Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2. Statistics of Foreclosure
Importing Census Data
The same parsing, rendering of shapefiles, and geocoding of foreclosure events reviewed up
to this point can be done in a number of other platforms. The real strength of R is found in its
extensive statistical functions and libraries.
The US Census Bureau collects an extensive range of socioeconomic data that are interesting
for our purposes. We can download some data pertaining to total population and total housing
units that are indexed by the same tracts we have used for our map. The
FactFinder download
center
provides easy access to this data, as shown in
Figure 2-1
.
Then, select All Census Tracts in a County→Pennsylvania→Philadelphia County→Selected
Detailed Tables, as shown in
Figure 2-2
.
Add the eight tables (P1,P13, P14, P31, P41, P53, P87,H33), click Next, download the file,
and unzip it.
