Washoe County Environmental Justice—Population and Race by Census Block

Parsons Corp. is looking at the demographics of Washoe County (Reno–Sparks, Nevada) to find a route for a beltway around the urban core of Reno and Sparks. Factoring in forecasted residential and employment growth, GIS helps to find suitable routes that serve the greatest number of people now and will accommodate the expectant growth during the next 20 years.

With several alternative routes available, census data is plotted on a map of the county to show the racial demographics in the study area. With this map, planners can choose the route that does not unfairly impact minority populations. Similar maps help planners avoid impacts to low-income populations.

This map shows the population distribution by census block for Washoe County. Each census block is represented by a dot, with a size relative to the total population of that census block. Each dot is actually a pie chart, representing the population by race (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau).