MACURISA2018

PSAP is the once a decade geographic program that offers local governments and regional planning agencies the opportunity to review and modify select statistical boundaries that the U.S. Census Bureau uses to count people and produce data for the 2020 Census and beyond.

Statistical boundaries are used by the Census Bureau to produce small-area statistics and spatial data to provide relevant, useful data about population, income and housing for small-area geographic analyses. These boundaries tabulate data for the 2020 Census, the American Community Survey and the Economic Census. Data tabulated to PSAP geographies are used by state and local agencies for planning and funding purposes, as well as by the private sector, academia and the public.

The standard statistical geographies include Census tracts, Census block groups and Census Designated Places. The program allows participants (primarily at the county level) to make modifications to Census tract boundaries when current boundaries are found to be invalid. Participants are also asked to suggest boundaries for splitting Census tracts when population thresholds exceed stated criteria. Participants may also modify Census block group boundaries to better reflect local data needs.

Census Designated Places (CDPs) are unincorporated sections of a town that are held as a statistical unit. Participants may suggest CDP boundary expansion, contraction or dissolution. This is also the only opportunity this decade to suggest new Census Designated Places.

To reduce participant burden, the Census Bureau anticipates creating 2020 Census statistical areas for review and update by PSAP participants. Participants may accept the Census Bureau’s 2020 Census proposed statistical areas, update the 2020 Census proposed statistical areas, or use the 2010 Census Statistical area geography as a base to make updates.

Participants reviewing standard statistical area geographies are required to use the Census Bureau’s Geographic Update Partnership Software (GUPS) to delineate updates. The GUPS runs in QGIS, which is an open source Geographic Information System (GIS), and it contains all functionality required to make PSAP updates, execute automated checks for program criteria compliance, and create standardized data output files for Census Bureau processing. The GUPS will be available for download from the Census Bureau's website or available on DVD.

In July 2018, the Census Bureau will invite regional planning agencies and local governments to participate in PSAP. In January 2019, the delineation phase will begin. Participants have 120 calendar days to submit updates.