Appendix II: Demographics
The charts and tables found within this appendix distill a comprehensive analysis of demographic information performed for the Harlem River Study Area during Phase I of the project. Demographic information can help drive a preservation plan by introducing into the planning process the population characteristics and specific needs of the constituents for whom the plan is created. An awareness of pockets of lower income or higher unemployment, for example, can help us understand which neighborhoods might not have preservation at a level of high priority. Demographic trends can also assist in determining what services or other community needs might be most useful to a community. Of course, analyzing the numbers is only one level of what should be a greater participatory endeavor. The following demographic information was derived using data from the United States Census 2000. The data was analyzed for different levels of comparison, varying in size from greater New York City, to the scope of our Study Area, down to the level of each of the three sections of Northern, Central and Southern. A map of U.S. census tracts along the Harlem River was used to determine which tracts would be included in the demographic analysis. The U.S. census tracts are predetermined boundaries containing population segments with relatively uniform characteristics, both economic and social. For this study, data for the following U.S. census tracts were examined:
The major limitation of the following data is that, in a few cases, the boundaries as set by the Harlem River Studio, do no necessarily match those of the U.S. Census Bureau. Due to the fact that census tracts cannot be easily subdivided for demographic analysis, census tract 309, although partially located within the Central Section, was analyzed in its entirety within the Northern Section. This introduces the population of the Marble Hill Houses into the demographic analysis of the Northern area, and should be taken into account when examining the data. Similarly, census tract 53.01, although counted towards part of the central Section, is partially geographically located within the Southern Section. The population within this census tract, however, is very small, and the effect on the overall analysis is therefore negligible. The first thing to note is that the overall population of the study area, 108,623 people, represents only 1.3% of the total population of New York City. Median age ranges throughout the Study Area as well, from a median of 38.7 years in the Central Region, to 35.4 years in the Southern and 32.2 years within the Northern Sections. The median age for the study area overall is 33.3 years. Within the study area, the Northern Section is the most populated (46,492) as compared to the Central and Southern Sections (15,561 and 20,714 respectively). It stands to follow, therefore, that the greatest number of residential housing units for the Study Area can also be found within the Northern Section (17,482 units). Greater than 90 percent of the population within the study area rents the place in which they live, rather than own. This is significantly higher than New York City, in which only 70% of housing units are renter occupied. Household size is predominantly 2-person or greater households throughout the Study Area, although the Southern Section has the greatest percentage of single-family households (44%) as compared to the Central and Northern Sections (28% and 29% respectively). Within each of the sections within the Study Area, the population self-identifies most commonly as White, African American, or Other Race/Two or More Races. Within the Southern Section, the 82% of the population self-identifies as African American, as compared to 14% within the Northern Section. Here, 54% of the population self-identifies as some other race. This could be related to the category of ethnicity, in which 69% of the population within the Northern Section self-identifies as Hispanic or Latino, as compared to 40% within the Central Section, and 17% within the Southern Section. Furthermore, in 2000, 88% of the population of the Southern Section was recorded as foreign born, a significantly greater number as compared to the Central and Northern Sections (22% and 49% respectively). Unemployment is highest in the Central Sections of the study area (23%) as compared to the Northern and Southern Sections (12% and 17%, respectively). In all three areas, unemployment is greater than for greater New York City (9.6%). It stands to reason, therefore, that median income levels would also be significantly lower within the Study Area as compared to New York City ($13,848 and $23,357, respectively). The Poverty Level is similarly higher within the Study Area, with the Central Section reporting the greatest number of people below poverty level (42.6%). On the whole, the Central Section has the least economic power of the three sections. Educational attainment levels are fairly consistent across all the levels of analysis, including comparisons to New York City, where between 20 and 30% of the population has completed education through High School or Equivalency. Throughout the sections of the Study Area, the place of employment most common is within the Educational, Health and Social Services industries (between 23 and 34%). Similarly across the Study Area, the most common means of transportation to work is public transportation (67%), which is a higher percentage for public transportation than in New York City overall (53%). More information can be found on the charts and tables that follow. Further data can also be obtained directly from the Census Bureau. |