In the final lab of Geography 7, our task was to complete three GIS maps that used population data from the Census Bureau to calculate the population density of certain races and elasticities across the continental United States.
The map above shows the population density of Black people in the continental United States by counties. As you can see from the map, they are clustered mainly in the Southern and North Eastern Coast of the US. Apart from coastal areas, you can also see that along the Mississippi river, there is also clustering of Black populations that follow the river. There are some counties in the Midwestern US that have almost no Black populations, and as we move to the West coast, the second largest cluster of Black population lies in the State of California. This phenomenon can be explained by history in which Blacks were brought to the South to work in plantations, and this is why there is a high Black population there today.
The map above shows the population density of Asian people in the continental United States by counties. The largest cluster of Asian people is on the West coast in California, and the second largest cluster lies in North Eastern US near Connecticut and Massachusetts. Again, there are very few Asians living in the Midwest. Asians came into the United States as immigrants, and logically would cluster around the most developed regional economies of California and the North East.
The map above shows the population density of other races in the continental United States that make up a significant part of the population. Since Hispanics make is the second largest ethnic group in the US, I would assume that this map is generally showing the population distribution of Hispanics around the US. From the map, the largest cluster are in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. This follows well from the previous assumption as these States all border Mexico, which is where a lot of Hispanics enter the US and thus, have stayed around the area. Other population centers are in the North East and Florida, both of which, again, are large regional economies.
GIS Course Summary
I started the course because a friend of mine recommended I take a course in GIS if I am interested in the Environmental Science field, and I do not regret taking her advice or this course. I feel like I've been introduced to something huge, something that can be applicable in many different fields, and my appreciation for spatial knowledge and maps in general has also grown significantly. If I were to have taken this course earlier on in my college career, I might have decided to take the GIS minor and pursue a career in this direction, but regrettably, this is also my last quarter at UCLA. I do not know whether or not I will pursue GIS after I graduate, but surely, this class has opened my eyes to the different ways that GIS can be used to present spatial data.
