Patterns (http://proximityone.com/patterns.htm) is a new a commentary/collaborative feature with focus on learning about and knowing started in January.  Structured in a blog-like manner, new topics are posted several times weekly. February topics include:

Let us know what you think!

MetroDynamics (MD) and Situation & Outlook (S&O) quarterly update scheduled for 2/11/10

See http://proximityone.com/md_s&o_quarterly.htm

In January the ProximityOne Website started using a new commenting and dialog feature. We seek to stimulate interaction between data users/analysts, clients and those who share common interests in geodemographic-economic data access and use and decision-making information.  The commenting/dialog feature has been added to the Web pages:

School/School District DMI -- http://proximityone.com/sddmi.htm

Patterns -- http://proximityone.com/patterns.htm

The County Employment Situation (http://proximityone.com/county_employment.htm ) and State Employment Situation (http://proximityone.com/state_employment.htm) are updated monthly.   The County and State interactive ranking tables are updated separately as they each include data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics program that are released about two weeks apart.

Both the County and State ranking tables feature links to a Google county-state time-series charting tool.  Click on a link in the interactive ranking table and view an unemployment rate  time-series chart.  Easily compare multiple areas with the chart view.

The State Employment Situation section also includes six alternative unemployment measures (not provided at the county level).  The six alternative unemployment measure are updated quarterly.  With recent release of the 2009 annual estimates of the alternative unemployment measure, the present version of the State ranking table includes 2008 and 2009 annual average data.

The County and State employment situation data are also used to updated the County Trends Dataset 2 which is available for extended GIS and model-based analyses.  See details at http://proximityone.com/ctd2details.htm.

The County and State Employment Situation sections have parallel County (http://proximityone.com/countytrends.htm) and State Demographic Trends (http://proximityone.com/statetrends.htm) that feature annual population and components of change data.  Similar to the employment interactive ranking tables, the demographic trends ranking tables feature a link to the Google county-state time-series charting tool.  Click on a link in the interactive ranking table and view a population time-series chart.

While the U.S. lost 4.9 million jobs between 2008Q1 to 2009Q1, many sectors in many counties continue to grow.  Use the interactive ranking table at http://proximityone.com/macroview.htm to examine patterns in counties, regions and states of interest to you.  The interactive ranking table presents data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics quarterly census of employment and wages. Proximity integrates quarter to quarter data into a time-series structure and augments these data with related data to enable situation and outlook analyses for counties, metros and regions.

The MacroView ranking table and datasets, updated with 2009Q2 data in January, are scheduled for update with 2009Q3 data in April.

-- select your county/area of interest and see how it is changing in the most recent quarter compared to a year earlier.

-- by major economic sector.

This section provides an overview of MacroView for use on your computer with the County Trends Datasets.  Using MacroView on your computer enables extended time-series analyses, queries and many other analytical operations not available in the ranking table.  

The main cities/places Web page, http://proximityone.com/places.htm, has been augmented with two new pages (both linked to the main page).

ACS 06-08 Demographics Ranking Table

The new cities/places section, http://proximityone.com/places2.htm, provides access to a broad range of demographic-economic attributes for cities and places with 20,000 population and over (52% of total U.S. population). The interactive ranking table enables ranking of the approximate 2,900 largest U.S. cities on various subject matter items from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2006-08 3-year estimates.  We have also developed a standardized set of demographic profiles (in Excel, CSV, and DBF formats) that may be used for GIS applications and extended analyses.

1990 Census to Census 2000

An earlier version of Web page http://proximityone.com/places1990_2000.htm showed a static table with a more limited set of cities compared to the new version.  The new version now provides an interactive ranking table that includes the 1990 Census population, Census 2000 population, population change and percent change.  Cities with population 5,000 and over as of Census 2000 are included.

The main School District Decision-Making Information Web page (http://proximityone.com/sddmi.htm) has been restructured.  A new U.S. by school district ranking table has been added including characteristics for all school districts for the 2008-09 school year.  Click on the school district name in the ranking table to view the school district boundary integrated with an interactive Google map.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Housing Price Index (HPI) is one of many measures that offers insights into housing prices and markets.  The HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices and estimated quarterly by metro.

We have restructured the quarterly FHFA HPI by metro into a ranking table.  Rank your metros of interest at http://proximityone.com/hpi.htm on any HPI estimate for the most recent

five quarters, quarter-to-quarter change, or change from the most recent quarter to the same quarter one year earlier.

The current ranking table (most recent quarter report 2009q3) shows that the El Centro, CA MSA has the highest decline in HPI over the past year whereas the Wichita Falls, TX MSA has the highest increase in the past year.  The ranking table will be updated in late February.

How will the changing patterns of foreign-born population by region of birth change our society?  Will the diminishing percentage of European foreign-born population result in a loss of that cultural impact?  Over the next 40-50 years, what will be the impact on English language proficiency and use in America?

In 2007, there were 38.1 million foreign born in the United States, representing about 1 in 8 residents.  Most foreign born were White (46%), Asian (23%), or Some Other Race (21%).  Approximately 80 percent of the foreign-born population were born in Latin America or Asia.  These data are based on a Census Bureau report Race and Hispanic Origin of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2007 released in January 2010, describing the race and Hispanic-origin composition of the foreign-born population in the U.S in 2007.

We have developed a ranking table and GIS/mapping application that extend on the national level Census Bureau report.  State level data are provided in a ranking table that enables viewing/analyzing sub-national state-level data for 2000 and the 2006-08 period.  See the interactive ranking table and narrative at http://proximityone.com/state_foreignborn.htm.

