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Resilience Insights

Base Canvas Attributes

The Base Canvas includes attributes that describe land use, demographics, and development for each parcel or census block feature. Analyst's Base Canvas creation process incorporates a number of data sources to populate the attribute columns, including population and housing data from the decennial census and American Community Survey; employment data from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program; point of interest data from various sources; and nationwide parcel data.

For a video overview that explains all the basics of the Base Canvas, you can also watch our webinar: What is the Base Canvas?

The Base Canvas attributes are summarized below.

Table 1. Base Canvas Attributes

Attribute Name

Column Key

Description

Geography ID

id

A unique identifier for the geographic feature.

Land Use Summary (L1)

land_use_category_level_1

The highest-level land use category, which includes bro classifications such as Residential, Commercial, and Mixed Use. All lower-level categories nest within higher-level categories.

Land Use Summary (L2)

land_use_category_level_2

Second-level land use category, which includes summary classifications such as Single-family and Multifamily.

Land Use Category (L3)

land_use_category_level_3

Most detailed land use category, which corresponds to specific land uses such as Single-family detached.

Land Use Type (L4) (or Built Form Type)

built_form_key

Building Type or Place Type of the canvas geometry.

Land Development Category

land_development_category

A broad categorization of land use patterns based on intersection density, housing density, and employment density. The categories include Urban, Compact, Standard (suburban), and Rural.

Intersection Density

intersection_density

Density of roadway intersections per square mile, measured over a buffered area of the canvas geometry.

Gross Area

area_gross

Gross area of the canvas geometry, in acres.

Population

pop

Residential population associated with occupied dwelling units. This excludes people residing in group quarters.

Households

hh

Households, equivalent to occupied dwelling units.

Dwelling Units

du

Dwelling units, including occupied and unoccupied units

All Detached Single-Family Dwelling Units

du_detsf

Total detached single family homes.

Large Lot Detached Single-Family Dwelling Units

du_detsf_ll

Detached single family home on lots larger than 5,500 square feet.

Small Lot Detached Single-Family Dwelling Units

du_detsf_sl

Detached single family home on lots smaller than 5,500 square feet.

Attached Single-Family Dwelling Units (Townhomes)

du_attsf

Attached single family homes, including townhomes, rowhouses, and other units that share walls but are not stacked vertically.

All Multifamily Dwelling Units

du_mf

Homes in buildings that contain at least two housing units that are adjacent vertically, or horizontally with shared utility systems.

Multi-Family - 2 to 4 Dwelling Units

du_mf2to4

Homes in buildings that contain two to four housing units that adjacent vertically, or horizontally with shared utility systems. Note that, while this column appropriately represents units in buildings of this size category in the Base Canvas new multifamily units are assigned to this category by default in scenarios. Scenario analysis does not differentiate between the multifamily building size categories.

Multi-Family - 5 or More Dwelling Units

du_mf5p

Homes in buildings that contain more than five housing units are adjacent vertically, or horizontally with shared utility systems. Note that, while this column appropriately represents units in buildings of this size category in the Base Canvas, all new multifamily units are assigned to the du_mf2to4 category by default in scenarios. Scenario analysis does not differentiate between the multifamily building size categories

Employment

emp

Total jobs across all employment categories.

All Retail Employment

emp_ret

The Retail category includes all retail services, other services, restaurant, accommodation, and arts and entertainment employment.

All Office Employment

emp_off

The Office category includes all office services and medical services employment.

All Public Employment

emp_pub

The Public category includes all public administration and education employment.

All Industrial Employment

emp_ind

The Industrial category includes all utilities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale, and transportation & warehousing employment.

All Agriculture Employment

emp_ag

The Agriculture category includes all agriculture and extraction sector employment.

Military Employment

emp_military

The Military category includes employment in the military sector.

Retail Services Employment

emp_retail_services

The Retail Services category, a subsector of Retail, includes retail trade employment.

Restaurant Employment

emp_restaurant

The Restaurant category, a subsector of Retail, includes restaurant and other food service employment.

Accommodation Employment

emp_accommodation

The Accommodation category, a subsector of Retail, includes facilities such as hotels and motels.

Arts & Entertainment Employment

emp_arts_entertainment

The Arts/Entertainment category, a subsector of Retail, includes arts, entertainment, and recreation employment.

Other Retail Employment

emp_other_services

The Other Services category, a subsector of Retail, includes retail employment outside of trade, restaurant, accommodation, arts/entertainment/recreation, and wholesale employment.

Office Services Employment

emp_office_services

The Office Services category, a subsector of Office, includes information, finance, and professional and business services employment.

Public Administration Employment

emp_public_admin

The Public Administration category, a subsector of Public, includes public employment.

Education Employment

emp_education

The Education category, a subsector of Public, includes primary, secondary, and higher education services employment.

Medical Services Employment

emp_medical_services

The Medical Services category, a subsector of Office, includes health care employment.

Manufacturing Employment

emp_manufacturing

The Manufacturing category, a subsector of Industrial, includes employment in the manufacturing sector.

Wholesale Employment

emp_wholesale

The Wholesale category, a subsector of Industrial, includes wholesale retail employment.

