"Even though the nation's constitutionally mandated decennial population count is a federal responsibility, municipalities across the country are distributing census literature, organizing speeches on the census and, yes, adorning their garbage trucks with messages about the census.
These efforts reflect a major shift. Just two decades ago, state and local governments' role in the census was small. Today not only are they critical public relations partners, but they are also heavily engaged in updating the massive address file on which the U.S. Census Bureau depends.
Localities have embraced this expanded role for one simple reason: money."
Undercounting in cities across the country has been a big problem for local governments, which have lost out on critical funding that's distributed based on the Census. To avoid undercounting, cities are trying extra hard this time around to notify residents about the Census.
Comments
good that cities have taken
good that cities have taken greater interest in a complete count.
BAD that lots of cities and urban areas refuse to admit how much they have lost. Seen it happen every Census as far back as 1970. Cities deny actuality--population shifts,housing demolished or dilapidated and uninhabitable. Just about every large city on the decline will scream they were cheated. Kill the messenger--the Census Bureau.
I worked on a mass appraisal update for Fulton County, GA (Atlanta area)
in 1969. The contractor, Cole Layer Trumble of Ohio, over estimated the number of housing units in Fulton County by ten's of thousands. Workers in the field were let go early because THERE WERE JUST NOT THAT MANY HOUSING UNITS LEFT!