ndi-package: The ndi Package: Neighborhood Deprivation Indices

In ndi: Neighborhood Deprivation Indices

The ndi Package: Neighborhood Deprivation Indices

Description

Computes various geospatial indices of socioeconomic deprivation and disparity in the United States based on information available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Details

The 'ndi' package computes various indices of socioeconomic deprivation and disparity in the United States. Some indices are considered "spatial" because they consider the values of neighboring (i.e., adjacent) census geographies in their computation, while other indices are "aspatial" because they only consider the value within each census geography. Two types of aspatial neighborhood deprivation indices (NDI) are available: (1) based on Messer et al. (2006) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1007/s11524-006-9094-x")} and (2) based on Andrews et al. (2020) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1080/17445647.2020.1750066")} and Slotman et al. (2022) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.dib.2022.108002")} who use variables chosen by Roux and Mair (2010) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05333.x")}. Both are a decomposition of multiple demographic characteristics from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (ACS-5; 2006-2010 onward). Using data from the ACS-5 (2005-2009 onward), the package can also compute indices of racial or ethnic residential segregation, including but limited to those discussed in Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}, and additional indices of socioeconomic disparity.

Key content of the 'ndi' package include:

Neighborhood Deprivation Indices

messer Computes the aspatial Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) based on Messer et al. (2006) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1007/s11524-006-9094-x")}.

powell_wiley Computes the aspatial Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) based on Andrews et al. (2020) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1080/17445647.2020.1750066")} and Slotman et al. (2022) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.dib.2022.108002")} who use variables chosen by Roux and Mair (2010) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05333.x")}.

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Segregation

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Evenness

atkinson Computes the aspatial Atkinson Index (A) based on Atkinson (1970) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6")}.

duncan Computes the aspatial Dissimilarity Index (D) based on Duncan & Duncan (1955a) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2088328")}.

gini Computes the aspatial Gini Index (G) based on Gini (1921) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2223319")}.

james_taeuber Computes the aspatial Dissimilarity Index (D) based on James & Taeuber (1985) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/270845")}.

sudano Computes the aspatial Location Quotient (LQ) based on Merton (1939) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2084686")} and Sudano et al. (2013) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.09.015")}.

theil Computes the aspatial Entropy (H) based on Theil (1972; ISBN-13:978-0-444-10378-9) and Theil & Finizza (1971) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1080/0022250X.1971.9989795")}.

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Exposure

anthopolos Computes the spatial Racial Isolation Index (RI) based on Anthopolos (2011) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.sste.2011.06.002")}.

bell Computes the aspatial Interaction Index (xPy\*) based on Shevky & Williams (1949; ISBN-13:978-0-837-15637-8) and Bell (1954) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2574118")}.

bemanian_beyer Computes the aspatial Local Exposure and Isolation (LEx/Is) based on Bemanian & Beyer (2017) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-16-0926")}.

lieberson Computes the aspatial Isolation Index (xPx\*) based on Lieberson (1981; ISBN-13:978-1-032-53884-6) and Bell (1954) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2574118")}.

white Computes the aspatial Correlation Ratio (V) based on Bell (1954) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2574118")} and White (1986) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/3644339")}.

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Concentration

denton_cuzzort Computes the aspatial Relative Concentration (RCO) based on Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")} and Duncan, Cuzzort, & Duncan (1961; LC:60007089).

hoover Computes the aspatial Delta (DEL) based on Hoover (1941) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1017/S0022050700052980")} and Duncan, Cuzzort, & Duncan (1961; LC:60007089).

massey_duncan Computes the aspatial Absolute Concentration (ACO) based on Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")} and Duncan, Cuzzort, & Duncan (1961; LC:60007089).

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Centralization

duncan_cuzzort Computes the aspatial Absolute Centralization (ACE) based on Duncan, Cuzzort, & Duncan (1961; LC:60007089) and Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

duncan_duncan Computes the aspatial Relative Centralization (RCE) based on Duncan & Duncan (1955b) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1086/221609")} and Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

Indices of Racial or Ethnic Residential Clustering

denton Computes the aspatial Relative Clustering (RCL) based on Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

massey Computes the aspatial Absolute Clustering (ACL) based on Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

morgan_denton Computes the aspatial Distance-Decay Interaction Index (DPxy\*) based on Morgan (1986) https://www.jstor.org/stable/20001935 and Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

morgan_massey Computes the aspatial Distance-Decay Isolation Index (DPxx\*) based on Morgan (1986) https://www.jstor.org/stable/20001935 and Massey & Denton (1988) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/sf/67.2.281")}.

white_blau Computes an index of spatial proximity (SP) based on White (1986) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/3644339")} and Blau (1977; ISBN-13:978-0-029-03660-0).

Additional Indices of Socioeconomic Disparity

atkinson Also computes the aspatial Atkinson Index (A) of income based on Atkinson (1970) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6")}.

bravo Computes the spatial Educational Isolation Index (EI) based on Bravo (2021) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.3390/ijerph18179384")}.

gini Also retrieves the aspatial Gini Index (G) of income inequality based on Gini (1921) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2307/2223319")}.

krieger Computes the aspatial Index of Concentration at the Extremes based on Feldman et al. (2015) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1136/jech-2015-205728")} and Krieger et al. (2016) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.2105/AJPH.2015.302955")}.

Pre-formatted U.S. Census Data

DCtracts2020 A sample dataset containing information about U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year estimate data for the District of Columbia census tracts (2020). The data are obtained from the get_acs function and formatted for the messer and powell_wiley functions input.

Dependencies

The 'ndi' package relies heavily upon tidycensus-package to retrieve data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey five-year estimates and the psych-package for computing the neighborhood deprivation indices. The messer function builds upon code developed by Hruska et al. (2022) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.17605/OSF.IO/M2SAV")} by fictionalizing, adding the percent of households earning <$30,000 per year to the NDI computation, and providing the option for computing the ACS-5 2006-2010 NDI values. There is no code companion to compute NDI included in Andrews et al. (2020) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1080/17445647.2020.1750066")} or Slotman et al. (2022) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.dib.2022.108002")}, but the package author worked directly with the Slotman et al. (2022) \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.dib.2022.108002")} authors to replicate their SAS code in R. The indices of racial or ethnic residential segregation rely heavily on the sf-package and tigris-package packages to assign the smaller geographical units within larger geographical units and, occasionally, perform geospatial projection for distance-based metrics. The computation of RI and EI also relies on the sparseMatrix function to compute the geospatial adjacency matrix between census geographies. Internal function to calculate AI using the Hölder mean is based on Atkinson function.

Author(s)

Ian D. Buller
DLH, LLC (formerly DLH Corporation and Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.), Bethesda, Maryland, USA (current); Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA (original).

Maintainer: I.D.B. [e-mail]

See Also

Useful links:

• https://github.com/idblr/ndi

• Report bugs at https://github.com/idblr/ndi/issues

ndi documentation built on Sept. 9, 2025, 5:26 p.m.