Boise Demographic Analysis

            The data collected and compared between the 1990 and 2000 census for the Boise neighborhood of Portland , OR seems to on many levels indicate a gradual gentrification of that area.

            The first graph of population shows a growth of 660 people (from 2,549 residents in 1990 to 3,119 in 2000). This immigration was only accompanied by increasing the Boise boundaries by 17 acres in that same time (growing from 259 to 276 acres). This alone would denote a draw towards more urban lifestyles. Closer homes or apartments, transportation adjustments and remodeling and rezoning are all inferred as results of this growth. The increase in male and female residents being fairly close in ratio would lead one to reason an influx of couples into the community. However the obvious stagnation of familial growth, compared with the jump in non-family households, proves the contrary. Perhaps this augmentation in single living contributes to a feeling of disconnectedness and degradation of community.

            As this gentrification is a sign of drastic change, the graph of ethnic distribution coincides with our theory of the modernization of Boise . The shift in race has gone from the diminished numbers of African Americans and American Indians to the unusually high rates of Caucasian and Asian immigrants arriving to take their place. In concordance to our studies of East Portland , the Caucasian race is one of the only to experience dramatic expansion in the last ten years. The change this area is undergoing is reflected by the more affluent housing and contemporary development of commercial real estate. This also reflects our previous analysis of the graph of gender and family distribution. Immigrating citizens who are young, single, and profession-oriented, have shaped these graphs throughout the last decade.

            The age distribution illustrated in graph #3 also plays into the conclusions drawn about families earlier. The largest difference from 1990 to 2000 has been in the range of 18-64 year-olds. It makes sense that more men and women are moving in at around college or early-career stages of their life, and it is this category of people that is developing the community and should be addressed as crucial to asset mapping. But also relevant is the drop of almost 1/3 of the children ages 0-4. Here once again we see the growth of young adults entering the neighborhood and also the fall in number of children. More single residents are having fewer children, and less reason to interact with their surrounding neighbors.

            The last two graphs to be discussed are both pertinent to schooling; either the level of past education the residents have accumulated, or the importance which the community places on this institution. The number of high school drop-outs has decreased and the numbers of high school and college graduates have increased. However these three numbers do not necessarily reflect the education of those who attended schools in the area. Rather do they implicate the level of education of those who were present in the neighborhood at the time of this census. It would therefore be more prudent to discuss the current residents as a gauge for the current population of Boise only. Those with some college could very well be attending any one of Portland 's local universities. Further surveys would be required to correctly hypothesize about the significance of these numbers. Nevertheless it can be said that more value is being place on higher education of a university level. The number of Associates Degrees has seen a drop, shadowing the supposed importance of trade schools and similar organizations. These citizens are more likely than not those who have completed or are close to completing their desired level of instruction and are beginning professional lives with less emphasis on children and more on status and material.

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