Uncensored Census

This weeks lab was a fairly simple lab, that combined arcGIS with data from the 2000 U.S.Census data to create a thematic map. My three maps used census data about percent population in all U.S. counties for the following ethnic groups: Blacks,Asians, and some other.

My first map was the population of blacks; the majority of blacks tend to be concentrated in the south of our country compared to the other regions. Being an African American, I expected my map to portray our population in this fashion--most of my family lives in the Deep South and on the Southern East Coast( North Carolina,Virgina, etc). Also, I knew few blacks lived in the Northwest but I did not know we were well under one percent. For instance, in the Dakotas and Wyoming areas there are blotches of white which means there are few to no blacks in that county. This is very interesting, because blacks account for about thirty five million people in America, but we are heavily concentrated in one area and America is only about three thousand plus miles wide! Not only was this census map educational, but it is a legitimate source because it links prior expectations, geography, and history(blacks stayed in the South ever since colonization and only a handful moved out West).

My next map is the 'some other' population census map which is the Hispanic population, respectively. This map is very similar to the Black map, because it has the Hispanics heavily concentrated in the South West, which was the Mexican Cession Territory and it is the closest region of America that is near Latin America. Once again, the map lines up with prior expectations, but I did learn that an abundance of Hispanics live in the Texas area; I thought the majority of their race migrated to Arizona and California because of work opportunity. In addition, this map is very interesting because it illustrates how races tend to move in large units and they reside in areas closer to their native land--there are few Hispanics any where West of West Texas. In addition, the Sun Belt area, which was the famous Mexican migration period into America--read about Caesar Chavez for more information--is where a large percentage of the Latin population remains. Again history gives a reliable source that explains the heavy percentages in specific areas of the country.

My third and final map was the Asian population map, which is the most compelling of the three because it conveys how few Asian communities migrated to America. According to the arcMap and census data, the Asian population is scarce across the nation and has few if any counties where they are populous. Prior to this lab, I thought that Asians contributed a large percentage to our population, but they do not! This is illustrates how Asians tend to remain in their home countries and thrive there, but handle business in foreign countries--this can be seen today as our country has a large percentage of goods manufactured in Asian countries. If Asians do come to America they are more likely to live on the West Coast, in Northern California or in Hawaii. Although, Hawaii is not shown, Asians do make up a large majority of their population. As a whole, the Asian map is the most interesting to me from a business aspect because it shows how Asians rarely migrate from their nations to America as other races do.

In conclusion, all of the maps were educational and relate to historical migrations. However, the most interesting map was the Asian Census because it illustrates how you can have a significant part in American lifestyles without a significant population contribution(quite baffling if you think about it). Furthermore, the project itself was relatively simple, but it had more educational value than arcGIS value because all of the functions were basic steps used in prior labs with a few new tricks here and there. Nonetheless, I still enjoy having the opportunity to use the arcGIS software to make compelling thematic maps.

So far the arcMap and arcGIS software have been fun and challenging as I have been able to make a plethora of maps and manipulate a multitude of data. This map was probably one of my top three favorite assignments because of the educational value it possessed. For the most part, the arcGIS software is easy to use, but one issue I do have is that when you get stuck, YOU ARE STUCK; unfortunately, it is quite difficult to troubleshoot or know what you did wrong unless you are an experienced user.One thing I do like is how you can export your creations and place it into a blog. Although, arcGIS isn't the easiest program out there it has the most capabilities compared to most software programs. Not only does the software assist the geography field in becoming easier to use, but it seems to have the ability to draw interest in geography as a whole. Before this class I had no interest in geography at all but now I have been enlightened and I see a tremendous amount of possibilities and a very bright future. Although, I may not major in geography it never hurts to have knowledge about the field.