Massachusetts officials urge early preparation for 2030 Census, highlight LUCA and block-boundary review

State and local officials told the Senate Committee on the Census on Sept. 22 that Massachusetts should start preparing now for the 2030 Census, beginning with the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) and the Block Boundary Suggestion Project to ensure an accurate master address list and better enumeration in 2030. "The block boundary suggestion project is an opportunity for every city or town to review their block boundaries," John Rosenberry of the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office said. "These are the smallest foundational geographic shapes within a city or town that are used as the building blocks for census tracts... They all start at the block boundary suggestion phase." The Local Update of Census Addresses program, known as LUCA, gives eligible governments a confidential, limited window to compare the Census Bureau's Master Address File with local address lists and suggest additions, deletions or corrections. Susan…