Lab 2

Goals and Objectives: The goal of this lab was to use the US Census Bureau to our advantage, and learn how to download information from their website and make use of it in a productive way. We were to learn how to map the data, and to get an idea to create a map ourselves. The map we created would be compared to the map that we were required to make by the first steps of the lab.

            Methods: To complete this lab, I started by going to the US Census Bureau and downloading the information required, which was the population of Wisconsin by age and locations. This information was downloaded in tables, which we could not use without a bit of touch ups. We were required to then download the shape files as well from the Census Bureau, which wasn’t much of a problem. Once these were both downloaded, we needed to change the table that we created into an actual plot-able shape file. Next, I combined the downloaded shape file and table with the information. This left me with an actual file that I could use to create a map. Mapping the data wasn’t hard, I just added it to the map then worked on its symbology layer for a while so I could create a map with the population density of Wisconsin based on the counties.

            As the lab required though, I created a second map based off of what I thought could be useful. After downloading more information and repeating the process above, I created a new map to put next to the first one, this time showing the population of males age 65 and above. I guessed that they would be more to the north before I created this, mainly because of hunting lands and cabins that people retire too. This could be very useful to find locations to place businesses that focus their sales to older men who prefer to spend their time hunting and fishing.

Results: Creating a population map that could be based off of any age, any gender, any ethnicity, or a combination of them could be insanely useful for a business to find a location to set up shop. Districts could find new locations to place schools based off of where children are in high density and far away from current learning institutions. The map below shows data from the 2010 US Census, and the information came from the US Census Bureau.