University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
College of Biological Sciences
http://www.cbs.umn.edu/

All Methods

Log Out

Methods for Experiment 267 -

Cited References

Milesi,C., C.D. Elvidge, J.B. Dietz, B.T. Tuttle, R.N. Ramkrishna, and S.W.W. Running. 2005. Mapping and modeling the biogeochemical cycling of turf grasses in the United States. Journal of Environmental Management 36:426-438. Nelson, K., S. Grayzeck, J. King, S. Hobbie, L. Baker, and J. McFadden. 2008. Our household choices in urban living survey, University of Minnesota, St. Paul. Household Survey. Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, J.C. Steven, R.E. Hoehn, J.T. Walton, and J. Bond. 2008. A ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure and ecosystem services. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 34:347-358.

Energy Records

As part of the survey, we requested homeowner permission to access energy billing records from electricity and natural gas providers for the period May 2007 ? May 2008. We obtained permission from 1,940 households to obtain energy records. This information allowed us to estimate household yearly energy consumption. Of these 1,940 households, 1,517 households also gave us permission to visit their property to make landscape measurements.

Landscape Measurements

During the summer of 2008, we conducted on-site landscape measurements for a subsample of 360 households to estimate fluxes and storage of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in vegetation and soils on their properties. Landscape measurements included: 1. Assessment of land cover type (trees, bushes, lawn, impervious surface, etc.) 2. Total number of trees For each tree greater than 2 cm at breast height, we recorded: 1. Species 2. Diameter at breast height (DBH) 3. Total height and height of first branching 4. Canopy light exposure 5. Percent of canopy missing 6. Canopy dieback (as % dead branches) 7. Distance and direction from buildings (for trees equal or greater than 7 m tall and located less than 20 m from the building) We used the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model to estimate tree C uptake and storage (Nowak et al. 2008) along with published data on wood and leaf stoichiometry to estimate tree N and P fluxes. We modified output from a model of turfgrass productivity (Milesi et al. 2005) and combined it with published data on grass and soil stoichiometry to estimate lawn carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus fluxes.

Mail survey

Our survey (Nelson et al. 2008) consisted of 40 questions and took approximately 40 minutes to complete. The survey requested information on: 1. Demographics (age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, income, number of household members) 2. Household members’ heights, weights, diets and levels of physical activity 3. Number and weights of pets 4. Food waste disposal and recycling habits 5. Air and motor vehicle travel 6. Landscape management practices 7. Respondent’s attitudes, perceived social norms, and perceived control regarding: a. motor vehicle travel b. home-energy efficiency behaviors c. lawn fertilization d. dietary meat consumption As part of the survey, we requested homeowner permission to access energy billing records from electricity and natural gas providers for the period May 2007 ? May 2008. We obtained permission from 1,940 households to obtain energy records. This information allowed us to estimate household yearly energy consumption. Of these 1,940 households, 1,517 households also gave us permission to visit their property to make landscape measurements.

Map of Sample Distribution

Sample

The target population for our survey was households in Ramsey and Anoka Counties that met three criteria: 1. Represent ?upland? hydrologic type (no ponds or wetlands on property) 2. Have greater than 0% impervious surface on the property 3. Are single-family detached homes We selected all census blocks in Ramsey and Anoka Counties where more than 50% of land area met these three criteria. With the help of Survey Sampling International, we randomly selected 15,000 homes to receive our survey. We sampled households by selecting more homes in highly populated census blocks. Once we had selected our sample, we mailed the survey with an introductory letter. About two weeks later, we sent a reminder postcard and approximately one month after the initial mailing, we sent a second copy of the survey to any addresses that did not respond to either the first mailing or the postcard reminder. Respondents completed and returned the survey between May and August 2008. We received a total of 3,099 filled out surveys, equivalent to a response rate of 21.33%.

