Planning for Emergencies: A Population Analysis

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	OEM is one of the first emergency management agencies in the country to closely study its resident and working populations. In order to better understand the needs of New Yorkers, OEM set out to find out more about them. In 2004, OEM began compiling 2000 Census data, and generated a series of demographic maps to analyze different sections of the city. The maps highlight characteristics such as language concentration, ages, and modes of transportation throughout the five boroughs. Collectively, they showcase the city’s extremely diverse constituents. Using Census data to create visual tools, OEM works to communicate more effectively with the communities it serves. With the project’s completion, OEM has begun to use the language maps to identify which neighborhoods require outreach in languages other than English. Since OEM has a citywide educational program, Ready New York, knowledge of neighborhood languages is essential to relay preparedness messages successfully. From the Census research, OEM found the most frequently-spoken languages other than English are Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. Based on these findings, most Ready New York publications are now available in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian, among other languages. OEM continues to develop literature in even more languages and formats, such as Polish, Arabic, and Braille. View map of non-English language distribution in NYC (PDF, 7.94 MB) Get Adobe Acrobat DEMOGRAPHICS AND PLANNING For the City’s Hurricane Evacuation and Transit Strike plans, OEM must consider the city’s concentration of car-owners. In order to moderate traffic within the city and assess residents’ ability to leave their homes, OEM must know where people will likely drive private vehicles and where people will use public transportation. View map of the city's concentration of car owners (PDF, 404 Kb) Get Adobe Acrobat Population density is another important factor in creating these plans. City Geographic Information Systems (GIS) staff has created a Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder. Depending on home address and mode of transportation, this tool directs hurricane-vulnerable New Yorkers to one of 65 evacuation centers outside the evacuation zones. View population density map (PDF, 404 Kb) Get Adobe Acrobat View more maps: Housing density (PDF, 404 Kb) Top 8 countries of origin for foreign born (PDF, 779 Kb) Multi-generational families (PDF, 404 Kb) Get Adobe Acrobat OEM’s goal is to learn as much about the City’s population as possible in order to serve its people well. The agency hopes to incorporate more findings from this Census research as it continues to develop and revise plans.