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Census Block Groups (500k Carto Boundary File), WI 2021

Identification Information

Citation
Title
Census Block Groups (500k Carto Boundary File), WI 2021
Originator
U.S. Census Bureau
Publication Date
2022-12-14
Edition
2021
Geospatial Data Presentation Form
mapDigital
Collection Title
Statewide
Abstract
This data represents Block Groups from the U.S. Census Bureau for Wisconsin in 2021. [The 2021 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas.]
Purpose
This data is intended for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. [These files were specifically created to support small-scale thematic mapping. To improve the appearance of shapes at small scales, areas are represented with fewer vertices than detailed TIGER/Line Shapefiles. Cartographic boundary files take up less disk space than their ungeneralized counterparts. Cartographic boundary files take less time to render on screen than TIGER/Line Shapefiles. You can join this file with table data downloaded from American FactFinder by using the AFFGEOID field in the cartographic boundary file. If detailed boundaries are required, please use the TIGER/Line Shapefiles instead of the generalized cartographic boundary files.]
Supplemental Information
This is an archived copy of the data held at UW-Madison.
Temporal Extent
Time Instant
2021-01-01T00:00:00
Bounding Box
West
-92.888114
East
-86.805415
North
47.080621
South
42.491983
ISO Topic Category
boundaries
Place Keyword
Wisconsin
Place Keyword Thesaurus
GNS
Theme Keyword
Census districts
Theme Keyword Thesaurus
LCSH
Resource Constraints
Use Limitation
[Use Constraints: The intended display scale for this file is 1:500,000. This file should not be displayed at scales larger than 1:500,000. These products are free to use in a product or publication, however acknowledgement must be given to the U.S. Census Bureau as the source. The boundary information is for visual display at appropriate small scales only. Cartographic boundary files should not be used for geographic analysis including area or perimeter calculation. Files should not be used for geocoding addresses. Files should not be used for determining precise geographic area relationships.]
Legal Constraints
Use Limitation
Although this data is being distributed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the University as to the accuracy of the data and related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the University in the use of this data, or related materials.
Status
completed
Maintenance and Update Frequency
unknown
Language
eng
Credit
U.S. Census Bureau
Point of Contact
Contact
U.S. Census Bureau

Spatial Reference Information

Reference System Identifier
Code
4269
Code Space
EPSG
Version
10.077

Data Quality Information

Lineage
Process Step
Description
Process Description: Provided access to archived data at UW-Madison.
Process Date
2022-12-14T00:00:00

Distribution Information

Format Name
Shapefile
Format Version
1.0
Distributor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Distributor
U.S. Census Bureau
Online Access
https://gisdata.wisc.edu/public/WI_CensusCBF_BlockGroups_2021.zip
Protocol
WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download
Name
GeoData@Wisconsin
Function
download

Spatial Representation Information

Vector
Topology Level
geometryOnly
Vector Object Type
composite
Vector Object Count
4678

Metadata Reference Information

Hierarchy Level
dataset
Metadata File Identifier
3AB1B6C5-8EBB-4C96-BBE0-E0EBAF1A4738
Metadata Point of Contact
Name
Arthur H. Robinson Map Library
Position Name
Metadata Technician
Delivery Point
550 N. Park Street
City
Madison
Administrative Area
WI
Postal Code
53706
Country
US
Email
askmap@library.wisc.edu
Phone
(608) 262-1471
Metadata Date Stamp
2022-12-14
Metadata Standard Name
ISO 19139 Geographic Information - Metadata - Implementation Specification
Metadata Standard Version
2007
Character Set
utf8
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