Summary of response rate

The Household Flux Calculator

We developed a computational tool called the Household Flux Calculator (HFC) to convert all of the information we gathered (from the returned surveys, energy records, parcel data, and landscape assessment) into annual fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus using a series of algorithms and conversions based on available literature. The HFC is organized into seven main components (motor vehicle and air travel, household energy consumption, human diet, pet diet, landscaping, and paper and plastic consumption) and two sub-components (food waste and wastewater). Fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus through each one of these components can be analyzed independently. Every component of the HFC receives inputs of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in different forms (e.g., food for human and pet nutrition, fuel for transportation) that then leave the household as outputs (e.g., CO2 from human and pet respiration; CO2 and NOx from fuel combustion).

the Household Flux Diagram

abbe267 - Survey results. All air travel trips made by households. Business vs. pleasure, miles and number of travelers.

Air Travel

This table provides all air travel trips made by the households. Households that did not list any airline trips do not have records associated with them in this table. For those households that did list trips, each origin and destination listed in the mailed survey is give a stored in a separate row in the table. Each orgin and destination row may include one to many trips and one to many passengers. In addition, if the respondent indicated it, the trip is recorded in this table as for business or pleasure. The origin and destination are stored in their raw format (as the text written in by respondents).

Air Travel

TCHEP Researchers spent time with the air travel trips to interpret and create calculated information from respondents' trip origins and destinations. For example, a respondent value of "FT MEYERS" has been interpreted and parsed into 3 fields of City_Origin, State_Origin, and Country_Origin with the values of FORT MYERS, FLORIDA, and USA. A latitude and longitude was assigned for origins and destinations and recorded in fields in this table. Additionally, then distance between the origin and destination was calculated using the Great Distance Circle formula and recorded in fields (both as Miles and Kilometers) in this table. Some additional analysis was conducted on the trip data to evaluate whether or not trips were one-way or round trip. The results of this analysis are stored in the "Trip_Part" field, and while the analysis was subjective, the clarification can be useful when a total air travel needs to be calculated. These additional fields may be available to researchers upon request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

abce267 - Survey results. Commutes to work and school by family member. Mode used, frequency and miles travelled.

Commute

The Commute table contains household responses to Question 10 which asked survey respondents to list the commutes to work and school for each family member. For each member, the following information was requested: first name, distance one-way in miles and the number of days per week by mode (mode options: Drive, Car-Pool, Bus, Bike, Walk, Other). There are zero to many records in the Commute Table for each Household. The response data in the commute table from question 10 are given in real numbers: Total commute miles and number of days for each type of commute. Records that contain zeros reflect zeros written in on the survey whereas blank records indicate no number was written down. Each record contains the Household ID number and the Household Member ID number so records can be related to other Household and/or Household Member data. In addition, each record has its own commute ID.

abde267 - Survey results. Attitudes about difficulty or ease of eating meat from each family member.

Diet Choices

The response to Question 30O (a free-text comment) is not included in the data because comments could reveal details about a household that might compromise protection of household privacy.

Diet Choices

This table contains household responses to questions 30 A-N in the TCHEP survey that asked about diet choices. Each question contained a statement and response phrases indicating the each end of a numeric range from which the respondent could choose. For example, the statement says ?For me to eat meat every day is difficult/easy?. The respondent circles one number on the range between 1 and 5 could be circled where 1 = difficult and 5 = easy. All the questions and responses held in this table are on a Likert scale of 1-5 and so can only have a value of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. A blank or ?Null? value indicates that the respondent did not answer this question. Each household has one record in the Diet Choices table and the responses can be related to other data using the Household ID number.

abee267 - Survey results. Preferences on diet type, meat-fish, vegetarian, vegan and reasons for preferences by family member.

