Full Citation
Title: High-resolution reconstruction of the United States human population distribution, 1790 to 2010
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2018
ISBN:
ISSN: 2052-4463
DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2018.67
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID:
Abstract: Where do people live, and how has this changed over timescales of centuries? High-resolution spatial information on historical human population distribution is of great significance to understand humanenvironment interactions and their temporal dynamics. However, the complex relationship between population distribution and various influencing factors coupled with limited data availability make it a challenge to reconstruct human population distribution over timescales of centuries. This study generated 1-km decadal population maps for the conterminous US from 1790 to 2010 using parsimonious models based on natural suitability, socioeconomic desirability, and inhabitability. Five models of increasing complexity were evaluated. The models were validated with census tract and county subdivision population data in 2000 and were applied to generate five sets of 22 historical population maps from 1790–2010. Separating urban and rural areas and excluding non-inhabitable areas were the most important factors for improving the overall accuracy. The generated gridded population datasets and the production and validation methods are described here.
Url: http://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201867
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Fang, Yu; Jawitz, James W.
Periodical (Full): Scientific Data
Issue: 1
Volume: 5
Pages: 180067
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Population Data Science
Countries: United States