Summative Assessment #1:Census Data Analysis Summary

Using the data you gathered while exploring the census, write a 1 – 2 page summary that addresses the following issues.  This summary is a summative assessment and thus reflects your understanding of the issues below and will count towards your grade for the first marking period.  This summary needs to be typed. While writing make sure to use correct sentence structure, and to check for grammar and spelling.

1.        General observations and patterns of Brooklyn based on the 2 – 3 zip code areas you studied (one of which should be your own zip code).

2.       Specific examples and/or citations from the data that support your inferences and patterns you noticed

3.       Questions that were raised for you about the data that you observed.

4.       State which questions were most interesting to you, making sure that these questions fall on the higher levels of Costa’s chart.

5.       How does this information compare to your original perceptions? 

Example Summary:

I looked closely at the zip codes 11215, 11229 and 11226.  The communities that make up these zip codes include Park Slope (11215), Sheepshead Bay (11229) and parts of Prospect Park South, Flatbush and East Flatbush (11226).  Some basic general observations are that these areas are racially segregated.  A high percentage of whites live in 11215 and 11229, while Asians also live in 11229 and 11226 has a predominantly black population. 

One thing of interest to me was that the white populations of 11215 and 11229 were actually quite different.  11215 had a much higher percentage of people earning $200,000 or more a year, while 11229 hovered between less than $30,000 - $75,000 per year.  In addition, there was a much higher percentage of foreign born residents in 11229 than in 11215, where, overall, the percentage of foreign born residents decreased from 2000. There was also a higher percentage of Asians in 11229, who were concentrated into specific areas of the zip code.  This made me wonder:  Where did the population in 11229 come from, and were they from similar regions of the world, which seems like it is basically true in Brooklyn?  What as going on the neighborhood, that there was a close knit group of Asians in only part of it?  Also, I wondered where my perceptions that “white neighborhoods” generally consist of upper-middle-class to wealthy residents comes from? 

I also noticed that within 11215 there were census tracts that were more or less diverse in terms of race, income and education.  Generally, the whitest, wealthiest and highest level of education was next to Prospect Park, while a more diverse group of people lived near Fourth Avenue.  This made me wonder:  Why are these two areas so different?  If I were to walk these areas, might I see a difference in housing quality, or amenities?  Also, I wondered if there was a correlation between the fact that there was an overall decrease in foreign born population in Park Slope with its predominantly white character? I know that Park Slope used to have a much higher Hispanic population.  Is the population staying but they are no longer foreign born, or is this population leaving?

Another point of interest to me was that both the communities of 11215 and 11226 border Prospect Park and yet are very different.  11226 has a predominantly black population.  It also has a very high percentage of foreign born.  I also noticed that while there is an overall density of population across both zip codes, that 11226 had a higher density per census tract.  This made me wonder:  Are families larger in 11226?  Or is housing denser, for example, are there larger apartment buildings vs. single or two-family homes in Park Slope? How does housing get planned and built? Who decides what kind of housing goes where? In 11215, the wealthier residents live by the park, yet in 11226, residents with much-lower income also live by the park.  Is it possible that living by the park is more desirable in 11215 for some reason?

This data confirmed some of my perceptions of Brooklyn while challenging others.  I believed Brooklyn to be a segregated borough, and that was confirmed.  Yet, I also believed that white neighborhoods in Brooklyn were concentrated nearer Manhattan, and I was surprised to find a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn that was primarily White and working class. 11229 was also the most integrated of the neighborhoods I observed with a mix of Asians and Whites.  In my own neighborhood of 11215, I knew to be true that the area was becoming less diverse.  I noticed a decrease in foreign born population, and I imagine that is related to the decrease in diversity but that might not be so.  I would need to do further research to find that out.

My main questions center around the issue of what is it that prompts people to settle where they do?  Clearly, race is a factor, but it is not the only factor.  How does housing type influence where people live?  What is the most important factor in guiding people to settle where they do in Brooklyn, and is it possible to create neighborhoods that are more diverse? What would that take?