Environmental Design Library @ UC Berkeley

Statistics & Data for City Planning: United States

Statistics & Data for City Planning: United States is a bibliographic research guide to UC Berkeley library and Web resources for socioeconomic and demographic data and statistics relevant to city planning. The guide has a U.S. focus with a California emphasis; for international statistical sources see Statistics & Data for City Planning: International. For additional assistance, please consult the Environmental Design Library reference staff, 210 Wurster Hall.

UC Berkeley faculty, registered students, and staff who are off campus may use items marked UCB Only or UC Only through The Library's proxy service.

Content reviewed:August 2010. Compiled by Deborah Sommer; maintained by David Eifler.

Gateways

• American Factfinder (U.S. Census Bureau) Great starting place. Data sources include the decennial and economic censuses, the population estimates program, and the American Community Survey. Users can create tables, reports, or maps with information on their community. Some data are available at the census tract, block, or zip code levels.
http://factfinder.census.gov
• Data.gov - UC Only Includes raw and geodata catalogs, and searchable list of links to a wide range of data databases generated by the U.S. Executive Branch.
http://www.data.gov/
• DataPlace Easy-to-use source of U.S. housing and demographic data from the census tract to the national level. Currently contains data from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, as well as home mortgage, Section 8, and housing needs data. Create your own maps. Includes nice directory of other online data sources.
http://www.dataplace.org/
• Federal government statistics (UC Berkeley, Library) Links to major online statistical databases. Includes descriptions of coverage.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/govinfo/federal/gov_usstat.html
• Index to current urban documents - UCB Only This collection of American and some Canadian local government publications is an additional source of local statistics and local runs of census data. Selected microfiche copies of California reports from this collection are available in the Environmental Design Library (Microfiche 10010). The collection from 1983 to present is available at the Institute of Governmental Studies Library.
Online: 1995-- ; http://uclibs.org/PID/7547
Print ed.: 1972-- ; EnvDesign JS13 A12M85 Index
• Lexis-Nexis Statistical Insight - UCB Only Indexes wide array of statistical publications issued by governmental and other groups. Abstracts provided for all documents. Many documents available online; others as microfiche in Doe Reference or the Business Library.
• RAND California (RAND) Includes many interesting features, including an extensive database on California cities and counties, including foreclosure data, crime rates, housing prices, and an index of research publications. Like American Factfinder the user can custom-design tables of statistics.
http://ca.rand.org/
• Social Science Data Search - Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) targets 800+ academic, government agency, non-profit, and other websites that provide high quality, downloadable statistical information and data sets. Emphasis is on data pertaining to the social sciences, health, developing countries, energy, natural resources, and the environment. Developed by the Library Data Lab.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/wikis/datalab/Main/GoogleSearch
• State of the cities data systems (HUD User) For individual metropolitan areas, central cities, and suburbs, includes business, crime, employment, public finance data, as well as demographic and economic data from the 1970-2000 U.S. censuses.
http://socds.huduser.org/index.html
• Statistical resources on the Web (Univ. of Michigan, Documents Center) Extensive. Good starting point.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html
• Statistics and Numeric Data – a listing of data various databases provided by the UC Berkeley Library; many available to UCB patrons only.

Using Statistics

• The Chicago guide to writing about numbers, by Jane E. Miller. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2004. Online table of contents.
EnvDesign, Doe/Reference, Bus & Econ, Engin T11 M485 2004
• How to think about statistics, by John L. Phillips. 6th ed. NY: W.H. Freeman and Co., 2000.
EnvDesign, Main HA29 P517 2000
• Interpreting quantitative data, by David Byrne. London: Sage, 2002.
EnvDesign, Bus & Econ HA35 B97 2002
• North American industry classification system: United States, 2007, by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget. Lanham, MD: Bernan; Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service, 2007. NAICS is used jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, replacing the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Code Manual of 1987 effective 1/1/97. Note that the 1997 ed. (Busi/Econ HF1042 N34 1997) contains a table of correspondence between SIC and NAICS codes.
EnvDesign HF1042 N678 2007 Reference Desk
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?chart=2007
• Qualitative interviewing: the art of hearing data, Herbert J. Rubin, Irene S. Rubin. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, 2005.
Anth, Bus & Econ, EnvDesign H62 R737 2005
• Quantitative research methods for professionals, W. Paul Vogt. Boston, MA : Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2007.
EnvDesign HA29 V58 2007
• The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods, Leonard Bickman, Debra J. Rog, eds. Los Angeles : SAGE, c2009.
EnvDesign, Main, Optometry H62 H24534 2009
• Stat-spotting: a field guide to identifying dubious data, by Joel Best. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2008.
EnvDesign HM535 B477 2008
• Statistics: a tool for social research, by Joseph F. Healey. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publ., 2005.
EnvDesign HA29 H39 2005
• The Uses and misuses of data and models: the mathematization of the human sciences, by W. James Bradley, Kurt C. Schaefer. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998.
EnvDesign, Main H61.25 B69 1998
• The Visual display of quantitative information, by Edward R. Tufte. 2nd ed. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 2001.
Anth, Doe, Bios, Engin QA276.3 T83 2001 (on order for EnvDesign)

Numeric & Spatial Data Sources

• Cal-Atlas Geospatial Clearinghouse Cal-Atlas facilitates the coordinated and sustainable development, maintenance, licensing and sharing of geospatial data and web map services by California government agencies, partners and stakeholders.
http://www.atlas.ca.gov/
• Econometrics Laboratory data sources (UC Berkeley, Econometrics Laboratory) - UCB Only A comprehensive listing of statistical and other data resources for economic analysis available via the web to UC Berkeley faculty and students. Includes links to U.S. Census sources, other federal statistics sources, international and foreign official sources, as well as a variety of social science and business data sources, and some locally developed datasets.
http://elsa.berkeley.edu/eml/emldata.shtml
• GIS in the Earth Sciences & Map Library (UC Berkeley) Selective list of GIS databases available in the library, as well as links to websites with downloadable GIS data.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/gis.html
• Integrated public use microdata series (IPUMS) (Univ. of Minnesota, Minnesota Population Center) Consists of 38 samples of the American population drawn from every surviving census from 1850-2000 and from the American Community Surveys of 2000-2004.
http://usa.ipums.org/usa/
• ICPSR direct (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) (Univ. of Michigan, Institute for Social Research) - UC Only Supplies data files for use with statistical software, such as SAS, SPSS, and Stata. The ICPSR data sets are cataloged in the Library catalogs.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/
• Social science & government data library (UC Berkeley) Provides Internet and ftp access to important data resources including selective U.S. census data (1970, 1990, 2000).
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/GovData/info/
• UC Data: data archive & technical assistance (UC Berkeley, Survey Research Center) UC Berkeley's principal archive of computerized social science and health sciences data.
http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/

Statistical Abstracts

Statistical abstracts gather statistical tables from a variety of sources and (re)publish them together. The best statistical abstracts, such as those listed here, include the original source of each table. Note that the Doe Reference Center has statistical abstracts from many state governments.

• 2007 City and County Data Book Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Provides socioeconomic data for individual American cities and counties.
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/ccdb07.html
Print ed.: 1947-- ; EnvDesign HA203 A33 latest Reference Desk
• California statistical abstract (Calif. Dept. of Finance) A cooperative effort by public and private agencies to compile annual data on social, economic and physical aspects of the state. Last print edition in 2004. Now published online.
Online (2000-2008) http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/FS_DATA/STAT-ABS/Statistical_Abstract.php
Print ed. last published 2004: EnvDesign HA261
• Statistical abstract of the United States (U.S. Census Bureau) Standard compilation of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the U.S. Convenient for facts and figures, and as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. Covers U.S., regions, and states. Annual.
Online: 1878-- http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html
Print ed.: 1950-- ; EnvDesign HA203 A3 latest Reference Desk

U.S. Census Guides & Statistics

See also California Statistics in this guide, and the American Factfinder.

• Unlocking the census with GIS, by Alan Peters and Heather MacDonald. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press, 2004. Focuses on the research needs of "urban analysts," among them city planners, community development organizations, economic development specialists, and transportation planners. Online table of contents.
EnvDesign & Main HA37 U55 P48 2004
• 2000 Census: Introduction to Census 2000 data, (U.S. Bureau of the Census)
http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/products.html
• 1990 Census: A Guide to state and local census geography. 1990 Census. U.S. Bureau of the Census and Association of Public Data Users, 1993.
EnvDesign HA201 1990 A355 1993 Reference
• Understanding the census: a guide for marketers, planners, grant writers, and other data users, by Michael R. Lavin. [Phoenix, AZ]: Oryx Press [distributor, library ed.], 1996. Well-organized, easy to read.
EnvDesign HA201 1990ar Noncirculating
• 1980 Census: Users' guide, 1980 census of population and housing. Part A: Text, Part B: Glossary. U.S. Bureau of the Census, [1982].
EnvDesign HA201 1980b Reference

• U.S. Bureau of the Census Includes population, housing, and economic data. FTP site.
http://www.census.gov/
• Zip code business patterns [computer file]. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census. 1994-2001--.
Doe Reference HC110 D5 Z57 compu/d Noncirculating. Ask at Doe Reference Desk for accessibility

• 1990 Census (U.S. Census Bureau) Interactive 1990 U.S. census data site.
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen1990.html
• Catalog of United States census publications, 1790-1945. [1968].
EnvDesign HA29 A12 U6 1968 Reference and circulating
• Historical statistics of the United States - UC Only By Susan B. Carter ... [et al.] Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006-
http://uclibs.org/PID/108043
• United States historical census data browser (Univ. of Virginia Library & the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) "The data presented here describe the people and the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1960. [This site] is not intended as a tool for downloading data for further research or more involved manipulation. Those who require the original data should contact their ICPSR OR or ICPSR itself."
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/

