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Estimating of Total Surface Area & Spatial Distribution of Exposed Buiding Materials from Commonly Available Information for U.S. Metropolitan Areas

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Abstract
One difficults in translating physical damage functions into economic costs for assessing pollution control strategies is in estimating how much susceptible material is exposed to a particular level of pollution. The authors sought to estimate a model relating exposed material quantities and densities to proxy variables measurable at the census tract level for two U.S. cities - Baltimore and St. Louis. Atlases developed by the Sanborn Map Co. were the primary source of information to determine quantities and types of surface materials in randomly selected census tracts for each city. Visual surveys were utilized to verify and update the estimated proportions of different material types. Potential predictor variables were chosen from census data, land use data, and establishment data available from Federal Agencies and from planning offices in each city. It was found that a sizable portion of intracity variations in material quantities and densities could be explained by available proxy variables. However, results generally were inconsistent between the two cities. With the possible exception of residential structures, tract-by-tract predictive models are not expected to be universally applicable. Per capita estimates of total and specific material quantities are provided for each city.
Date
9/1981
Author(s)
Koontz, Michael; McFadden, James; Haynie, Fred
Page(s)
39-
Keyword(s)
building materials; Sanborn atlases; land use; regression models; census tracts; pollution effects


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