Transcript
ANDREW REAMER: I will argue that from the perspective of the planning profession, the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey are the two most important federal statistical efforts. As most of you know, the long form traditionally received by one in six households has been lifted out of the Decennial Census and transformed, with some modifications, into the continuously collected ACS.
Planners rely on decennial population and housing estimates and long form-type data to make decisions across every realm of public policy—including land use, housing, transportation, economic and workforce development, education, public safety, emergency preparedness, and health care. Planners also recognize that federal funds across hundreds of programs are geographically allocated on the basis of these figures. In addition, we understand that businesses, from the largest to the smallest, use these data to decide whether to open an establishment, if so, where to locate it, and what products and services to sell.
Finally, we all know that local representation in Congress is based upon the numbers produced by the Decennial Census. If you live in Utah, which in 2000 missed getting an extra seat in the House of Representatives by less than 1,000 residents, you know this very well.
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