GEOG 277: Geography of Cities   Geography Librarian: Anne Zald Office: Map Collection, Suzzallo Library, Basement EMail: zald@u.washington.edu Phone: 206-543-2725 (if you get voicemail, leave your contact information) Courseweb: Geography 277
Page Guide:	Basic Information about Cities
	Finding Data
	Newspapers & Image Collections as Sources for History Politics & Culture of Cities
	Finding Academic Analysis & Scholarly Articles
	Citation & Writing Help

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Basic Information About Cities

These sources are recommended by Professor England with this tip - "Be warned that neither the web nor these encyclopedias will have extensive materials about the cities in a historical context."

• Encyclopedia of World Cities
  Suzzallo Reference HT108.5.W47 1999
• World Encyclopedia of Cities
  Suzzallo Reference, Odegaard Reference, AUP Reference HT108.5.K87 1994 
• America's Top Rated Cities
  Suzzallo Reference HT123.5.A17 A44
• Encyclopedia of Urban America
  Suzzallo Reference, Odegaard Reference  HT123.E5 1998 
  
• Health and Environment in America's Top Rated Cities: A Statistical Profile
  Suzzallo Reference HT123 .H39 1994/95

And a few additional resources:

• Encyclopedia of Urban Cultures Suzzallo Reference HT108.5.E53 2002
  A few thematic essays (The Origin of Cities, The Declining City, Urban Geography, Urbanization in Latin America, etc) but most of the set is made up of individual city profiles. The only US cities included in this four-volume set are: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington D.C. All articles include references to additional research materials.
• Encyclopedia of Urban America : The Cities and Suburbs Suzzallo Reference, Odegaard Reference HT123.E5 1998
  Thematic articles that are not city-specific, e.g. architecture, department stores, homelessness, gentrification. City-specific articles are descriptive with some historical background. All articles include references to additional research materials.
• HistoryLink
  Seattle, King County, & Washington state history
• Wikipedia
  The Free Encyclopedia - don't neglect the citations each article provides for additional reading.
• Oxford Reference Online
  Definitions, overviews, background information. Many entries provide citations for further research.

Finding Data

Cities in Washington State:

• City of Seattle Census 2000 Data & Maps - Data for Census Bureau geographies and Locally Defined Areas.
• King County Census Viewer - view maps and tables for more than 100 community census data indicators for 77 defined places throughout King County. Data displayed at census tract or blockgroup level within each place.
• Pierce County Census View 2000 - view 2000 Census data for Pierce County by census tract and block group - definitions of census geography also available on pp 10-13 of Census 2000 Basics[pdf].
• Puget Sound Regional Council - Maps/Data/Publications - a clearinghouse for regional data and publications on population, housing, economy, and transportation in the central Puget Sound region, e.g. Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties.
• Washington State County & City Information - links to data on these topics for each county in WA: population, economy, county government finances, human services, criminal justice.
• Northwest Income Indicators Project - economic indicator data tables and graphs for Washington counties - data 1963-2003.

Cities in the US (including Washington):

• American FactFinder - Data from 2000 & 1990 Census and MUCH more from the U.S. Census Bureau
  • 4 Easy Steps to Census 2000 Data [pdf].
  • Census Tract Finder - search using your address.
  • This picture provides a quick review of Census Geography (for areas smaller than County).
  • Census Glossary definitions for Place, Census Tract, and Block Group and Block.
  • The Decennial Census asks a specific range of questions. Everyone answers questions on the short form about people and housing, but 1 in 6 households receive the long form which adds questions on social, economic and housing topics.
• MapStats: United States - view a statistical profile of your state, county, city, congressional district, or Federal judicial district.
• American Community Survey - an ongoing demographic survey which will replace the decennial census's "long form" questionnaire. This data provides population characteristics, not population counts. First data release in 2006, subsequently will provide annual population estimates for communities >65,000, starting 2008 will provide 3-year population estimates for communities >20,000, starting 2010 will provide 5-year population estimates for all areas.
• County Business Patterns & USA Counties, from the U.S. Census Bureau - Older editions are available in print at Government Publications, ground floor Suzzallo Library.
• Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
  • part I
    Statistical tables on: Population, Vital Statistics Health Medical Care, Migration, Labor, Prices and Price Indexes, National Income and Wealth, Consumer Income and Expenditures, Social Statistics, Land Water and Climate, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Minerals.
  • Part II
    Statistical tables on: Construction and Housing, Manufactures, Transportation, Communications, Energy, Distribution and Services, International Transactions and Foreign Commerce, Business Enterprise, Productivity and Technological Development, Financial Markets and Institutions, Government, Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics.
• Historic Decennial Census Data Tables - pdf of published data tables 1790-1990, plus searchable tables for 2000.
• Selected Historical Decennial Census and Housing Counts - subject reports from analyses of data.
• Historical Census Browser, provides census data for states and counties for 1790-1960.

