Week 8 Assignment

In the "Difference, 1990 to 2000" map, I noticed that population change occurred the most in the bigger cities such as Los Angeles and New York. There was negative population change mostly in the north west and some counties in almost every state. I noticed that the scale of population change provided by the Census may be confusing to some while reading the map and would need further explanation. I also believe that the color ramp makes the map easy to navigate and the colors aren't too close to each other. 

In the "Number of People, 2000" map,  I noticed that the number of people was greater in metropolitan cities. For example, Los Angeles county had a higher number of people compared to other counties in Nevada. The scale is more helpful than the scale for the "Difference, 1990 to 2000" map in that there are no negatives. I noticed that the color ramp may confuse some people in that some colors are close to one another.

 

In the "Percent Change, 1990 to 2000 Total Population" map, I noticed that there was a high percentage change in some Nevada counties. There were some negative percentage change in some counties in Texas as well. The scale is helpful, however the color ramp isn't helpful. The color ramp makes it difficult to decipher the two dark shades from one another, they both look black. Other than the two dark colors, everything else makes the maps easy to read.

 

In the "Population Density, 2000" map, I noticed that Los Angeles county has a dense population as well as other metropolitan cities. Some counties in Texas and Nevada had a low population density as well. I also noticed that the scale and color ramps were helpful. However, if someone is looking at the map from a distance, then they may have trouble telling the difference between the lighter green and white.

Working on the Census map series tutorial was slightly more difficult than the previous tutorial that we worked on in that the instructions weren't too clear. For example we were asked to sort the table, however it couldn't be done because the related rankings and columns wouldn't match when sorted. Another issue was the mismatched tables, if the error wasn't written in the instruction sheet, it would have made the map incorrect. Working with GIS has become easier than before due to practice and I'm getting more used to it. Also I'm realizing how much can be done with GIS and how easy it is to create a map with correct data.