:37 +0000

One additional note re. the PROS plan: The Ann Arbor park advisory commission is holding a public hearing on the plan at its Tuesday, Jan. 18 meeting, which begins at 4 p.m. PAC is also expected to vote at the meeting, recommending approval of the PROS plan. The meeting will be held at the Washtenaw County administration building, 220 N. Main St.

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