Diet

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting the diet data for specific projects. One result of this work was to make an assumption for diet type if none or more than one value was given. If no value was given the assumption was a ?meat/fish? diet. Also daily kilocalories for each member in this table were estimated using diet, weight, gender and other factors. The additional calculated or interpreted value fields may be available to researchers upon request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

Diet

The Diet table contains household responses to Question 12 in Section C ? ?Food and Diet Preferences? of the TCHEP survey. Question 12 asked about each household?s food consumption and diet. Specifically, question 12 provided a table in which there were rows for each household member and spaces for each household member?s name, diet type (choice between meat/fish, vegetarian or vegan) and the reason for their diet choice (reason choices were: 1. Economic; 2. Person Preferences; 3. Ethical/Religious concerns; 4. Personal Health; and 5. Environmental concerns). The respondent could include as many reasons as applied to each household member. The responses to the diet questions are recorded as categorical responses. Each household member that was listed in the response to question 12 has a record in the Diet table, so each household may have zero to many records in this table. Each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other Household data. Also each record contains the Member ID number so records can be related to other Household member data. Note that the household member name is not included. Blank fields indicate that the respondent did not include a value in the survey.

abfe267 - Survey results. Leaf disposal choices between, remove from site, mulch, compost, burn

Tree leaf disposal

The DisposeLeaves table contains household responses to Question 19 in Section E ? ?Household Waste? of the TCHEP survey. Question 19 asked about the household?s method for disposal of tree leaves. Specifically, question 19 asked how the household disposed of leaves and four choices were provided: 1) Mulch leaves into lawn, compost on property or add to garden 2) Remove leaves from property 3) Burn on-site 4) Other with a space to write in text. The respondent could check zero to four choices as a response to this question and so the DisposeLeaves table has zero to four records for each household. Each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other Household data. Each row contains a categorical response for the choice of answer 1-4. In addition, if the response was ?other? then the write-in text is also provided.

Tree leaf disposal

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting the Dispose Leaves data for specific projects. One result of this work was to classify the responses into whether the disposal of leaves was on or off site. In addition to classifying methods 1-3, the ?other? text was interpreted and it was decided whether this method was on site, off site or unknown. The additional calculated or interpreted value fields may be available to researchers upon request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

abge267 - Survey results. Adult education level and work status for all adults in household.

Education and Work

Education Work table contains household responses to Questions 36 and 37 in Section G ? ?About You? of the TCHEP survey that asked about household adult members? education levels and work status. The Education Work table contains results for each Adult listed in the household and the values are given as categorical responses. The number in the Work field corresponds to the following values: 1= Working at home 2= Working outside the home 3= Homemaker 4= Retired 5= Unemployed 6= Student The number in the Highest_Edu field corresponds to the following values: 1= A few years of high school 2= High school degree 3= 2 yr degree 4= 4 yr degree 5= Graduate degree. If the record is blank, this means that the highest level of education was left blank in the survey. Each household can have 0-4 records in the Education Work table and the responses can be related to other Household data using the Household ID number. Each record in the Education Work table has its own unique ID as well. Records cannot be related to the Household Members table.

Education and Work

It is important to note that these records cannot be related to individual household members listed in the Household Members table. In the survey responses, there was no way to distinguish individuals that were being referenced for the educational level or work status. There was not a place to indicate the adult by name. The adults were referenced by the text in rows provided ?Adult 1, Adult 2, Adult 3 and Adult 4?.

abhe267 - Survey results. Attitudes on whether making choices to increase energy efficiency of the home are harmful or beneficial.

Energy choices

The response to Question 28N (a free-text comment) is not included in the data because comments could reveal details about a household that might compromise protection of household privacy.

Energy choices

This table contains household responses to questions 28 A-M in the TCHEP survey that asked about energy efficiency choices. Each question contained a statement and response phrases indicating the each end of a numeric range from which the respondent could choose. For example, the statement says ?For me to try to increase the energy efficiency of my home is harmful/beneficial.? The respondent circles one number on the range between 1 and 5 could be circled where 1 = harmful and 5 = beneficial. All the questions and responses held in this table are on a Likert scale of 1-5 and so can only have a value of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. A blank or ?Null? value indicates that the respondent did not answer this question. Each household has one record in the Energy Choices table and the responses can be related to other data using the Household ID number.

abie267 - Survey results. Energy consumption for heating and cooling, including fuel choices and use of programmable thermostats.

