Aging Services Demographic Analysis

During the summer of 2002, Hillsborough County’s Aging Services Department received funding to expand its service center locations. Having only the addresses of program enrollees, the Aging Services Department contacted the Real Estate Department’s GIS Section to spatially locate clients so that locations could be chosen to minimize the driving distances and travel time to the new centers.

The Aging Services Department also recognized the need to provide services to people who would be enrolling in its program in the coming years. The GIS Section used the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data to determine the locations of potential clients, identifying those areas where people aged 60 and over were living. Density maps were created using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst. Using this data, the GIS Section was able to determine several available parcels that would maximize a new center’s usefulness to program enrollees. By locating the expansion centers on vacant, county-owned land when possible, the department was further able to lower costs.