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
Codes and Standards | Feb 14, 2019
ISO publishes first global BIM standards
Based on British standard and a publicly available standard.
Codes and Standards | Feb 12, 2019
Property technology adoption accelerates in commercial real estate industry
New business models create disintermediation.
Codes and Standards | Feb 11, 2019
Investing in downtowns pays off for cities, regions
Benefits include driving tax revenue, business activity, and smart development.
Codes and Standards | Feb 8, 2019
Oslo, Norway’s downtown goes virtually car-free
Parking spots converted to bike lanes, transit is fast and easy.
Codes and Standards | Feb 7, 2019
New North Carolina energy code has extensive lighting control requirements
Includes automatic shut offs for buildings of all sizes.
Codes and Standards | Feb 6, 2019
Solar carports can help with California’s Title 24 mandates
Can be combined with virtual net-metering software and tax-enabled financing.
Codes and Standards | Feb 5, 2019
Milwaukee board approves rezoning for Western Hemisphere’s tallest mass timber building
Mixed-use tower would rise 21 stories high.
Codes and Standards | Feb 1, 2019
Mass. governor proposes real estate transfer fee hike for climate resiliency projects
Opposed by real estate and trade groups, plan could generate $1 billion in next decade.
Codes and Standards | Jan 31, 2019
New York City will reform construction bid process
Streamlined process intended to improve efficiency, reduce hassle for bidders.
Codes and Standards | Jan 30, 2019
New AGC program aims to diversify construction workforce
More diversity needed to keep pace with demand for workers.