Determining the State, County and Census Tract for an Address
LandView® provides two methods of determining the state, county and census tract code associated with a street address.
The quickest method is to click the Online Address/Tract Matching button on the LandView Startup.lv4 menu. This function connects to a Census Internet web page that provides links to two different Internet sites that provide this service.
For those situations where the Online Address/Tract Matching function can not code the street to a census tract or where the location needs to be physically spotted on the map (for example, the site lacks a street address), you can determine the site's census tract number by following the following procedure.
Locating a Street Address or Street Intersection
For this example, we will look up an even number address in the 700 block of Shipley Street. This address is located in Wilmington City (New Castle County), Delaware ZIP 19801.
Note - This example is based on information contained in the LV4_DEMO file which is included on the DVD/CD-ROM and is available for downloading from the Census LandView IV page.
Step 1. Creating a MARPLOT® map view - Before the MARPLOT mapping program can search for the street or street address, you need to bring up the local MARPLOT map view. Click on the 1990 Census Data button which opens up the 1990 census form view (Figure 1).
The view presents 1990 Census data for various legal and statistical areas. Clicking on a tab brings up the first record in the 1990 Census data set for that level. The legal/statistical areas that nest hierarchically within one another are: state, counties, minor civil divisions (MCDs), census tracts/block numbering areas (BNAs), block groups and census blocks. (Because of space limitations, the blocks tab appears only when the Block Grp. Tab is selected.) Places and 105th congressional districts nest only within state but can cross county boundaries. Indian lands and ZIP codes can and do cross state boundaries. For further information about these geographic concepts, see Census Geographic Glossary in the LV IV Help Section on Census Databases.
In this example, you could create a map view based on:
1. Wilmington City
2. New Castle County
3. ZIP 19801
Because it's most likely that you would know the ZIP Code, we will create the map view on that basis.
Click on the ZIP Codes folder tab, click the Query button, then place the cursor in the ZIP Code box and then press the enter key. You should get a screen as shown below.
Next click the Show on Map button. MARPLOT is activated and a map as shown in Figure 3 appears. Because MARPLOT zoomed in onto the ZIP Code which is represented by a point, you need to select the minus magnifying glass (zoom-out) tool, 
and use it to zoom out by clicking it on the ZIP Code point several times until you have a screen like that shown in Figure 4 where the map window view is approximately 5 by 3.5 miles. (In a more sparsely settled area you may want to zoom out more to broaden the search area.) Do not be concerned if your map screen does not show roads, the next step will not be affected.
Step 2. Setting up the Street Search - To search for your address in MARPLOT, bring up the search criteria dialog box by selecting List - Search. The Search Criteria dialog box appears.
Click on the "scroll button" in the Search for objects: dialog box and select with names that contain .... Type Shipley in the text box next to the with names that contain....
In the Layer(s) to search: dialog box choose Individual Layer... in the first box and Roads in the second box. After Map(s) to search: choose Maps in View and leave the final pop-up box set to replace previous collection... . Refer to Figure 5 to confirm your selections. Then, click the Search button.
Step 3. Identifying the Street Address- Figure 6 provides the Search Collection window. Since you are interested in mapping the 700 block of Shipley Street in Wilmington City, click on the third line to highlight Shipley Street. Then click on the Addresses button. The result box shown in Figure 7 should appear.
Highlight the 700 - 799 address range as shown in Figure 7. Click the Show on Map & Zoom button.
Step 4. Mapping the Street Segment Containing the Address Range - MARPLOT creates a zoomed in map view of Shipley Street with the street highlighted with a series of red boxes as shown in Figure 8.
Step 5. Determining the Census Areas at Current Focus Point - To determine which side of the street is odd or even, click the Objects menu, then select Segment Settings. This will bring up the screen shown in Figure 9.
Step 6. Determining the Street Side for an Address Range - After noting that the even number address range is on the east side of the street, click the OK button and then move the focus point off the street slightly toward the east. (We suggest doing this because the street might actually form the boundary between census tracts or block groups. Doing so, ensures that the focus point is not straddling the boundary of a census tract or block.)
To easily determine the census tract and block for that location, click on Sharing - LandView and then select Identify Census Areas at current map pointer as shown in Figure 10. This function creates the LandView screen that provides the results shown in Figure 11.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Last Revised: Thursday, 26-Jan-2012 17:47:33 EST