Energy use

This "Energy" table contains household responses to questions about Energy Consumption in Section B ? Questions 5-8. These questions were a mix of categorical response questions and fill in the blank areas to be completed. The fields in this table are a mix of numbers that represent categorical responses and of true values in cases where the respondent included a real value as a write in response (such as Dollars spent on Propane). Question 5 asked about type of heating system and gave seven choices of which 0-7 choices could be selected. In addition, if Oil, Wood, Propane or other was selected, additional text was requested. Heating_Type1; Heating_Type2: 1= Gas 2= Electric 3= Oil 4= Propane 5= Wood 6= Other 7= Don?t know Question 6 asked about air conditioning and if a household has air conditioning, additional questions about type were asked. Question 8 asked whether the household had a programmable thermostat or not. Air_Con; Air_Type2, Progr_Thermo: 1= Yes 2= No. Air_Type1: 1= central air conditioning 2= window units 3=Other Question 7 requested the household to fill in temperatures for thermostat settings in winter and summer for 3 different household states: when respondents were 1) awake in the house, 2) asleep in the house or 3) not at home. The value in these fields is in degrees Fahrenheit, except where there is a value of 888 which indicates that the heating/cooling system is turned off. Each household has one record in the Energy table and the responses can be related to other data using the Household ID number.

abje267 - Survey results. Household planned or completed activities to increase energy efficiency of the home.

Energy Efficiency

This table contains household responses to question 9 in the TCHEP survey asked about energy efficiency activities. For each energy efficiency activity 3 choices were provided for when the energy efficiency measure was done or planned (before the respondents moved in the house, that they have done while living there and whether they plan on doing these activities). Of the five energy efficiency activities, the fifth energy efficiency choice was "Other" and a space was provided for the respondent to enter text for that energy efficiency activity. Energy_Eff_Code: 1= Add insulation 2= Seal leaky windows or doors 3= Buy energy efficient appliances 4= Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs 5= Other Done_before; Done_by_me; Intend_to_do: 1= Yes 2= No Each household could select between 0-5 activities in question 9 and so as a result each household may have 0-5 records in this table. If a household only has 2 records in this table, it means they only marked responses for two energy efficiency activities. Each record in this table has a Household ID number so that it can be related to other Household data. In addition each record has a unique EnergyEfficiency ID.

abke267 - Data on age, gender, height, weight, activity levels for each household member.

Household Members

The HHMember table contains data about individual household members that comes from responses to Questions 2 and 13 in respondents were asked to give their age, gender, height, weight and hours of moderate and vigorous physical activity. Each household member that is listed in the responses to these questions has a record in the HHMember table. Since there can be one to many members for each household, there are one to many members listed in HHMember table for each Household. Each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other household data. In addition, each record has its own Household Member ID (HH_ID). The HH_ID is used in many other tables and can be used to relate these other values with individual household members. The data values collected from questions 2 and 13 are recorded in this table as true values: Age in years; weight in pounds; height in feet and inches; and physical activity in hours per week . Gender is recorded as a 1 or 2 where 1 = Male and 2 = Female.

