Mapping Poverty Alachua County, Florida

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Mapping Poverty Alachua County, Florida
Map provided By PennyWise Realty
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Purposes of Our Study

• To explore patterns of poverty within Alachua
  County using specific poverty indicators
• To Implement ARCGIS and ARCMAP programs to
  present a spatial analysis of this data.
• To present this data in a spatial format to aid
  in decision making process for striving toward
  reduced poverty in the county

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Alachua County

• Located in North Central Florida
• Population of approximately 223, 578
• 24 of population living below the poverty level
  
• Includes the cities of Alachua, Archer,
  Gainesville, Hawthorne, High Springs, La Crosse,
  Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo.

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Poverty Indicators

• We looked at three variables we feel are linked
  to poverty.
• 1. Economic Indicators
• 2. Sociodemographic Indicators
• 3. Vulnerability Indicators

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Economic Poverty Indicator

• We determined an economic indicator of poverty by
  using the established census bureau guidelines
  and then creating 3 levels of High, Medium and
  Low Poverty based on aggregated income levels and
  household income using established census block
  groups.

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Economic Poverty Levels

• High Poverty Income 10,000 13,999
• Medium PovertyIncome 14, 000 -16, 999
• Low Poverty Income 17,000- 20, 000

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Socioeconomic Indicator

• We explored the relationship between poverty and
  key ethnic groups to look for suggestive trends.

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High poverty rates tend to correspond with high
Hispanic population abundance
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Medium poverty rates tend to correspond with
medium African American population abundance
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Low poverty rates tend to correspond with high
Caucasian population abundance except in SW
Gainesville
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Socioeconomic Indicator

• We also looked at education levels as they relate
  to poverty.

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Socioeconomic Indicator

• There are less individuals receiving diplomas in
  rural areas
• Suggests that social programs should be extended
  to these areas to ensure high school completion

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Vulnerability Indicator

• We chose to look at two types of vulnerability
  indicators environmental vulnerability and
  availability to services vulnerability.

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Availability to Services Vulnerability

• Those factors we considered important include
  presence of fire departments, hospitals, schools,
  transit routes and sewer. These factors
  contribute to social poverty by making it
  difficult for individuals in areas where there
  are fewer available services. A reduced access to
  services means reduced opportunities and
  increased safety risks.

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Environmental Vulnerability

• Environmental vulnerability factors contribute to
  an impoverished circumstance for those
  individuals living in areas because they
  influence the quality of air, water and soil.
  They influence the kind of risks to which people
  in these areas are exposed. By extension, this
  may further depress the economics of areas if
  individuals exposed to contaminants become sick
  and do not have adequate if any insurance to
  cover medical expenses.

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Environmental Vulnerability

• The factors we considered to be significant
  include location of hazardous waste sites, sewage
  treatment plants and pipe placements, solid waste
  sites and superfund sites.

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In Conclusion

• Most impoverished areas in Alachua fall within
  the rural areas outside of city boundaries and
  within Gainesville boundaries in the North East
  area of the city.
• Most services found within urbanized areas and
  less in rural

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In Conclusion

• Hazardous waste sites predominately in lower
  sociodemographic regions within city boundaries
  while sewage treatment plants are more equally
  distributed throughout Alachua
• Superfund site located in Gainesville boundaries
  within one of the poorest communities