USES OF CENSUS DATA IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING: SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CASE STUDY

This case study is an update of a resource paper prepared for the 1994 Conference on Decennial Census Data and Transportation Planning. It focuses on the uses of census data in transportation planning activities in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Attention is paid to the use of decennial census data in various planning analysis activities, including general descriptive analyses, estimation of disaggregate and aggregate travel demand models, market segmentation in travel demand model forecasting systems, and the validation of demographic and travel model simulations. The discussion covers where the census data are critical for the application and where the census data are desirable but perhaps not required for the application. The various census products that are used in the Bay Area--the standard Summary Tape Files, the Public Use Microdata Sample, the Census Transportation Planning Package, and special tabulations--are discussed within the context of the various planning analysis activities occurring in the Bay Area. Recommendations and expectations for Census 2000 are provided.