Household Members

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting and calculating values based on the Household Member data for specific projects. Some of this work was simple calculations such as converting the height values from feet and inches to centimeters, weight in pounds to kilograms, activity from hours per week to minutes per day. In addition, work was done to make assumptions about missing height, weight, age and gender records. Missing values for age were with the following manner. The average age of male adults, female adults, male children and female children was calculated. These calculated values were used to fill in records with missing age data. Most of the respondents completed the values for the height and weight of household members. For those household members who did not answer, the researchers made the following assumptions: 1) Assumptions for the height of household members were based on their age, gender and weight. If the weight was also missing, height was based on age and gender. 2) Assumptions for the height of household members were based on their age, gender and height. If the height was also missing, height was based on age and gender. If more than one assumption was made about a household member, the asusmptions were made in the following order: 1. Gender, 2. Age, 3. Height and 4. Weight. These calculated and interpreted fields are not included, but maybe obtained on request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

able267 - Unique household ID relational to all tables. Data, from participating households, on utility company records and tree survey access for UMN survey team.

Households

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting and calculating the ?number of adults? field in the database. This field is may be obtained on request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu). In addition, in the household table, the Energy_info field indicates whether utility (electric and gas) bills were collected for the households. The Energy tables are not included, but maybe obtained on request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

Unique household ID relational to all tables.Data, from participating households, on utility company

The Household table is one of the most important tables in the TCHEP database and table series. It contains the core data about each household that responded to the TCHEP survey. Specifically, the Household table contains data from responses to Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38 and 39. In addition there are fields that indicate whether households were included in academic studies, whether utility (electric and gas) bills were collected for the households and whether the households were visited by the TCHEP onsite survey team. Each household that responded to the TCHEP survey has a record in the Household table. There is only ONE record for each household and each household has a unique Household ID number (in the HH_ID field). The HH_ID field can be used to relate the core data from this table to all the other tables in the TCHEP database or table series.

abme267 - UMN tree survey team data by household for 360 households. Includes specific data on individual trees and vegetation beneath the tree canopy.

Tree and vegetation survey

Depending on the size of the property, all the trees or only a sample of trees on the property may have been examined and recorded in this table. In cases where a sample of trees was examined, an 8m radius circle was placed randomly within the property boundary and the trees within that plot were examined. The properties where plots were used can be identified by using the ?No_of_Plots? field in the Lawn table. If the household is included as a 360 sample (by the ?360_Sample? field in the Household table) but has a blank in the ?No_of_Plots? field, then all the trees on this property were examined. If, however, there is a number in the ?No_of_Plots? field, it provides the number of plots that were surveyed on this property. For 155 properties that were less than 0.1 Hectare (ha) in size, all trees were recorded. For 160 properties that were greater than 0.1 ha and less than 0.2 ha, there were 143 that had all the trees examined on the property; whereas, 17 properties of that size where only trees in sample plots were examined. For 45 properties that were greater than 0.2 ha, there were 14 that had all the trees examined on the property; whereas, 31 properties of that size where only trees in sample plots were examined. 312 properties had all the trees examined on the property and 48 properties had trees examined on plots.

Tree and vegetation survey

The Individual Tree 360 table contains data collected from a field study on 360 household properties. The 360 Households that had a field study performed can be identified in the Household table by a value of ?Y? in the ?360_Sample? field. The Individual Tree 360 table contains one record for each tree surveyed on a Household?s property. Each Household has many records in this table and each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other household data. In addition, each record has its own Tree ID. Each record also has a Plot ID. The information on individual trees that was gathered and is recorded in this table includes: the Scientific name of the tree; Tree branch diameter in cm; Tree height in cm; the Tree Condition (a categorical field); and whether it was a street tree or not. The area underneath the tree canopy was also measured and is recorded in this table.

abne267 - Survey results. Attitudes on choices for lawn care and fertilization.

Lawn care choices

This table contains household responses to questions 29 A-P in the TCHEP survey that asked about lawn care choices. Each question contained a statement and response phrases indicating the each end of a numeric range from which the respondent could choose. For example, the statement says ?For me to fertilize my lawn this year is good/bad.? The respondent circles one number on the range between 1 and 5 could be circled where 1 = good and 5 = bad. All the questions and responses held in this table are on a Likert scale of 1-5 and so can only have a value of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. A blank or ?Null? value indicates that the respondent did not answer this question. Each household has one record in the Lawn Choices table and the responses can be related to other data using the Household ID number.

