Thursday, May 10, 2018

GIS Map Information More Discrete Levels of Map Information Bend, Oregon ZIP+4

Information presented on a GIS map that can be drilled down to a discrete area relationship of geography to any type of space and time information is a glorious way to look at anything and everything in the relational world of information.

For example this US map of SNAP recipients.

http://www.dailyyonder.com/geography-food-stamps/2018/05/07/25422/

Yes, I know that so far the subject line is not specifically being address right off the bat.  I changed the subject line after seeing where this point of blog entry inquiry took me.  Stick with it to see where it goes.

The lowest  discrete level is County areas.  It could go lower than that governmental division?  How low could it go before privacy required a limit?  ZIP code perhaps?  

This is a GIS Map that I often use as a point of entry to discover Deschutes County Assessor information.  It drills down on a map to the individual owner property tax account.  The map can be enlarged to show individual properties from which to select to see all property tax information related to that property (a large amount of info!).
http://dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap
Whoops!  What has happened to the Deschutes county Dial Map?  On my screen it shows only as a narrow sliver not a full screen map!  Perhaps it is a temporary glitch?

Back to the usefulness of a GIS map as a point of entry to information research.....

Might the SNAP map be presented on a more precise geographical level?  ZIP Code?  It depends on how recipients receive their SNAP qualification/authorization.

The city of Bend is an example.
https://www.zip-codes.com/city/or-bend.asp
My Zip Code is 97703-xxxx.  Why not give my actual ZIP+4? Because Google searching on my full ZIP+4 reveals my name, street address and that of my next door neighbor as well.  It also reveals the two names of previous occupants.  One sold me the house 30 years ago. Another was the only renter of my home for a year!  If the full ZIP+4 identified a carrier route there should be many more returns on the Google Search!  WTF?

That cannot identify my specific house.  I never know what that additional 4 digits meant.  Those additional 4 digits are ZIP+4.  Today I learned it is the carrier route ID Number used for sorting purposes.  My street address does identify my house.  My name on the letter (other than occupant) identifies me or any other resident in the house receiving a letter intended for them.

The Bend ZIP Code Map shows three ZIP codes for Bend.  Bend used to be 97701 now there are three ZIP codes that cover a much larger area than the city limits of Bend but all intersect at Bend to divide the city itself into 3 areas.

The same commercial .com site above that gave me the Bend map of 3 Zip Codes will sell me a disc with all the ZIP+4 codes for the entire USA!
https://www.zip-codes.com/zip-plus-4-database.asp

Where is a map that shows the geographical area of ZIP Code 97703 with added information related only to the basic ZIP Code number?

YES. Amazing! Another commercial .com site can add information.
https://oregon.hometownlocator.com/zip-codes/data,zipcode,97703.cfm

This is a Wikipedia explanation of ZIP+4:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_Code

This is the government information on the system that encompasses ZIP+4:
https://ribbs.usps.gov/cassmass/documents/tech_guides/TECHNICAL_GUIDES/CASSTECH_N.pdf

Wow!

What started out as thoughts to get a closer look at where recipients of SNAP are located lower than the county level turned into a serendipitous discovery of a more granular location system in the United States Postal System addressing!

How many ZIP+4 codes are there in the Bend 97701, 97702, 97703 Zip Code areas.

This is really narrowing things down!

Hmmm... this is getting interesting!

What might this Census data reveal if it was overplayed on a GIS map?
https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cbf/cbf_zcta.html
This is getting into something I do not know how to do but someone must have done it for me..other than a .com site that wants to sell it to me?  It is open source government information.

What exactly is this Census Bureau TIGER thing all about that seems to have a connection to ZIP+4?
https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger.html

Google searching on my own ZIP+4:  97703-xxxx reveals that there are only 3 valid search returns.
One for the previous owner that sold me the house 30 years ago. One for my next door neighbor.

This explanation of ZIP+4:
http://blog.stamps.com/2017/03/17/whats-the-zip-plus-four-for/

"You may have noticed the extra appendage of numbers added to a ZIP code called the plus-fourZIP + 4, or add-on code. What is it for? The USPS considers the five-digit ZIP plus those additional four digits to be the most complete kind of delivery code. Introduced in 1983, the plus-four is a helpful ally in the ongoing drive for even more efficient delivery and sorting.
What do the numbers mean?  
What is the breakdown of the plus-four and what do the numbers mean? The first two numbers of the plus-four identify the larger area known as the sector. The last two identify the segment. Segment and sector are actually terms that identify very specific geographical areas that pinpoint more than just a numbered house on a street. As explained at this USPS source, “the final four digits identify geographic units such as a side of a street between intersections, both sides of a street between intersections, a building, a floor or group of floors in a building, a firm within a building, a span of boxes on a rural route, or a group of Post Office boxes to which a single USPS employee makes delivery.” It can also identify an individual high-volume receiver of mail."

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/602.htm
"1.8.2 ZIP+4 - A Complete ZIP Code

In Bend ZIP+4 numbers for Zip Code 97703 appear to run from1001 to 3999.
This was discovered by trial and error bracket search.
That is about 3,000 ZIP+4 numbers for only the 97703 segment of Bend, Oregon.
What is the range of 97701 and 97702 for Bend?