Transportation/Warehouses Employment

emp_transport_warehousing

The Transport/Warehousing category, a subsector of Industrial, includes transportation and warehousing employment.

Utilities Employment

emp_utilities

The Utilities category, a subsector of Industrial, includes employment in the utilities sector.

Construction Employment

emp_construction

The Construction category, a subsector of Industrial, includes employment associated with construction activities.

Agriculture Employment

emp_agriculture

The Agriculture category, a subsector of (all) Agriculture, includes agricultural employment.

Extraction Employment

emp_extraction

The Extraction category, a subsector of Agriculture, includes employment related to extraction.

Small Lot Detached Single-Family Building Area

bldg_area_detsf_sl

Building area of small lot detached single-family homes, in square feet.

Large Lot Detached Single-Family Building Area

bldg_area_detsf_ll

Building area of large lot detached single-family homes, in square feet.

Attached Single-Family Building Area

bldg_area_attsf

Building area of attached single-family homes, in square feet.

Multifamily Building Area

bldg_area_mf

Building area of multifamily homes, in square feet.

Retail Services Building Area

bldg_area_retail_services

Building area associated with the retail trade sector, in square feet.

Restaurants Building Area

bldg_area_restaurant

Building area associated with the restaurant and food service sector, in square feet.

Accommodation Building Area

bldg_area_accommodation

Building area associated with facilities such as hotels and motels, in square feet.

Arts & Entertainment Building Area

bldg_area_arts_entertainment

Building area associated with the arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors, in square feet.

Other Retail Building Area

bldg_area_other_services

Building area associated with the retail sector outside of trade, restaurant, accommodation, arts/entertainment/recreation, and wholesale employment, in square feet.

Office Services Building Area

bldg_area_office_services

Building area associated with the information, finance, and professional and business services sector, in square feet.

Public Administration Building Area

bldg_area_public_admin

Building area associated with the public sector, in square feet.

Education Building Area

bldg_area_education

Building area associated with the primary, secondary, and higher education services sector, in square feet.

Medical Services Building Area

bldg_area_medical_services

Building area associated with the health care sector, in square feet.

Transportation/Warehouses Building Area

bldg_area_transport_warehousing

Building area associated with the transportation and warehousing sectors, in square feet.

Wholesale Building Area

bldg_area_wholesale

Building area associated with the wholesale retail sector, in square feet.

All Detached Single Family Parcel Area

area_parcel_res_detsf

Parcel area with detached single-family use, in acres.

Small Lot Detached Single-Family Parcel Area

area_parcel_res_detsf_sl

Parcel area with small lot detached single-family use, in acres.

Large Lot Detached Single-Family Parcel Area

area_parcel_res_detsf_ll

Parcel area with large lot detached single-family use, in acres.

Attached Single-Family Parcel Area

area_parcel_res_attsf

Parcel area with attached single-family use, in acres.

Multifamily Building Parcel Area

area_parcel_res_mf

Parcel area with multi-family use, in acres.

All Retail Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_ret

Parcel area with retail employment use, in acres.

All Office Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_off

Parcel area with office employment use, in acres.

All Public Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_pub

Parcel area with public employment use, in acres.

All Industrial Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_ind

Parcel area with industrial employment use, in acres.

All Agriculture Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_ag

Parcel area with agricultural employment use, in acres.

All Military Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp_military

Parcel area with military employment use, in acres.

Residential Parcel Area

area_parcel_res

Total parcel area with residential use, in acres.

Employment Parcel Area

area_parcel_emp

Total parcel area with commercial use, in acres.

Mixed Use Parcel Area

area_parcel_mixed_use

Total parcel area with mixed use, in acres.

No Use Parcel Area

area_parcel_no_use

Total parcel area with no use, in acres.

Net Area

area_parcel

Parcel area of canvas geometry, in acres.

Area - Development

area_dev_condition

Parcel area available for development, in acres. This is the area that will be "painted" in a scenario.

Right-of-Way Area

area_row

Right-of-way area within the canvas geometry, including roads and sidewalks, in acres.

Residential Irrigated Area

residential_irrigated_area

Irrigated outdoor area associated with residential buildings, in square feet.

Commercial Irrigated Area

commercial_irrigated_area

Irrigated outdoor area associated with commercial buildings, not including agricultural irrigation, in square feet.

Population in Group Quarters

pop_groupquarter

People that reside in group quarters, such as dormitories and correctional facilities.

Modified from Original

uf_is_painted

Indicates with a "yes" or "no" value whether a feature has been modified in any way, including gridding, type painting, or attribute painting.

Modified: Gridded

uf_paint_split

Indicates with a "yes" or "no" value whether a feature has been created using a gridding operation.

Modified: Type Paint

uf_paint_built_form

Indicates with a "yes" or "no" value whether a feature has been painted to have a new Building or Place Type name. This can apply whether the feature has been painted by type or attribute, and regardless of whether the base residential and employment values have been modified.

Modified: Employment Attributes

uf_paint_direct_employment

Indicates with a "yes" or "no" value whether a feature has been painted by attribute to set employment values, including jobs and non-residential building area.

Modified: Residential Attributes

uf_paint_direct_residential

Indicates with a "yes" or "no" value whether a feature has been painted by attribute to set residential values, including dwelling units and residential building area.