Lawn care choices

The response to Question 29Q (a free-text comment) is not included in the data because comments could reveal details about a household that might compromise protection of household privacy.

aboe267 - Survey results. Data on lawn fertilization, watering, leaf mulching vs. removal. Indicates if professional lawn services were used. Includes on site data from UMN survey team, when applicable.

Lawn care

The size of the lawn on the property was calculated by digitizing the building and drivway in GIS using aerial photography and then calculating the area. The lawn size is the property size minus building and driveway size in square meters. This work was done by the TCHEP team. The digitization was done for 360 properties. The value provided is in square meters.

Lawn care

The Lawn table contains household responses to Question 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 in Sections D ? Lawn Care & Landscaping and E ? ?Household Waste? of the TCHEP survey. Question 14 asked lawn fertilization done by the household. Question 15 asked about frequency of lawn watering. Question 17 asked about disposal of lawn clippings and 18 about proportion of leaves raked or removed from the household property. The responses to these questions are categorical. If a respondent indicated a lawn Service Company in their response to Question 14, this write-in text is also provided. Fertilize_Times: 1= 0 times; 2= 1-2 times 3= 3-4 times 4= 5 or more time Disp_Clippings_Original: 1= Dispose of clippings off-site 2= Leave clippings on the lawn 3= Compost clippings on my property Rakes_Portion: 1= None 2= A quarter 3= One-half 4= three-quarters 5= All. Water_Times_Original: 1= Regularly 2= Occasionally 3= Rarely/Never Fertilize; Lawn_Service; Septic_System; Garbage_Disp; Compost_FoodWst: 1= Yes 2= No In addition to the values from the paper survey, the Lawn table also includes data from field research conducted on 360 households. In the Lawn table, the size of the lawn is provided in square meters in the ?Lawn_Size_m2? field. Each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other Household data.

abpe267 - Survey results. Magazines and newspapers subscriptions and amounts of paper and plastic recycled.

Paper and plastic

This Paper Plastic table contains household responses to Questions 23, 24, 25 and 26 in Section E ? ?Household Waste? of the TCHEP survey that asked about household recycling habits and number of newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Specifically, question 23 asks how many daily and weekend newspaper subscriptions the household receives. Questions 24 and 25 ask how many weekly and monthly magazine subscriptions the household receives. The responses to questions 23-25 are included in the table as real numbers indicating number of subscriptions listed by the household. Question 26 asks what proportion of paper and plastic is recycled by the household. The responses to question 26 are categorical responses representing proportion of paper and plastic that are recycled: 1= None 2= Some 3= Half 4= Most 5= Nearly All Each household has one record in the Paper Plastic table and the responses can be related to other Household data using the Household ID number.

abqe267 - Survey results. Number and size of dogs and cats in the household. Each pet has singular ID associated with Household ID.

Pets

The Pets table contains household responses to Question 3 in Section A ? ?Getting to know you and your household? of the TCHEP survey. Question 3 asked about whether the household has a dog or a cat. Specifically, question 3 provided 4 rows in which checkboxes for both cat and dog were provided along with a blank area for the size in pounds. Additionally, a row with a ?None? checkbox was provided. The responses to the cat or dog checkboxes in question 3 are recorded in the table as categorical responses (Dogs =1, Cats=2). The size of the pet is recorded as a true value number in pounds. Each household that recorded that they had 1 or more pets has a record in Pets table and the responses can be related to other Household data using the Household ID number. In addition, each individual pet has its own Pet_ID. The response to the ?None? checkbox is not included in this pet table. The ?None? checkbox response is included in the Household table (see the ?PNone? field).

