“Be Counted 2020” Campaign – Census 2020
Hard-to-Count Boundary Mapping
- Client: Cook County Complete Count Census Commission
About this Project
In preparation for the 2020 Census, Urban GIS, Inc. was asked to assist the Cook County Complete Count Census Commission with mapping certain areas that are identified as hard-to-count. This effort supported the “Be Counted 2020” campaign throughout Cook County and the United States. The campaign was launched to inform the public about the importance of the Census and define strategies for reaching hard-to-count communities.
Our objective with this task was to utilize various data sources that, when considered and mapped together, show both a visual and a statistical representation of the target area. One of those sources was the American Community Survey data. Hard-to-count percentages were determined by tracts with 2010 mail return rates of 73% or less, representing the bottom 20% of return rates nationwide.
The efforts of our team were beneficial in several ways. Since Congressional districts and the boundaries of Cook County commissioner districts, as well as city wards are determined by Census figures, targeting hard-to-count areas was critical to a complete count. Our boundary mapping efforts contributed to reaching completion in the areas that were targeted.