This study uses geographic information systems to determine if the aggregation
of census block data are better than census block group data for analyzing social
vulnerability. This was done by applying a social vulnerability method that used census
block group data for a countywide analysis and converting it to use census blocks for a
countywide analysis and a municipal-wide analysis to determine which level of
aggregation provided a more precise representation of social vulnerability. In addition to
calculating the social vulnerability, the results were overlaid with an evacuation zone for
the threat of a train derailment, determining which aggregation better depicted at-risk
populations.
The results of the study showed that the census blocks enable a more exact
measurement of social vulnerability because they are better at capturing small pockets of
high-risk areas. This study concludes that census block are more advantageous than
census block groups because they are more sensitive and geographically exact in
measuring social vulnerability, allow for a better interpretation of social vulnerability for
smaller areas, and show spatial patterns of vulnerability at a finer spatial scale.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1314 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Burns, Gabriel Ryan |
| Contributors | Bednarz, Robert S |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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