PLAN 4577

Memo
To: Bronx River Alliance

From: Faraz Butte

Date: October 12, 2016

Re: Bilingual Signage in the Bronx River Greenway

Introduction
Based on the demographics of the Bronx, it is recommended that bilingual signage in English and
Spanish be provided along the Bronx River Greenway. The informational signs will provide information
about safety, rules, and ecology along the 12 miles of trails and 633 acres of parkland once the project is
completed. This information will be inaccessible to large portions of the local population if signs are only
in English, the largest by far of which will be Spanish speakers. In order to make the park and trails more
accessible, bilingual signs in English and Spanish are recommended.

Key Points

46.5% of the Bronx is of Hispanic or Latino Origin.

46.8% of residents in the Bronx Watershed speak Spanish.
44% of Spanish speakers in the Bronx River Watershed do not speak English well.
In 59 out of the 136 census tracts in the Bronx River Watershed, over 50% of the population
speaks Spanish.
Providing bilingual signage will allow the high percentage of people who only speak Spanish
have access to the safety, rules, and other information provided.

Data and Methodology

Data for the maps were collected using the 2005-2009 American Community Survey 5 year
estimates and 2010 US census results. Survey and Census results were downloaded and analyzed using
Microsoft Excel. All maps were created on ArcGIS. It was assumed that the 2005-2009 American
Community Survey 5-year estimates and 2010 US census results were accurate and that Spanish speakers
were literate.
Analysis

HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN

POPULATION IN THE BRONX

Overall, the Bronx is a very diverse county.

The largest ethnic group present is the
Hispanic or Latino population, which
comprises 46.5% of the population. Map 1
shows the percentage of Hispanic or
Latino origin people by census tract in the
Bronx.

Map 1. Source: 2010 US Census

Map 2 illustrates the percentages of

Hispanic households in each census tract
that are multigenerational. As can be seen,
the Hispanic and Latino communities in the
Bronx are well-established, with
generations of a family living together. This
indicates that families have established
permanent residence, and are not here
temporarily. Additionally, it shows the large
number of Hispanic or Latino families in
the county who would be able to make use
of the Bronx river Greenway.

Map 2. Source: The American Community Survey 2005 2009 Estimate

2|Page

Map 3. Source: The American Community Survey 2005 2009 Estimate.
Map 4. Source: The American Community Survey 2005 2009 Estimate.
3|Page
THE SPANISH LANGUAGE IN
THE BRONX WATERSHED
Map 3 shows the percent of Spanish
speakers in the population of people 5
years and older in the Bronx River
Watershed. Map 4 (below) shows the
percentage of Spanish speakers who
speak English less than well. The ten
census tracts with the highest percentages
of Spanish speakers who do not speak
English well are outlined in teal.
The census tracts in the Bronx River
Watershed would house the population
with immediate and the most frequent
access to the Bronx River Greenway. From
the data, it can be seen that 46.8% of
residents in the Bronx Watershed speak
Spanish. Of those Spanish speakers, of
Spanish speakers in the Bronx River
Watershed do not speak English well. In
59 of the 136 census tracts in the Bronx
River Watershed, over 50% of the
population speaks Spanish.
Signs along the Bronx River Greenway will
provide important information about safety,
rules, ecology, and other aspects that are
of interest to park goers. Without bilingual
signs in English and Spanish, a large
group of residents who live near the park
will not have access to this information.
 Languages Spoken in the Bronx
Watershed OTHER LANGUAGES
300000
Number of Spakers

250000
200000 Though Spanish is not the only
150000 non-English language spoken in
100000 the Bronx River Watershed, it is
50000 larger than every other language
0 group, including English, by far.
Table 1 illustrates the languages
spoken in the Bronx River
Watershed. Providing bilingual
signs in English and Spanish will
help the greatest number of local
residents.
Language

Table 1. Source: The American Community Survey 2005 2009 Estimate.

4|Page