Alternative Text Description for Climate Change

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map displays areas in Florida that meet specific climate change and environmental justice criteria. The map shows census tracts that satisfy multiple conditions related to low-income populations and environmental burden indicators. The visualization highlights communities that may be disproportionately affected by climate-related risks and environmental burdens, focusing on areas with specific demographic and environmental characteristics.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the entire state of Florida, extending from the Panhandle region in the northwest near Pensacola and Tallahassee to the southern tip near Miami. Major cities labeled on the map include Jacksonville in the northeast, Orlando in the central region, Tampa and St. Petersburg on the west coast, and Miami, Cape Coral, and Coral Springs in the southern region. The map also shows portions of neighboring states including southern Georgia (with cities like Albany, Dothan, and Valdosta visible) and southern Alabama. The Gulf of America is visible along Florida's western and northwestern coastline, while the Atlantic Ocean borders the eastern coast. The Florida Keys and the Straits of Florida are visible in the southern portion of the map.

KEY INSIGHTS

The map reveals a distributed pattern of climate change-affected areas across Florida, with notable concentrations in several regions. Significant clustering appears in the Panhandle region around Tallahassee and Pensacola, in north-central Florida, in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area on the west coast, and in portions of the Miami metropolitan area in the south. The Lakeland area in central Florida also shows a concentration of affected census tracts. The distribution suggests that climate change impacts combined with environmental justice factors affect both urban and rural communities throughout the state, though certain metropolitan areas show particularly dense clustering of affected tracts.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Climate Change Layer

This layer represents census tracts in Florida that meet combined criteria for environmental justice and climate-related vulnerabilities based on specific demographic and environmental burden indicators.

Climate Change Affected Areas (medium gray shading)

Appearance:

Census tract polygons are filled with medium gray shading, distinguishing them from the light gray background representing unaffected or excluded areas.

Distribution:

The shaded tracts are distributed throughout Florida, appearing in both coastal and inland locations, with presence in urban, suburban, and rural settings.

Notable locations:

Spatial patterns:

The affected tracts often appear in clusters within metropolitan regions, suggesting concentrations in specific neighborhoods or communities within larger urban areas. Some linear patterns are visible, particularly in the Panhandle where affected tracts follow geographic features. The distribution shows no single dominant corridor but rather multiple regional concentrations separated by areas with few or no qualifying tracts.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map represents a filtered subset of census tract data, showing only those areas that meet specific combined criteria related to environmental burden, low-income populations, and climate factors. The definition query filters for tracts meeting environmental and demographic thresholds simultaneously, providing a targeted view of communities facing multiple vulnerability factors. Areas not shaded do not necessarily lack climate change impacts, but rather do not meet the specific combination of criteria applied in this analysis. The map is intended to support environmental justice and climate adaptation planning by identifying priority communities.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

The data is derived from census tract-level environmental justice and climate vulnerability indicators, likely compiled from federal or state environmental justice screening tools. The source layer is JUSTICE_40_TRACT_JUN22.

Definition Query:

The map displays only those census tracts where (EALRLI=1 OR EBLRLI=1 OR EPLRLI=1) AND M_EBSI=1 AND CA_LT20=1. This filtering criteria identifies tracts that meet at least one low-income related environmental indicator (EALRLI, EBLRLI, or EPLRLI), combined with a measure related to environmental burden (M_EBSI=1) and a condition where the area is less than 20 percent of a specific category (CA_LT20=1).

Scale Information:

The map is displayed at a statewide scale showing the entire state of Florida and portions of neighboring states, appropriate for regional planning and policy analysis rather than detailed local assessment.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087)

Time Period of Content:

The source data is dated June 2022 (JUSTICE_40_TRACT_JUN22), indicating the data represents conditions as of mid-2022.

Limitations:

The map shows only census tracts meeting specific combined criteria and does not represent all areas affected by climate change in Florida. The binary representation (shaded or not shaded) does not show degrees of vulnerability or environmental burden. Census tract boundaries may not align perfectly with community boundaries or areas of actual impact. The specific meanings of the indicator codes (EALRLI, EBLRLI, EPLRLI, M_EBSI, CA_LT20) are not defined in the available information.

Map Coverage:

The map extent covers the entire state of Florida from approximately the Alabama-Georgia-Florida border in the north to the Florida Keys in the south, and from the Gulf of America coast in the west to the Atlantic coast in the east, with small portions of southern Georgia and Alabama shown for geographic context.

The alternative text description of this map was AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies.