Estimating downtown populations

Hello Everyone,

I am working on a project to estimate the number of people living in downtown. One of the first goals is for downtown organizations to better understand and serve its residents (e.g., a downtown residents council). We will certainly use Census 2010 count as a base line but given the new developments and undercounts of some vulnerable population, we will have to find other creative ways (e.g. utilities) that will get us closer to those numbers. Does anyone know of strategies, examples or resources of a similar project?

Best,
Gustavo.

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Cliff Cook over 9 years ago

As a city planner my approach would be to start with the 2010 Census as a base. I would adjust the figures based on newly units constructed units found within your geographic area. You presumably can obtain this info from your local planning or building department. (The various states and localities are organized differently in this respect.) Be sure to adjust population from new units based on the distribution of bedroom sizes and include a vacancy rate. I have found here in Cambridge, MA that new apartment community developments appear to have a higher vacancy rate than the overall housing stock. I would further adjust the population based on counts of vulnerable subgroups by contacting shelter and social service providers. It is also possible that your city conducts an annual homeless survey. If you track that down you can get more detailed information.
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Cliff Cook over 9 years ago

As a city planner my approach would be to start with the 2010 Census as a base. I would adjust the figures based on newly units constructed units found within your geographic area. You presumably can obtain this info from your local planning or building department. (The various states and localities are organized differently in this respect.) Be sure to adjust population from new units based on the distribution of bedroom sizes and include a vacancy rate. I have found here in Cambridge, MA that new apartment community developments appear to have a higher vacancy rate than the overall housing stock. I would further adjust the population based on counts of vulnerable subgroups by contacting shelter and social service providers. It is also possible that your city conducts an annual homeless survey. If you track that down you can get more detailed information.
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