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Assignment 5

Please keep in mind that your final project proposal is also due September 30.

Resources

Census Data Joins

When you join two or more datasets, you combine them feature-by-feature, and this often gives attributes to a feature that it would not have otherwise had.

Attribute joins add attributes to features based on a unique identifier. Often you will have a spatial dataset (such as a shapefile) and a CSV file with extra data that you would like to map. As long as both the spatial data and the CSV have a common unique identifier (sometimes this is a name, but it could be a unique number or an address) you can join them in QGIS and add the data from the CSV to the spatial data.

Use attribute joins to help your council member with the following:

Hi again map-maker,

Now that you're getting settled in, we'd like to get a better look at our council district using census data. In particular, let's start with renter occupancy or median household income (your choice) by census tract. Make the focus our district, but please show the surrounding area, too, for context.

Thanks as always!

Download census data using American FactFinder, join with the census tracts, and make a choropleth map with some of the joined data. Choose which data to get:

  1. renter vs owner occupancy
    1. Guided Search
    2. "I'm looking for information about housing"
    3. Occupancy Characteristic > Owner/Renter (Tenure in Occupied Units)
    4. Get census tracts for the county or counties your district is in
    5. At "Are you looking for data for a race or ethnic group (race, ancestry, or tribe)?" you can select Skip this Step
    6. Select "TENURE"
  2. household income
    1. Guided Search
    2. "I'm looking for information about people"
    3. Income & Earnings > Income/Earnings (Households)
    4. Get census tracts for the county or counties your district is in
    5. At "Are you looking for data for a race or ethnic group (race, ancestry, or tribe)?" you can select Skip this Step
    6. Select "MEDIAN INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2016 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) "

For both, you'll want to:

  1. Modify Tables > Transpose Rows / Columns
  2. Download > Use this data
  3. Edit the resulting CSV

Submitting Your Work

Use a QGIS Print Layout to create a PDF or image. Make sure to add map accessories such as legends, titles, and scale bars as appropriate. Refer to your sources as appropriate.

Finally, include a short summary of what you did for this assignment. Explain what you created and how you did so. What did you have problems with? What did you enjoy? What would you like to know how to do next?

Please keep in mind that your final project proposal is also due September 30.