• American Factfinder (U.S. Census Bureau) Users can view or create maps with information on their community. Some data are available at the census tract, block, or zip code levels.
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html
• Maps and more: your guide to Census Bureau geography. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Good overview of the 1990 census geography; includes information about the TIGER files.
EnvDesign fHA37 U55 M36 1994 Reference
• State/county subdivision outline maps U.S. Census Bureau - state-based map series produced to accompany the data contained in the 2000 Census of Population and Housing publications.
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/cousub2k_maps.htm
• Thomas Bros. maps Excellent street maps in book form, with census tract overlays. Volumes for Bay Area counties are available at the Environmental Design Library Reference Desk. Other volumes are available in the Earth Sciences/Map Library.

California Statistics

Listed here are selected statistical sources, in addition to the U.S. Census Bureau, for California regions, counties, cities, etc. Note that city/county/regional general plans can be great sources for local statistics. Check local government and regional governmental agency websites for data; see California Planning for a list of useful websites. See also the Institute of Governmental Studies Library list of California government and public policy statistics sources. The following list is organized into sources for the state as a whole and by regions within the state.

• California demographics (Calif. Dept. of Finance, Demographic Research Unit) Includes California demographic data, selected full-text reports and papers, catalog of publications, etc.
http://www.dof.ca.gov/research/demographic/
• Economic Statistics and Forecasts (UC Berkeley, Library) Research guide on sources for finding economic information and data in California and globally.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BUSI/bbg3.html
• Census 2000 for California: a friendly guide, by Elias S. Lopez. Sacramento, CA: California State Library, California Research Bureau, [2002].
Online: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/07/02-007.pdf
Print ed.: Doe Reference HA265 L67 2002 Govt/Stat

• Bay Area census (Metropolitan Transportation Commission & the Association of Bay Area Governments) Very useful and well-designed site. Aggregates census data from 1860-2000 and 2002-2008 American Community Survey data. Includes maps.
http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/
• Census 2000. San Francisco Bay Area demographic profiles: data summary #2, Planning Section, Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Oakland, CA: Planning Section, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 2001.
Online access: ftp://ftp.abag.ca.gov/pub/mtc/census2000/DataSummary/
Print ed.: EnvDesign HA267 S381 S23 2001 Reference Desk
• East Bay profile (Economic Development Alliance for Business) Provides economic, demographic, and quality of life information. Also includes a description of the region and information on 15 cities in the East Bay (SF Bay Area).
http://www.edab.org/
• Index of Silicon Valley (Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network) The JVSVN is a non-profit regional collaborative. The annual Index provides a set of indicators tracking the Silicon Valley's economy and quality of life.
Online (2010) http://www.jointventure.org/images/stories/pdf/2010%20Index-final.pdf
Print ed. (2000--2005): EnvDesign F868 S25 J75 Reference
• Projections...: forecasts for the San Francisco Bay Area to the year..., population, households, income, employment. Association of Bay Area Governments. Oakland: ABAG. Provides a wealth of demographic data and projections for the 9-county region, each county and city.
http://www.abag.ca.gov/
Print ed.: EnvDesign HD5726 S4 P72 latest Reference Desk; Reference
• SANDAG – San Diego Association of Governments has demographic and other data under the “resources” section of their website.
http://www.sandag.org
• Silicon Valley projections: transportation, housing, education, environment. Prepared by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Online: 2004-- http://svlg.org/press/library/
Print ed.: 1999-- ; IGS HD5725 C2 S57 Noncirculating
• Southern California Association of Goverments SCAG is the nation's largest metropolitan planning organization, representing six counties, 189 cities and more than 19 million residents.
http://www.scag.ca.gov/cgi/data_gis/
• A Statistical tour of California's great Central Valley, by Kenneth W. Umbach, California Research Bureau, California State Library, 1997.
http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/09/index.html
Print ed.: EnvDesign F868 C45 U46 1998 Reference & circulating

Campus Resources

Here are a few campus locations that have significant collections of statistics, or numeric or spatial data.

• Business Library - Student Services Wing, Haas School of Business http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BUSI/
• Doe Reference Center - 2nd Floor, Doe Library
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/reference.html
• Earth Sciences & Map Library - 50 McCone Hall
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/
• Econmetrics Laboratory - 549 Evans Hall
  http://emlab.berkeley.edu/eml/index.shtml
• Environmental Design Library - 210 Wurster Hall http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/
• Institute of Governmental Studies Library - 109 Moses Hall
  http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/
• Library Data Lab - 189 Doe Annex
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/wikis/datalab/
• UC Data - 2538 Channing Way
  http://ucdata.berkeley.edu

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