Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Century of Census Tracts: Health & the Body Politic (1906–2006)

Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Cite this article

Abstract

In 2006, the U.S. celebrates the 100th birthday of the census tract. These geographic units, born out of concerns for urban well-being, were first proposed in 1906 to provide a “convenient and scientific city map system” for the City of New York. They were employed for the first time in the U.S. census in 1910 in eight cities, via a joint effort involving the U.S. Census Bureau and state and local health departments. Initially termed “sanitary areas” because of their relevance to planning for public health and health services, census tracts are now widely used by all sectors of government and by myriad disciplines in the health, social, and geographic sciences for research as well as policy development, implementation, and evaluation. In this article, I describe the census tract's underappreciated origins, give examples of its current use in analyzing and addressing social disparities in health and health care, and discuss its continued significance and implications for population health and the public data required for informed democratic governance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1

References

  1. Laidlaw W. Federation districts and a suggestion for a convenient and scientific city map system. Federation. 1906;IV:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Watkins RJ, Swift A Jr, Green HW, Eckler AR. Golden Anniversary of Census Tracts, 1956. Washington, DC: American Statistical Association; 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Green HW. The use of census tracts in analyzing the population of a metropolitan community. J Am Stat Assoc. 1933;28:147–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Green HW. Tuberculosis and Economic Strata. Cleveland's Five-City Area, 1928–1931. Cleveland, Ohio: Anti-Tuberculosis League; 1932.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Green HW. The use of census tracts in analyzing the population of a metropolitan community. J Am Stat Assoc. 1933;28:147–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Green HW. Infant Mortality and Economic Status, Cleveland Five-City Area. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Health Council; 1939.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Nathan WB. Health Conditions in North Harlem 1923–1927. New York: National Tuberculosis Association; 1932.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Sheps C, Watkins JH. Mortality in the socio-economic districts of New Haven. Yale J Biol Med. 1947–1948;20:51–80.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Terris M. Relation of economic status to tuberculosis mortality by age and sex. Am J Public Health. 1948;38:1061–1070.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Cohart EM. Socioeconomic distribution of stomach cancer in New Haven. Cancer. 1954;8:455–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Shevky E, Bell W. Social Area Analysis: Theory, Illustrative Application, and Computational Procedures. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 1955.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Coulter EJ, Guralnick L. Analysis of vital statistics by census tract. J Am Stat Assoc. 1959;54:730–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. U.S. Census Bureau. Census Bureau Geography. Available at: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/index.html. Accessed September 19, 2005.

  14. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Qualified Census Tracts and Difficult Development Areas. Available at: http://www.huduser.org/datasets/qct/qct99home.html. Accessed September 19, 2005.

  15. Health Resources and Services Administration. Health Professional Shortage Areas. Available at: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/shortage/. Accessed September 19, 2005.

  16. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Poverty areas. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/statbriefs/povarea.html. Accessed September 19, 2005.

  17. Krieger N, Chen JT, Waterman PD, Rehkopf DH, Subramanian SV. Painting a truer picture of U.S. socioeconomic and racial/ethnic health inequalities: the Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project. Am J Public Health. 2005;95:312–323.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Krieger N. Overcoming the absence of socioeconomic data in medical records: validation and application of a census-based methodology. Am J Public Health. 1992;82:703–710.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Krieger N, Chen JT, Ebel G. Can we monitor socioeconomic inequalities in health? A survey of U.S. Health Departments' data collection and reporting practices. Public Health Rep. 1997;112:481–491.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Rehkopf DH, Haughton L, Chen JT, Waterman PD, Subramanian SV, Krieger N. Monitoring socioeconomic disparities in death: comparing individual-level education and area-based socioeconomic measures. Am J Public Health. [in press].

  21. Subramanian SV, Chen JT, Rehkopf DR, Waterman PD, Krieger N. Comparing individual and area-based socioeconomic measures for the surveillance of health disparities: a multilevel analysis of Massachusetts (U.S.) births, 1988–1992. Am J Epidemiol. [in press].

  22. Krieger N, Chen JT, Waterman PD, Soobader MJ, Subramanian SV, Carson R. Geocoding and monitoring of U.S. socioeconomic inequalities in mortality and cancer incidence: does the choice of area-based measure and geographic level matter?: The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;156:471–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Krieger N, Chen JT, Waterman PD, Soobader MJ, Subramanian SV, Carson R. Choosing area based socioeconomic measures to monitor social inequalities in low birth weight and childhood lead poisoning: The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project (U.S.). J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003;57:186–199.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Krieger N, Waterman PD, Chen JT, Soobader MJ, Subramanian S. Monitoring socioeconomic inequalities in sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and violence: geocoding and choice of area-based socioeconomic measures—The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project (U.S.). Public Health Rep. 2003;118:240–260.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Krieger N, Waterman P, Chen JT, Soobader MJ, Subramanian SV, Carson R. Zip code caveat: bias due to spatiotemporal mismatches between zip codes and U.S. census-defined geographic areas—The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1100–1102.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Ricketts TC. Geographic information systems and public health. Annu Rev Public Health. 2003;24:1–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Singh GK, Miller BA, Hankey BF, Edwards BK. Area Socioeconomic Variations in U.S. Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Stage, Treatment, and Survival, 1975–1999. NCI Cancer Surveillance Monograph Series, Number 4. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute, 2003. NIH Pub. No. 03-5417.

  28. Braveman PA, Egerter SA, Cubbin C, Marchi KS. An approach to studying social disparities in health and health care. Am J Public Health. 2004;94:2139–2148.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Brooks-Gunn J, McCormick MC, Klebanov PK, McCarton C. Health care use of 3-year-old low birth weight premature children: effects of family and neighborhood poverty. J Pediatrics. 1998;132:971–975.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Phillips RL Jr, Kinman EL, Schnitzer PG, Lindbloom EJ, Ewigman B. Using geographic information systems to understand health care access. Arch Family Med. 2000;9:971–978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey. Data release dates. Available at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/DataDiss/RelDates.htm. Accessed September 19, 2005.

  32. O'Campo P. Invited commentary: advancing theory and methods for multilevel models of residential neighborhoods and health. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;157:9–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Subramanian SV, Jones K, Duncan C. Multilevel methods for public health research. In: Kawachi I, Berkman L, eds. Neighborhoods and Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2003:65–111.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Diez-Roux AV. Multilevel analysis in public health research. Annu Rev Public Health. 2000;21:171–192.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Maantay J. Zoning, equity, and public health. Am J Public Health. 2001;91:1033–1041.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Friedman DJ, Hunter EL, Parrish RG. Shaping a Vision of Health Statistics for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services Data Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, and National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, 2002. Available at: http://www.ncvhs.hhs.gov/hsvision/. Accessed September 19, 2005.

Download references

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Pamela D. Waterman for generating the Year 2000 New York City census tract map. Preparation of this manuscript was not supported by any grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Nancy Krieger PhD

Authors
  1. Nancy Krieger PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nancy Krieger PhD.

Additional information

Krieger is with the Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Krieger, N. A Century of Census Tracts: Health & the Body Politic (1906–2006). JURH 83, 355–361 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9040-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9040-y

Keywords

search

Navigation