Newspapers & Image Collections as Sources for History, Politics, and Culture of Cities

Cities in Washington State:

• Washington State Newstand
  Fulltext of newspapers from Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Vancouver, Bellevue, Spokane, Wenatchee, Yakima, etc. Dates included are 1990s to present, although the Seattle Times is included 1984-present (list of papers and dates of text covered by the WA State Newstand database). Additional Washington State newspapers are available in Microforms/Newspapers, Suzzallo Library, ground floor.
• Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index
  Contains citations from hundreds of newspapers and periodicals as well as monographs, theses, dissertations, scrapbooks, pamphlets and other ephemera dealing with all aspects of life in Seattle, Washington state and the Pacific Northwest from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Online version a good starting point but not yet complete. Original card file of the index is located in Special Collections, Allen Library South, basement.
• UW Libraries Digital Collections
  Images selected from the photography collections with emphasis on the PNW region.
• Early Washington Maps
  Digital images of maps which date rom the earliest explorations of WA to the mid-20th century.
• WebTowns
  A guide to Puget Sound neighborhoods, from the Seattle P.I.

Cities Nationwide:

• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe - Articles in newspapers published in cities across the United States and around the world, most articles available in English.
• NewsBank Retrospective - Back issues of U.S. newspapers, 1970-1991, including various regional papers. Check here for a state-by-state list of newspapers covered.
• Alt-Press Watch - Full text newspaper, magazine and journal articles from alternative and independent presses.
• Ethnic Newswatch - Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic and minority press in America. Generally articles from the 1990s to present (see newspaper list).
• Additional historical newspapers available in Microforms/Newspapers, Suzzallo Library, ground floor.
  This includes major urban, ethnic, and non-mainstream papers, e.g. Chicago Defender, Catholic Worker, etc.
• American Memory Project
  Digital selections from the Library of Congress collections - photos, videos, maps, etc.
  

 

Finding Academic Analysis & Scholarly Articles

• UW Libraries Catalog
  Search for books, videos, documents, and journal subscriptions at all of the UW Libraries at once.
• Summit Catalog
  A combined catalog for libraries at universities & colleges in Washington and Oregon. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested and are delivered to the library of your choice in 3-5 business days.

• Expanded Academic Index
  Academic and popular articles in many disciplines; about 60% of the articles are in full text. Limit to scholarly material by checking the box next to "Refereed publications".
• Research Library Complete
  Academic and popular articles in many disciplines; about 60% of the articles are in full text. Limit to scholarly material by checking the box next to "Scholarly journals".
• America: History & Life
  Articles written by and for historians of America and Canada.
  
• GeoBase
  Citations and abstracts for scholarly articles in Geography, including urban, political and economic geography.
• PAIS
  Articles and documents in the fields of public policy, political science, and international relations.
• Web of Science
  This database includes the Social Science Citation Index of citations and abstracts in the social science fields.

Citation & Writing Help

• Citation Style Sheet provided by Professor England on the GEOG 277 website
• Additional Citation & Writing Guides, including how to cite maps
• EndNote is software that can help you keep track of citations and format them for bibliographies. Available on computers in Mary Gates Hall, Odegaard Library, the Access+ computers provided in several campus libraries, and on the computers in the Geography Collaboratory Smith 415. EndNote Web can be used from any computer - sign up for an account (no charge!).

• Anthropology & Geography Writing Center
• Writing Centers which serve students from ALL departments
  • Odegaard Writing & Research Center - writing and research assistance.
  • English Dept Writing Center - also able to assist ESL students
  • CLUE Evening Writing Center - also able to assist ESL students

Page maintained by: Anne Zald zald@u.washington.edu
Last modified: Monday July 14 2008