It appears that that each of the 3 Bend Zip Codes have about 4,000 Zip+4 addresses.  Each Zip Code with a ZIP+4 address give about 3 pages of google hits.  Excluding the unrelated coincidental hits there are a few hits per each search that return different addresses for the same ZIP+4

Exactly what is the size of a geographical area related to a ZIP+4 address?

The size of a "Sector"?

The size of a "Segment"?  Segment can be a floor in a multi story building.


This is an extremely interesting CDC link that cross references ZIP+4 information at the county level to
Federal data base.
"The County Cross Reference File is a product which provides a
 relationship between ZIP+4 codes and Federal Information
 Processing Standard (FIPS) county codes.  The file allows users
 who have assigned ZIP+4 codes to their address files to obtain
 county data at the ZIP+4 level."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIPS_county_code

Holy Smokes!

Does the right hand of government data not know what it reveals when joined by relationship to the right hand of government data?  This is a situation ripe for data mining and information exploitation!

This is a website providing Zip+4 location data for Bend, Oregon: dated 2015:
https://www.zip-codes.me/or-oregon/bend/
and for my street: 98 house addresses having Zip+4 on Trenton Ave.
https://www.zip-codes.me/or-oregon/bend/nw-trenton-ave/2000-2098/

Returning to the beginning of this blog entry:

The top link demonstrates the information value of a map point of entry to display relative geographical information.  It shows information at the county level.  More precise information would be presented if it was shown at a lower geographical level.  Zip+4 for example.  The first two digits of Zip+4 show a sector the second digits a section.  A section appears to be s street or similar area.  My street with 98 addresses for example.  That is a very small area and nay reveal private information.  The size of a sector however would likely anonymize any specific personal privacy information.

Making Demographics easy to use: The business of putting 2 and 2 together:
http://www.geolytics.com/USCensus,Zip4,Products.asp
There is an amazing amount of variables (mostly from census) available.
http://www.geolytics.com/USCensus,Zip4,Data,Variables,Products.asp
This is a data base to which any other variables with location as a key data element could be associated!
Mailing list:
http://www.geolytics.com/USCensus,CustomDesignYourOwnMailingList,Products.asp

ArcGIS ESRI zip+4
https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000014901
ERSI 65 segment tapestry system using ZIP+4 data key:
https://www.esri.com/industries/emergency-management/~/media/files/pdfs/library/whitepapers/pdfs/tapestry-segmentation-for-disaster.pdf

"The 65-segment Tapestry system classifies US residential neighborhoods based on their socioeconomic and demographic composition. Tapestry Segmentation codes are assigned by postal geographic levels to ZIP Codes and ZIP+4s and by census geographies at the census tract and block group levels. For a broader view of US neighborhoods, Tapestry Segmentation divides the 65 segments into summary groups:"

The demographic information in this .pdf is fascinating.  It is used for emergency crises response.  It could be used for any other information purpose as well.

ERSI Tapestry Segmentation:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=tapestry+segmentation+zip%2B4&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Wow! What if this went to zip+4 level?  Enter 97703 Zip Code for Bend
https://www.esri.com/data/tapestry/zip-lookup
It could go to that level! data is available.

Census Tiger products:
https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger.html

Zip Code Tabulation Areas: ZCTA
https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/zctas.html

ZCTA and the Postal Service Zip Code...background info:
https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/5114/obtaining-up-to-date-list-of-us-zip-codes-with-latitude-and-longitude-geocodes?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google_rich_qa&utm_campaign=google_rich_qa

A very interesting discussion of obtaining spatial mapping info related to ZIP+4 (Zip plus 4)
https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/233982/us-zip-codes-4-by-state-or-county-shapefile-or-table-dbf?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google_rich_qa&utm_campaign=google_rich_qa

https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/233982/us-zip-codes-4-by-state-or-county-shapefile-or-table-dbf/236946#236946

Finally:  Getting back to the SNAP Analysis by USA County:
Oregon SNAP:  http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ASSISTANCE/Pages/Data.aspx
Oregon SNAP info by county code: SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ACTIVITY - APRIL 2018**
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ASSISTANCE/Branch%20District%20Data/Supplemental%20Nutrition%20Assistance%20Program%20(SNAP)%20Flash%20Figures%20for%20April%202018.pdf
This gets Oregon SNAP down to a more detailed geographic city area (incl Bend) in Deschiutes county.
From the link above:
Total Snap Benefits Bend Oregon April 2018 $ 1,274,449.00
Households: 5,180
Recipients: 9,880. 
$129.00 per recipient
Deschutes County Allotment Jan/Feb/Mar:
Deschutes $2,874,433 $2,895,457 $2,891,279

From the top link:
State: Oregon County: Deschutes County County Seat: Bend Metro/Micro/Rural: Metropolitan Statistical Area 2015 SNAP Participants: 28135 2015 Pop. Estimate: 175268 % Pop Enrolled in SNAP: 16.1

FIPS Code:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Information_Processing_Standard_state_code
The FIPS state alpha code for each U.S. states and the District of Columbia are identical to the (state) postal abbreviations by the United States Postal Service.










No comments: