GIS 1 Lab 2 Downloading GIS Data

The purpose of this lab was to learn how to download data off the internet in this case it is from the US Census Bureau. After the data is downloaded I had to change it into a form that I can work with and map.

The goal is that at the end of the lab I will know how to download all kinds of data that I may need in the future on a project. Some of the programs I work with provide a lot of data that I need for projects but what if they don't have the data I need? That is what this lab is for, and the data I am looking for is population data about the counties of Wisconsin. Once I have that data I do the same thing I have done many times before and make a map of the data.

The first step of the lab is to visit the US Census website and search for the data I need. Once I find what I am looking for I download the data as a zipped folder and save it so I can go back into it when I need to. Once I had it saved I went in and unzipped the folder which then displays all the data files I downloaded. There are two kinds of data that are in the folder I worked with the .csv files. This file is not a form that ArcGIS can understand so I opened the file and saved it as a Excel Workbook file. This data is just the numbers, but I also need a backdrop to display this info on so I also need to download a shape file of Wisconsin. I find the data I need download it unzip it and open the shape file in ArcGIS which gives me a map of the state of Wisconsin and all its counties, this map however does not have any of the number data that I am trying to display in it. In order to display it I need to join the Excel data with this shape file data. When you join data like this you have to find a field in both data sets that are the same, in this case that was the GEO_ID field. Once the data is joined I mapped the data. 

The map in green is a map showing the total population by county in Wisconsin. I went into the properties of the layer changed the color so it would display in green, I also made the legend easier to understand by labeling the data and normalizing it as well. For the background I went and added a base map of the area in black white. 

The other map is showing the urban population of the counties in Wisconsin. Like the other map I changed some of the properties to make the map look good as well as normalizing and labeling the data in the legend also used a base map in this map. I downloaded the data from the same place and followed the above described steps for both maps. 

The data in both these maps is based on population but you can get all kinds of data from the internet that you can map and display for a report or whatever you may need it for. Knowing how to find data and obtain it is a very important part of  GIS.

Sources: US Census 2010

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t

Lab 2 Map Populations of Wisconsin by County

GIS 1 Lab 1 Base Data

The purpose of this lab was to analyze and map the different kinds of data that will affect the decisions made regarding the Confluence Project here in Eau Claire. Specifically this lab was focused on the two lots of land that are being considered for the location of the new fine arts building and student housing. The overall goal in the lab was to explore and become familiar with different data sets that are involved in the project and created maps illustrating those data sets.

I started out by exploring different types of data sets and answering questions about them. I explored the zoning feature, political features, transportation features and many others all relevant to the Confluence Project. The next thing I did was digitize the site for the Confluence Project. I started with a base map of Eau Claire and added the parcel feature class or the different chunks of land that Eau Claire is split into. I then used the editing tool snapping which allowed me to trace the two parcels of interest and then add a fill color to them so they stand out from the rest of the map. Next I learned about the Public Land Survey system. In other words it is a way of categorizing each individual parcel of land into categories like township, county or city. Step 4 was to make a legal description of the of the two parcels of land being considered for the project. This included information like the parcel number, street number, street name, owner's name and what the land is used for, industrial, commercial, residential, etc. All these steps were analyzing data now it’s time to display that data in maps.

 Map 1 or Civil Divisions is displaying the areas of cities, towns, and villages in Eau Claire County. I did this by adding the county boundary and then adding the civil divisions data. Then I change the civil division properties so that cities, towns and villages would be different colors so they are easy to tell apart on the map. I also included the digitized or traced parcels of the proposed site. 

Map 2 or Census Boundaries. This is simply showing the boundaries of census areas and I have changed the properties so that the boundaries are different shade of red based on the population density in them.

Map 3 or City of EC Parcel Data is displaying all the individual lad parcel contained in the city of Eau Claire. I did this by adding the parcel, centerline or street data, and water data. Then I highlighted just the outside of the parcels so the map is still visible under them. The centerline data highlights the roads in Eau Claire and the water data shows the river.

Map 4 or Zoning shows the different zones the parcels of Eau Claire are split into. I changed the properties so that each kind of zone has its own color. The zones include commercial, industrial, transportation, public etc.

Map 5 or Voting districts shows the different voting districts by their ward number. I added the voting districts data and went into the properties and highlighted the line of each ward as well as labeled each ward with its number. 

Map 6 or PLSS data just shows the quarters and sections that Eau Claire is split into from the survey service. I put in the Quarter data and I also included the proposed cite so you can see what quarter it lies in. 

I learned a lot about the data that goes into all he properties and land in the city and county of Eau Claire. The maps I created do a good job of illustrating the data and I hope you enjoy them.

Sources: City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire County 2013

 

Lab 1 Map Confluence Project Data