Vector Analysis and Census Data

In this lesson, I learned how to download Census.gov data and format tabular demographic data to my needs. We applied Table Joins from the tabular data to our geographic data and used the Field Calculator to calculate new fields as necessary. Using Dissolve and Calculate Geometry, we created polygons for storing future predictions of local school district enrollment. We also used proximity and analysis tools to create a map of the US broken into areas closest to a national park.

Enrollment Change Predictions

• Assess future changes in enrollment in Bellingham elementary schools
• Compile census dataset that shows the number of young children (ages 5-9) currently in each school attendance and the number of potential future students (age <5)
• Map the likely enrollment change

Spatial data from the City of Bellingham provided me with attendance zones to use alongside my census data. In order to get an accurate measure of how many students live in a particular zone per unit area, I Erased areas with water-bodies, glaciers, and other features where people do not live from my census and attendance zone data. Finally, I used the Intersect tool to combine my datasets and calculate enrollment based on weighted areas within the attendance zones. The weights were created for each census block group based on area to account for them being split between attendance zone polygons.

National Park Proximity Map

This map was a test of acquired skills in previous lessons. I created it using voronoi (euclidean distance) polygons between each national park in the US, similar to the map found here but with a few more cartographic refinements.