T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluationof Rhode Island. As part of a broader study area, these counties were selected because the City of Warwick (andthe Airport) is in Kent County, and the City of Cranston is in Providence County. For the purposes of businessesand employment analysis, the regional economic study area is defined as Kent and Providence Counties or,where applicable, the State of Rhode Island, depending on the analysis.4.4.1.2 Environmental Justice Population Assessment MethodologyMethods for identifying environmental justice populations followed the guidelines of Rhode Island StatewidePlanning Program. In the Rhode Island Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), 173 Statewide Planning usesthe state average of minority, Hispanic, and low-income populations to define environmental justicepopulations. The TIP thresholds were used to define the environmental justice populations and environmentaljustice neighborhoods identified.The concept of race does not include the concept of Hispanic origin. The U.S. Census Bureau directs users of theU.S. Census data to avoid combining race categories with Hispanic. The U.S. Census Bureau collects separatedata on Hispanic populations in addition to data on minority populations. Therefore, this analysis addressesminority and Hispanic populations separately. State averages for minority, Hispanic, and low-incomepopulations are shown in Table 4-10.Table 4-10Statewide Averages for Environmental Justice PopulationsEnvironmental Justice PopulationStatewide AverageBlack or African-American 4.5%American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%Asian 2.3%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1%Some Other Race 5.0%Mixed Race 2.7%Total Minority 15.0%Hispanic 8.7%Low-Income 11.9%Source: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau. Although some 2010 census data was released in March 2011, a sufficient level ofcensus data for the FEIS analysis was not released prior to the filing of the FEIS.Minority, Hispanic, and low-income populations were identified using 2000 U.S. Census data for the StudyArea. Since the U.S. Census collects separate data on Hispanic populations in addition to data on minoritypopulations, the demographic analysis addresses minority and Hispanic populations separately. Minority andHispanic populations were identified using census block data, the smallest unit for which population data areavailable. Low-income populations were identified using census block group data, the smallest unit for whichincome data are available. All census blocks and census block groups that fall within or partially within theareas of significant impact were included. Census blocks are a subset of census block groups. The 2000 U.S.Census Data identifies census blocks and census block groups above the State of Rhode Island average forminority, Hispanic, and low-income populations in various neighborhoods surrounding T.F. Green Airport. A173 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Transportation Improvement Program 2003-2004, Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program, Adopted August 8, 2002.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-18 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc