[UW-GIS-L] Census Geodatabases

[A. Zald]

Frank Donnelly GIS Grad Staff Assistant in the UW Libraries reports this 
update to the Census Geodatabases posted to WAGDA.

I just finished compiling another 2000 SF1 Census geodatabase - this one 
is a state-wide database that contains boundary files and data for the 
following summary levels for the entire state of Washington: counties, 
census tracts, places (includes incorporated cities and census designated 
places), metropolitan areas, and ZIP code areas. Each of these levels can 
easily be mapped by joining tables to geography based on a common field, 
and the process, structure, and format is essentially the same as that of 
our six Puget Sound county-level geodatabases, with the exception that the 
state geodatabase only includes data for five summary levels (the county 
dbs contain data for all summary levels, but specifically facilitate 
mapping at the tract, block group, and block levels).

Patrons can use the state-level geodatabase to map data for the entire 
state, or they can use it to select subsets of geography for a particular 
area (i.e. counties in eastern Washington, census tracts in Spokane 
County, places within the Richland--Kennewick--Pasco Metropolitan Area, 
etc). The state database is also useful as it contains areas that cross 
county boundaries (like ZIP codes), which makes it more suitable for 
hosting these data sets relative to county-level databases (where 
cross-county data becomes too messy).

All relevant documentation and info on the web has also been updated:

http://wagda.lib.washington.edu/data/type/census/geodb/

Let me know if you have any questions or spot any problems. Next step: on to 
2000 SF3 data!

Frank

-- 
Frank Donnelly
GIS Staff Assistant Suzzallo Map Collection/Government Publications
Graduate Student, Information School
frankpd at u.washington.edu