Several real estate organizations, including the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), have joined forces to urge Congress to fully fund the 2020 Census and the annual American Community Survey (ACS) in its 2016 budget, which lawmakers are currently debating.
Developers, builders, and contractors rely on these government data to gauge, among other things, changes in population demography and mobility, factors that play major roles in planning and construction plans.
Last year, the industry dodged a bullet when Congress failed to approve a measure that would have made participation in ACS voluntary. “This would have reduced the survey’s accuracy and made it more costly by requiring additional effort to ensure a representative sample,” NHMC states on its website. The Council notes, too, that the industry wants Congress to restore three-year data collection methods that got changed last year.
In its 2016 budget, the Obama Administration is requesting $1.5 billion for the Census Bureau in fiscal year 2016, including $663 million for the 2020 Census (a 91% increase over the previous Census budget) and $257 million (plus $15 million) for the ACS, according to the Census Project, a collaboration of state and local governments, advocacy and business groups, and research organizations interested in a fair and accurate census. Obama is asking Congress for an extra $1 billion for hiring and promotion for the decennial count, after plans to automate door-to-door interviewing in the 2010 Census failed to muster Congressional support.
Population data are of critical importance to municipalities, too. The Arizona Republic reported last month that the city of Chandler, Ariz., will pay the Census Bureau more than $4 million to conduct an updated population count for that metro later this year. Chandler is hoping that the new count will show how its population has increased significantly since the 2010 Census, which put Chandler’s population at 236,326 residents. (Arizona allocates state-shared revenue based on a city’s population.)
The Census Project notes that the Bureau is trying to save as much as $5 billion over the census lifecycle by investing early in research, testing, and development of new methods and technologies. For example, later this year the Bureau plans to hold focus groups with people who would be affected by a new classification being considered for Americans of Middle Eastern and North African descent. The 2013 ACS—with a sample size of 3 million addresses nationwide—estimated that there were about 1.5 million Arab Americans in the U.S. in 2006-10. If this test proves successful, the new classification could be included in the 2020 Census, according to the Associated Press.
Related Stories
| Nov 27, 2013
Ohio legislators move to ban use of LEED on public construction
Two Ohio state senators have introduced legislation that seeks to ban the use of LEED in public construction.
| Nov 27, 2013
ASTM issues revised standard on phase I environmental site assessments
ASTM has issued revised standard ASTM E1527-13 that governs phase I environmental site assessments.
| Nov 27, 2013
Vancouver, B.C., bans doorknobs in building code update
The goal of making it easier for people to age in place led to amendments to Vancouver, B.C.’s building code including banning doorknobs in favor of lever handles.
| Nov 22, 2013
Kieran Timberlake, PE International develop BIM tool for green building life cycle assessment
Kieran Timberlake and PE International have developed Tally, an analysis tool to help BIM users keep better score of their projects’ complete environmental footprints.
| Nov 20, 2013
WDMA receives final approval on code amendments
The Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) was granted final approval of several amendments it proposed to the 2015 editions of the International Residential Code (IRC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and International Existing Building Code (IEBC).
| Nov 20, 2013
Safe Jobs Act would provide more protection for New York City construction workers
Legislation that would require safety training for construction workers on public projects in New York City has been introduced to the City Council.
| Nov 20, 2013
Boston officials grapple with impact of new FEMA flood maps
New federal maps for Boston significantly expand the number of homes and businesses in areas considered at high risk of flooding, a change that could force thousands of property owners to purchase expensive insurance and complicate redevelopment along the city’s waterfront.
| Nov 20, 2013
How LEED and Green Globes stack up
An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Green Globes rating system and LEED standards puts LEED ahead, but doesn’t discount the merits of Green Globes.
| Nov 14, 2013
First LEED v4 certified project garnered by Beijing furniture showroom
Haworth’s showroom in Beijing’s Parkview Green building has been recognized as the world’s first certified LEED project under the USGBC’s new LEED version 4 beta program.
| Nov 14, 2013
OSHA proposes requirement for large firms to disclose workplace injuries
A proposal from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would require companies with more than 250 employees to disclose workplace injury and illness reports online.
