Boarded-up status was obtained from questionnaire item C2 and was determined for all vacant units. Boarded-up units have windows and doors covered by wood, metal, or masonry to protect the interior and to prevent entry into the building. A single-unit structure, a unit in a multi-unit structure, or an entire multi-unit structure may be boarded-up in this way. For certain census data products, boarded-up units are shown only for units in the "Other vacant" category. A unit classified as "Usual home elsewhere" can never be boarded up. (For more information, see the discussion under "Usual Home Elsewhere.")
This item was first asked in the 1980 census and was shown only for year-round vacant housing units. In 1990, data are shown for all vacant housing units.