Population Research Center moves up

Last August, the Population Research Center moved from the fifth floor of the Urban Center, located on Southwest Sixth and Mill, to the seventh floor. The move is not the only change at the center—it recently merged with the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies.

The institute was created in 1992 to better connect PSU with issues of concern for communities in the six-county Portland-Vancouver area and to bring new attention to key issues of metropolitan significance, according to its Web site.

Dr. Sheila A. Martin, associate professor, is now director of both departments, which can be found in room 780 of the Urban Center. While the office is currently filled with boxes from the move and is a little disorganized, there is still much going on.

Right now, the PRC is working on the 2010 Census. This year, there will be changes to the program—not only will the count be important, the PRC will organize workshops.

“There will be workshops for people to help explain the changes to the program; helping people use data, helping people find data, and knowing where to get data,” Martin said.

The PRC first began in 1956 and moved to PSU in 1965. It was initiated by the state to prepare annual population estimates for cities, and although that is still a huge portion of what the department does, they have many more projects.

The Oregon State Data Center is an important part of the PRC, which provides applied research, consulting services and customized tabulations. It hopes to make data available to the public through regional and local governments, state agencies, universities and libraries.

School enrollment is another large part the PRC. Estimating the number of prospective students helps “plan for facilities in the future,” according to Martin.

Within the PRC, the Oregon Population Estimate Program works to produce the annual Oregon Population Report. The 2009 report was certified on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, and is available to the public online.
Population reports dating back to 2002 can also be found on their Web site, www.pdx.edu/prc.

These reports show the current estimated population, the population from the previous year and the percent change that has occurred in a given city or county. There are also population estimates for different age groups on the Web site.

“Each year when the census comes out, there is better information for housing size, redistricting and other adjustments, “Martin said. “An accurate count is important.”

The PRC’s estimates are used by state and local governments, as well as various organizations and agencies for revenue sharing, fund allocation and planning.