Quantification and visualization of US racial geography using the National Racial Geography Dataset 2020

by Anna Dmowska, Tomasz F. Stepinski

Racial geography studies the spatial distributions of multiracial populations. Technical challenges arise from the fact that US Census data, upon which all US-based studies rely, is only available in the form of spatial aggregates at a few levels of granularity. This negatively affects spatial analysis and, consequently, the quantification of racial segregation, especially on a smaller length scale. A recent methodology called the Racial Landscape (RL) stochastically disaggregates racial data at the level of census block aggregates into a grid of monoracial cells. RL-transformed racial data makes possible pattern-based, zoneless analysis, and visualization of racial geography. Here, we introduce the National Racial Geography Dataset 2020 (NRGD2020)—a collection of RL-based grids calculated from the 2020 census data and covering the entire conterminous US. It includes a virtual image layer for a bird’s-eye-like view visualization of the spatial distribution of racial sub-populations, numerical grids for calculating racial diversity and segregation within user-defined regions, and precalculated maps of racial diversity and segregation on various length scales. NRGD2020 aims to facilitate and extend spatial analyses of racial geography and to make it more interpretable by tightly integrating quantitative analysis with visualization (mapping).