Lab 4

The first map in my series show the distribution of Asians throughout the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. We can clearly see some trends in the distribution of Asians in the U.S. The most concentrated populations are found in Hawaii and California. Furthermore, there is also a relatively high concentration of Asians in isolated urban areas such as New York, Washington D.C. and Seattle. This suggests that Asian settlement is largely an urban phenomenon.

In my Black population map, clear trends also emerge. we see the highest concentration in the South region. Particularly in a large swath that extends from the southern portion of the Mississippi river to Virginia and the Washington D.C. area in a gentle arc . There is also a high concentration of African Americans in northern cities that used to be industrial centers such as Chicago and Cleveland. The distribution of the African American population is largely the result of historical circumstances. Specifically, the African American settlement in the south is a legacy of slavery. Furthermore, the settlement in northern cities is a result of migration to industrial jobs in the 20th century.

For my map showing the group know as "Some other race," a clear settlement pattern can be seen. Furthermore, I think I know the origin of at least a significant portion of the people who identify as "Some other race." This population is distributed along the U.S. Mexico boarder and extending northward, often in agricultural areas such as California's central valley. Therefore, I believe this population is of Hispanic origin, likely from Mexico and Central America. Furthermore, I think this group identifies as "some other race" because the term Hispanic refers to a linguistic group rather than a racial group. Hispanic people come from different racial backgrounds including Indigenous, European, African, and varies combinations of those. So, Hispanic people may choose to identify as "some other race."

These census maps are a easy way to visualize the makeup of the U.S. population. They are much easier to understand than data in a table. However, the reader still need to keep some things in mind in order to correctly interpret the map. For each map, the data classification is slightly different, so the reader must pay attention to the legend. For example, the darkest color on the Black population choropleth map doesn't represent the same percentage as the darkest color on the Asian population map. On the Black population map, the darkest color represents around 45 to 85 percent, while on the Asian population map, the darkest color represents 25 to 50 percent. The classifications are different to make the map more readable and so the reader can easily see the areas of relative concentration. This is simply a reflection of the data sets, and the relatively smaller number of Asians in the U.S.

Doing this exercise makes me think about the importance of classification in GIS. It seems like the default setting (natural breaks) does a reasonably good job of classifying the data. However, with the manual setting, it is easy to exaggerate the data to the point where it is meaningless. On a choropleth map it is important to remember that color is arbitrary. We have to look at the legend what is going on. A saturated red polygon may appear to have a high value, but it's actual value may only be 0.1%. So, GIS is a powerful tool that needs to be used thoughtfully in order to produce meaningful outcomes.