WFRC Community Focus Areas (2023)Geographic Representation Units WFRC’s Community Focus Areas (CFAs) are geographic areas for which additional consideration may be given within the planning and programming processes for future transportation, economic development, and other projects administered through WFRC. CFAs are used by WFRC in support of meeting the Council-established goal of promoting “inclusive engagement in transportation planning processes and equitable access to affordable and reliable transportation options.” CFAs are designated from Census block group geographic zones that meet the criteria described below. Census block groups are used as these are the smallest geographic areas for which more detailed household characteristics like employment, income, vehicle ownership, commute trip, and English language proficiency are available. WFRC recognizes the limitations of geography-based analysis, as proper planning work considers together the needs of individuals, groups and sectors, and geographic areas. However, geography-based analyses offer a useful starting point for the consideration and prioritization of projects that will serve specific community needs.2023 Community Focus Area Criteria UpdateFor the 2023 RTP planning cycle, WFRC will use two factors in designating geography-based CFAs: 1) concentration of low-income households and 2) concentration of persons identifying as members of racial and ethnic minority groups. The geography for these factors can be identified from consistent and regularly updated data sources maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau. WFRC will also make data available that conveys, while maintaining individual anonymity, the geographic distribution of additional measures including concentrations of persons with disabilities, households with limited English language proficiency, households that do not own a vehicle, older residents (65+ years of age), and younger residents (0-17 years of age). While the application of these factors within the planning process is less straightforward because of their higher statistical margins of error and comparatively even distribution within the region, these additional factors remain valuable as planning context. Low Income Focus Areas, Methodology for IdentificationThe block group-level data from the 2020 Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year dataset (Table C17002: Ratio of Income to Poverty Level), is used to determine the percentage of the population within each block group that are in households that have a ratio of income to federal poverty threshold of equal to or less than 1, i.e., their income is below the poverty level. The federal poverty threshold is set differently for households, considering their household size and age of household members.Census block groups in which more than 20% of the households whose income is less than or equal to the federal poverty threshold are included in the WFRC CFAs and designated as Low-Income focus areas. Racial and Ethnic Minority Focus AreasThe block group-level data from the 2020 ACS 5-year dataset (Table B03002: Hispanic or Latino Origin By Race) is used to determine the percentage of the population that did not self-identify their race and ethnicity as “White alone.” The average census block group area in the Wasatch Front urbanized areas has 24.2% of its population that identifies as Black or African American alone, American Indian, and Alaska Native alone, Asian alone, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone, some other race alone, two or more races, or of Hispanic or Latino origin.Census blocks in which more than 40%2 of the population identifies as one or more of the racial or ethnic groups listed above are included in the WFRC CFAs and designated as Racial and Ethnic Minority focus areas.Excluding Predominantly Non-Residential Areas from CFAsSome census block groups that meet one or both of the CFA criteria described above contain large, non-residential areas or low density residential areas. Such census block areas may have small residential neighborhoods surrounded by predominantly commercial or industrial land uses, or large areas of public land or as-yet undeveloped lands. For this reason, WFRC staff may adjust the boundaries of an CFA whose census block group population density is less than 500 persons per square mile, to exclude areas of those block groups that have large, predominantly non-residential land uses.Community Focus Area Update FrequencyThe geography for WFRC CFAs will be updated not less than every four years, preceding the project phasing period of the Regional Transportation Planning update cycle. The update will use the most recent version of the 5 year ACS dataset. The next update is expected in the summer of 2026 (the beginning of the 4th year for the 2027 RTP development process) and is expected to use the 2024 5-year ACS results that average results across 2020-2024.Footnotes:1. The 2019 version of WFRC CFAs used ‘Zero Car Households’ as a third factor. This factor is no longer included because of its geographic and statistical fluctuation over time in data reported by the American Community Survey. Additionally, ‘Zero Car households’ was observed to have a strong relationship with the other two CFA designation factors.2. The percentage threshold specified here is approximately one standard deviation above the regional mean for this indicator. Assuming a statistically normal distribution, approximately 16% of the overall set (i.e. census blocks, in this case) would fall above a one standard deviation threshold.3. Table B03002 includes information from both 'Race' and 'Hispanic or Latino Origin' identification questions asked as part of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.