American Community Survey

House Approves Cuts to Census and American Community Survey—Senate Up Next

The American Planning Association is keeping tabs on a bill making its way through Congress that would cut funding for the U.S. Census Bureau.

June 7, 2015 - APA Policy News

Mobilizing Against Threats to American Community Survey

Rep. Ted Poe (R – Texas) has introduced legislation that would gut the reach of the American Community Survey—one of the most useful sources of information for planning research.

May 28, 2015 - APA Policy News

Mapping the Morning Commute

What time did you leave for work this morning? What time should you have left for work this morning?

February 5, 2015 - FlowingData

A Census for City Streets

Eric Scharnhorst, project manager at Gehl Architects, argues for a wide-scale census instrument detailing city life, not just pedestrian counts and fatalities.

November 14, 2014 - Next City

Latest American Community Survey: Continued Growth for (Some) Cities

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census 2013 American Community Survey (ACS), Americans continue to move into cities en masse over suburbs, but certain cities are attracting larger crowds than others.

October 10, 2014 - USA Today

Millennials and Gen Xers Commuting Less by Car

Following up on earlier reports about the latest commuting data from the U.S. Census 2013 American Community Survey, Joseph Kane and Adie Tomer find different trends in commute choice between age groups.

October 8, 2014 - The Brookings Institution

Two Narratives Derived from New Commute Data

When it comes to making sense of the American Community Survey's data on commute times, it's all about how you frame the data.

October 1, 2014 - The Brookings Institution

American Community Survey: Recovery Hasn't Improved Poverty

According to the freshly released 2013 ACS by the United States Census Bureau, there have been modest, but insignificant, gains toward alleviating poverty within many urban areas.

September 21, 2014 - Next City

facades of victorian style residences in San Francisco

America's Apartment Shortage: 8 Million Units

The 2014 National Realtor's Survey asked consumers for preferences in housing and neighborhood types. Although preferences trended toward the suburban, the number of people who want to live in urban areas is under-supplied by multi-family housing.

April 8, 2014 - Shane Phillips

Commuter Taxes: An Untapped Revenue Source?

For all those cities that double population during the work day, here's a revenue thought to consider. But why restrict it to in-bound commuters? What about residents who commute-out of the city? Is the commuter tax a legitimate revenue source?

March 26, 2014 - Governing

U.S. Census Bureau Launches New Interactive Mapping Tool

Christmas has come early for those who love to dig into Census data and interactive visualizations. The U.S. Census Bureau has launched a new interactive tool that maps eight statistics from the American Community Survey at the neighborhood level.

December 18, 2013 - U.S. Census Bureau

The U.S. City with the Highest Median Rent is....

If you guessed the Big Apple, you'd be wrong. It's the City by the Bay with a median rent of $1,463; New York City had the fifth highest at $1,187. San Jose, Boston, and Washington, D.C. were ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.

November 15, 2013 - The San Francisco Examiner

Alternative Transportation Push Fails to Get Commuters Out of Their Cars

New data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows that the percentage of commuters driving to work alone neared an all-time peak last year. State and national trends are working against progress being made by cities.

November 5, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Census.gov shutdown message

Where to Find Federal Data During the Shutdown

When the federal government shut down last week it took many agency websites along with it, depriving planners around the U.S. of resources they use daily. The blog Data Insights has put together a list of alternative sources for federal data.

October 8, 2013 - Data Insights

Portland Cycling

Will Portland Lose its Status as America's Bike Commuting Champion?

While bike commuting is gaining nationwide, it's actually dropping in Portland which has held the enviable title of tops in bike commuting for large cities since 2005. Minneapolis and Seattle, #2 and #3 respectively, are gaining, warns BikePortland.

September 26, 2013 - BikePortland

New Data Shows Substantial Bump in Bicycle Commuting

Have you noticed more cyclists on the streets around you during your commute to work? New data from the U.S Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) confirms that all those investments in bike infrastructure are paying off.

September 20, 2013 - The League of American Bicyclists

Leaving California

Leaving California - A Wall Street Journal Explanation

WSJ editorial write Allysia Finley opines on the out-migration of working class Californians in search of employment and lower housing costs, contrasting it with in-migration of the same class of Americans during the Depression - also on video.

March 7, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Free Parking 'Drives' Solo Commuting, Study Says

California Watch, a project of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, evaluated the 2009-11 American Community Survey and determined that CA's 'drive-alone' rate to work was 73%. Joanna Lin points the finger at free parking as chief cause.

November 6, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bad Habits Are Hard to Break for US Metro Commuters

Despite significant investment in transit infrastructure, and renewed interest in downtowns and walkable neighborhoods, new data shows that gains in transit commute mode share have been hard to come by in America’s largest cities, says Kaid Benfield.

October 27, 2012 - Switchboard

For DC: Out with the Old, In with the Young

New census data reveals that at the same time Washington D.C. drew a record number of young adults, those over 55 left the city in large numbers. As a result, over the past three years, the city's median age has fallen by a full six months.

October 26, 2012 - The Washington Post

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