Lab #7: Census 2000/2010

The Black (alone) population percentage by county is highest in Southeastern areas of the United States. The percentage ranges from 0% to as much as 86% in populated counties. The data shows that the concentration happens in a historical context. In light of the migration of African people and the influx of slavery during the Jim Crow era, the Southeastern regions, mainly states such as Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. The possible reason for why these areas remain largely populated by the Black population is that there has been less migration between states.

According to the Census, the Asian population makes up approximately 5% of the United States population. The percentage ranges from 0% to 46%. This census data shows the areas where the concentration of Asians (alone) is high. From this GIS map, I can infer that Asians are concentrated in major states such as California, New York, and Washington. One must ask why this concentration happens in these particular areas. Through examining the historical presence of Asians in America, these areas have been major ports for major Asian migration into the United States. From Angel Island to creation of Chinatowns across the nations, these areas have become a hub for Asians to seek aid, services, and be with people they feel comfortable around.

 

The Other Race Alone percentage is highest in the Southwestern regions of the United States.  The Other Races population map shows the race that is not labeled as "White", "Black or African American", "American Indian and Alaska Native", "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander." The percentage ranges from 0% to 39%. The majority of this population can be referenced to as Hispanics. The Southwestern regions are closest to the borders and easily accessible for recent migrants.

This GIS lab allowed me to utilize data from the census. This is a great tool to map out numbers, percentages, and other data references for analysis. I developed a better understanding of manipulating the legend values and coloring the map to represent levels of concentration. Through this exercise with working with Census data, I can see the dispersion of different races and the analyze them to see the connection with historical contexts.

Lab #6: DEMs in ArcGIS

 

 

 

Lying between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains is a unique area to examine. It can also be noted that the main road that passes through these mountains is the Angeles Crest Highway. The highest elevation point is approximately 3068.02 miles. The lowest elevation point is approximately 61.5424 miles. The spatial reference used is GCS_North_American_1983. The extent of the information (decimal degrees) of source NED_00192385 are Top: 34.5811111102 degrees, Left: -118.38388889 degrees, Right: -117.482222223 degrees, Bottom: 34.0930555546 degrees.

Lab #5: Projections in ArcGIS

Planar Distances from Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan via Conformal, Equal Area, and Equidistant Map Projections

Map projection is a tool in which the 3D world can be represented in the 2D form. This approach allows geographers, urban planners, architects, and other entities to analyze data in simpler terms instead of mentally figuring the 3D world. There are many different projections that can be done. The main three that we focus on are: conformal projections, equal projections, and equidistant projections. These different projections represent different data and analysis. In this lab, I analyze the planar distance from Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan via Conformal, Equal Area, and Equidistant Map Projections. Also, with these different map projections come pitfalls and difficulties.

Conformal map projections preserve angles. This distorts the area and distance on the map. Gall’s Stereographic map projection shows that distortion slowly increases away from these latitudes. For the stereographic map projection, scales are distorted as we move away from the center and area is distorted as distance increases. The pitfalls for this particular map projection may be in the size of each country/region. Although the angle is preserved, the shape and area is further distorted, giving off an image that confuses people. One can assume that these map projections allow political parties propagandize; for example, the image of Russia as being bigger than it actually is. Another example would be Greenland’s distorted size and shape.

Equal area map projections focus on preserving the area. The angle, shape, and distance are distorted as you move from the equators and closer to the poles. These map projections are generally used for world maps and are good for regions close to the equators due to the lack of distortion there. The positive aspect of these map projections is that Greenland is not blown out of proportion in terms of shape and area.

Equidistant map projections focus on preserving the distance from certain reference points. Choosing different reference point(s) can distort the map. The Equidistant Cylindrical map projection is best used for small areas with map scales, such as city maps. It is used to simply represent minimal geographic data, making for easy index maps. The Equidistant Conic map projection is common for atlas maps of small countries. It was used in the Soviet Union to map out their territory. Equidistant map projections then are limited in the sense that particularly everything is distorted in one way or another, for example the limitation of the angles.

Lab #4: Introducing ArcMap

ArcGIS Map Poster:

Before I began using ArcGIS, I scanned the room to see if other had opened up their instructions. The first thing I did was acknowledging how many pages the tutorial was. With over 50 pages, I started to think that I would not be able to finish this lab due to my time constraints with other responsibilities. The directions were of course detailed, but tedious at the same time. Working with ArcMap offers an array of advantageous possibilities and potential pitfalls.

ArcGIS allows urban/city planners, geographers, political scientists, architects, and others to map out any desired dataset. Lines, polygons, points, and different drawing tools can interpret data. Color-coding, bar graphs, line graphs, and different mechanisms make the datasets easier to comprehend. Although neogeography mapping allows for people create their own maps, ArcMap and ArcGIS allow users to create more detailed and comprehensive data and analysis, such as adding layers and using extent rectangles to efficiently map out their datasets.

One critique I had about the program was the amount of space of error. One mistake could potentially ruin the project that you start. Saving and editing project was among the tedious tasks. In order to proceed in the lab, you had to export every separate project as a .jpg file and upload it into the larger frame. Saving his file in a .jpg means that you will not be able to edit it later on. You would have to make sure that you have the data set on your file and .jpg to open and edit a file successfully. If users forget to save the file in the correct setting, then the project will take more time than needed.

Being non-tech savvy, it was hard for me to work with a computer program. Though, I definitely find that this tool is useful for urban planners like myself. In the future, I hope to see that ArcGIS becomes a more accessible tool for everyone and also refines its complicatedness. I plan to reuse this program for future planning ideas. This visualization process allows for fast and detailed analysis of any dataset.