In April 2009, Google started an initiative referred to as "adding search power to public data." See this related page.  An interesting aspect to this development is that Google showcased development using two U.S. by county datasets that are also tracked/used by Proximity.  We have taken a step to illustrate how these resources can be linked together without having any formal or computer-based linkages.  Follow the steps in the two examples described below to see how this works.

Annual County Population Patterns

Use the Google population by county charting tool for each state in the Proximity CountyTrends-Population Web (http://proximityone.com/countytrends.htm, annual data).  Items in the county population ranking table differ from items in the state population ranking table.  State population estimates are available for 2009 whereas the latest county population estimates are for 2008.  To view the Google county chart, click the county name link in the ranking table.

Monthly County Employment Patterns

Use the Google employment by county charting tool for each state in the Proximity CountyTrends-Employment Web page (http://proximityone.com/county_employment.htm, monthly data).  Items in the state employment ranking table differ from items in the county employment ranking table.  The state employment ranking table has a focus on alternative unemployment rates; some items are updated on a quarterly basis due to data availability.  To view the Google county chart, click the county name link in the ranking table.

Annual State Population Patterns

Use the Google population by state charting tool for each state in the Proximity StateTrends-Population Web page (http://proximityone.com/statetrends.htm, annual data).  Items in the state population ranking table differ from items in the county population ranking table.  State population estimates are available for 2009 whereas the latest county population estimates are for 2008. To view the Google state chart, click the state name link in the ranking table.

Monthly/Quarterly State Employment Patterns

Use the Google employment by state charting tool for each state in the Proximity StateTrends-Employment Web page</a> (http://proximityone.com/state_employment.htm, monthly data).  Items in the state employment ranking table differ from items in the county employment ranking table.  The state employment ranking table has a focus on alternative unemployment rates; some items are updated on a quarterly basis due to data availability. To view the Google state chart, click the state name link in the ranking table.

The 2010 Integrated Calendar (http://proximityone.com/calendar.htm) is now presented in a tabular format and has been totally restructured in comparison to the 2009 Google-based calendar.  

Last year we developed the no fee DMIGateway Web tool (http://proximityone.com/dmigateway/guide).  DMIGateway enables access to multi-sourced Federal statistical data using a common user-interface to access data directly from each agency server.  In an upcoming topic, DMIGateway enhancements will be reviewed ... DMIGateway does not cover all of the important data resources that are available and a focus has been on data for U.S. regional and sub-state geography.

To address the need for more of a roadmap approach to "when, what and where of Federal statistics," the format and content of the Proximity Calendar have been/are being revised and extended.  The Calendar covers all key multi-sourced Federal statistics and as well as links to Proximity resources where these data have been augmented by form of access, content, geography and/or time frame.  Selected non-Federal statistical data resources are included.  HTML links are included to provide easier access overall.

There are many calendars that chronicle release dates for economic indicators.  Most of these calendars are organized by agency, and often program, and use different formats.

This makes it difficult to learn more about specific data in a broader context.  In the case of the Census Bureau, the nicely done economic indicators calendar is separate from any parallel calendar for demographic data products.

The "graying of America" matters to all of us for many reasons. Some are members of this age group and almost everyone is connected to many people in this age group. The growth of this age group is about to accelerate as baby-boomers start to turn 65.

Examine metros of interest using the interactive ranking table at http://proximityone.com/metro_08_65up.htm. The ranking table includes estimates of the population 65 years and over,  for selected age groups, as of July 2008 for each U.S. core-based statistical area (CBSA).   Data used in this table were developed by aggregating single-year of age estimates developed jointly by the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.  Five-year age cohort estimates were developed for each CBSA for the age groups 0-4 years through 80-84 years and 85 years and over.

February Web Sessions

Join us in any or all of these no-fee, one-hour sessions ...

Using CommunityViewer Sessions (most Tuesdays)

GIS & GeoDemographics -- Selected Topics Sessions (most Thursdays)

Register here: http://proximityone.com/webmeetings.htm

CommunityViewer Updates & Applications

Where are the jobs?  The Census Bureau OnTheMap Version 4 (OTM4 -- http://lehdmap4.did.census.gov/themap4) can help with jobs analysis for large or very small areas ... for metros or more rural cities. OTM4 is a Web-based GIS resource that is at once easy to use, has relevant ready to use geographic and subject matter data, and is oriented toward jobs analysis.  In just a few minutes, OTM4 is used to create a map of Lenexa, KS with 2008 jobs coded to census block:

One of the classic limitations to Web-based GIS tools is the inability to add your own data.  OTM4 has the excellent feature of being able to download shapefiles for use with desktop GIS applications.  The downloaded jobs points shapefile was added to an existing CommunityViewer GIS project file, already having a set of selected layers, and used to generated the following view.  The project/view includes K-12 schools (blue triangle markers).

The identify tool is used to click on one point (see pointer) and display a miniprofile.  The profile shows the census block geocode and number of 2008 jobs.  See the larger view of the above map with more detail.

Join us in a one-hour webinar on February 4 and 25 where we will review the steps involved to perform these tasks and link in other TIGER/Line shapefiles and non-Census-sourced shapefiles.  More information and register at http://proximityone.com/webmeetings.htm.

The Applications Gallery http://proximityone.com/gallery/guide illustrates wide-ranging applications and projects developed using CommunityViewer and related geodemographic-economic resources.   New and updated items include:

Census Day is April 1, 2010, and marks the reference date for Census 2010 data.  The Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) is now integrally linked with Census 2010.  The "Census 2010/ACS" DMINews section provides monthly highlights of current and pending developments regarding these programs.  The focus is on data access and use and to a lesser extent data development and related operations. Proximity will continue to maintain the decennial census focused Web pages Census 2000 and Census 2010.

RankingTables -- http://proximityone.com/rankingtables.htm