Cubit

EJ Estimator

EJ Estimate

Minority Race
EJ Estimator Indicates Are Present

Low Income
EJ Estimator Indicates Are Possible

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You can get quick estimates for your environmental justice analysis projects using the EJ Estimate tool. An EJ Estimate is especially helpful when scoping or looking at multiple alternatives for projects. For a projects that needs a more detailed environmental justice analysis than is provided by the EJ Estimator, check out Cubit’s Socio-Ec Report.

What data and guidance does the EJ Estimator use?

The EJ Estimator uses Council of Environmental Quality guidance, Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines and US Census 2000 data. The EJ Estimator uses threshold analysis—which has fallen out of favor with some government agencies and organizations. The EJ Estimator is not supposed to be a comprehensive environmental justice analysis tool. The goal of the EJ Estimator is to provide a quick look or an estimate. Read on to learn more about how the EJ Estimator calculates potential environmental justice populations.

EJ Estimator - Minority Race Data

Step 1: We gather data for your project area

In this example, we're going to estimate the likelihood of minority EJ populations in Block 1010, Block group 1, Census Tract 1000, Harris County, Texas. The first step is gathering data from the US Census 2000 Summary File 1 Table P8 Race. We gather race and ethnicity data for Block 1010 and its parent Block group 1. What are blocks and block groups?

Race	Block 1010, Block Group 1, Census Tract 1000, Harris County, Texas	Block Group 1, Census Tract 1000, Harris County, Texas
Total:	3,268	4,905
Not Hispanic or Latino:	2,802	3,845
White alone	1,265	1,752
Black or African American alone	1,517	2,034
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0	1
Asian alone	19	42
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0	0
Some other race alone	0	1
Two or more races	1	15
Hispanic or Latino:	466	1,060
White alone	464	1,011
Black or African American alone	2	11
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0	0
Asian alone	0	1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0	0
Some other race alone	0	30
Two or more races	0	7

Step 2: We calculate Total Minority Percent

We use the block data from Step 1 to calculate The Total Minority Percent.

Race	Block 1010, Block Group 1, Census Tract 1000, Harris County, Texas	Block Group 1, Census Tract 1000, Harris County, Texas
Not Hispanic or Latino:
Black or African American alone	1,517	2,034
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0	1
Asian alone	19	42
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0	0
Some other race alone	0	1
Two or more races	1	15
Hispanic or Latino:	466	1,060
Sum	2,003	3,153
Total Population	÷ 3,268	÷ 4,905
	* 100	* 100
Total Minority Percent	61.3%	64.3%

Step 1: We estimate the existence of EJ Groups by Race

The following tests are applied to the Total Minority Percent to produce the estimate.

Are Present = For at least 1 block The Total Minority Percent is > 50%
Are Possible = For at least 1 block The Total Minority Percent is > the Total Minority Percent for the parent block group
Are Unlikely = For all blocks The Total Minority Percent is < the Total Minority Percent for the parent block groups
Are Not Present = For all blocks The Total Minority Percent is 0

So how do I get my EJ Estimates?

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