Pets

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting the pet data for specific projects. One result of this work was to fill in a weight for cats and dogs where the weight was not included by the respondent. The average weight for dogs was 44 pounds and this value was used for 25 dog records that had blanks for weights. The average weight for cats was 11pounds and this value was used for 37 dog records that had blanks for weights. One Household (ID: 1784) included a weight of 15 pounds but no pet type. For TCHEP researcher work, this pet was assumed to be a cat. These interpreted and assumed values should be used with caution. The additional fields may be available to researchers upon request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

abre267 - Survey results. Attitudes about the difficulty or ease of using a car for primary transportation. Includes answers evaluating attitudes of other household

Transportation choices

This table contains household responses to questions 27 A-P in the TCHEP survey that asked about transportation choices. Each question contained a statement and response phrases indicating the each end of a numeric range from which the respondent could choose. For example, the statement says ?For me to use a car as my primary transportation every day is difficult/easy.? The respondent circles one number on the range between 1 and 5 could be circled where 1 = difficult and 5 = easy. All the questions and responses held in this table are on a Likert scale of 1-5 and so can only have a value of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. A blank or ?Null? value indicates that the respondent did not answer this question. Each household has one record in the Transportation Choices table and the responses can be related to other data using the Household ID number.

Transportation choices

The response to Question 27Q (a free-text comment) is not included in the data because comments could reveal details about a household that might compromise protection of household privacy.

abse267 - Survey results. Attitude on importance of landscaping choices for ease of maintenance, supporting wildlife, native species, esthetics, privacy seclusion, tidiness

Vegetation choice

This Vegetation Choice table contains household responses to Question 16 in Section D ? Lawn and Landscaping of the TCHEP survey that asked about criteria guiding vegetation choices. Question 16 asks about criteria for landscape choices and gave seven choices of which 0-7 choices could be selected: VEG1= Vegetation that creates a beautiful yard VEG2= Vegetation that is easy to maintain VEG3= Vegetation that supports wildlife VEG4= Vegetation that is native to Minnesota VEG5= Vegetation that provides privacy/seclusion VEG6= Vegetation that is neat and orderly VEG7= Other In addition, if ?other? was selected, additional text was requested. Each household can have 0-7 records in the Vegetation Choices table and the responses can be related to other Household data using the Household ID number.

abte267 - Survey results. Make and model of each car or truck owned by household. Odometer reading, year and month of purchase, number of cylinders and odometer reading at time of survey. MPG estimate from US EPA vehicle databases by vehicle.

Vehicles

TCHEP Researchers spent time on interpreting the Vehicles data for specific projects. Researchers spent time parsing the Make and Model data and interpreted the data to normalize the data into known vehicle models in two new fields: Make and Model. In addition, another field, CarorTruck, identifies the make and model as a car or truck. The vehicle was found in US EPA vehicle databases in order to find vehicle class and Miles per Gallon data. These values are stored in the fields Vclass and Car_Gas_Consump_mpg. Researchers calculated fields that that provided total months and years the vehicle had been owned by the household and the total number of miles driven. These calculated and interpreted fields are not included, but maybe obtained on request. Please contact Kristen Nelson (nelso468@umn.edu).

Vehicles

The Vehicles table contains household responses to Question 40 which asked respondents to describe the household?s cars and trucks. A table was provided in which each vehicle could be written in one row along with space to describe the vehicle?s features: Make and Model; year; Number of Cylinders (4, 6, 8); Purchased Year and Month; Number of Miles on Vehicle when they got it; and Current Odometer. Each vehicle described in the survey was given a record in the vehicle table. Since many households listed several vehicles there are one to many records in the Vehicles Table for each Household. The vehicle table contains a field that provides the Make and Model exactly as the respondent wrote it. In addition, real number values are provided for cylinders, purchase year, number of miles and current odometer. The purchase month is provided as a number between 1 and 12, where the number represents the month with January being 1 and December being 12. Records that contain zeros reflect zeros written in on the survey whereas blank records indicate no number was written down. Each record contains the Household ID number so records can be related to other data. In addition, each record has its own Vehicle ID.