U. S. Racial Groups in Metropolitan Areas, 1990

In this project you will be mapping US Census data for the five racial/cultural groups -- White, Black, Native American, Asia-Pacific, and Hispanics (labeled PopHispa in the data) -- using the mapping software Census+Maps, found in all NT computer labs at UWEC. The source for these data are the 1990 U.S. Census of Population.

To complete the project, follow the :
Find the Mapping Program
Find the Start button in the lower left-hand corner of the computer screen; select Programs, Departmental, Geography, and then the software Census+Maps.

Select the Metropolitan Area

1. To determine which metropolitan area YOU MUST STUDY, divide the last two digits of your 7-digit UWEC ID number by 2 and round up, if necessary.
   For example, the last two digits of the ID# 1234533 are 33, divided by 2 equals 16.5 and rounded up results in 17.
2. Now select the corresponding ranked number (17 from the above example) from the list of the 77 largest metropolitan areas (which is Milwaukee, WI in this example). Be sure you map only the metro area that you are responsible for. Many metro areas consist of two or more cities -- map only your metro area!!! Consult a detailed atlas or use the MapQuest web site, which is also shown at the bottom of this page.

Map the Census Data
In the CensusCD + Maps program, make a map by following this order:
(the larger words appear in the top menus; select each of the bold words yourself)

1. Area: Geographic Area; MSA/CMSA; pick your metro area
2. Subarea: Tracts
3. Count: Standard; General Profile (it contains the race and Hispanic variables)
4. Run: Map
5. Once the map is drawn, make the page as large as possible by clicking on the square in the top right-hand corner of this page; on the same line where it says Map of C:\TEMP\....
6. use the +magnification glass in the top menu to zoom to the central city

Calculate New Variables
In the CensusCD + Maps program, calculate the percent for each racial category of the total population

1. click on the Calculator in the top right-hand corner at the top of the menu
2. create a Formula:
   e.g., PopBlack/TotPop90*100 (where / = divide; * = multiple; and 100 results in %) results in percent Black population
   e.g., PopHispa/TotPop90*100 results in percent Hispanic population
   [If you want to add several numbers together and calculate a percentage, use this formula format: ((2+3)/(2+3+5+6))*100.
   Where (2+3) are two variables added together, e.g., Asians and Native Americans, and (2+3+5+6) is the total of all the same variables, e.g., Asians, Native Americans, Blacks, and Whites.]
3. replace the default label Formula1 with a new label, such as % Black -- this will appear in the printed legend!

Map Class Intervals and Shading
In the CensusCD + Maps program, the extreme right-hand menu consists of

1. Area: tract#
2. Record: variable names, short and long
3. Stat: class intervals for map
   -- select Equal Ranges and only four class intervals. Think about the range of values: type different percentages and hit Enter for each of the class intervals you want:  such as 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 75, etc.
   You want to create maps with the highest class interval showing geographically concentrated areas. The highest class interval will vary a great deal (from 100 or 85% to 6 or 4%) between the racial groups that you are mapping.
   
   Be sure that the class intervals result in grouping areas together with the largest numbers to the lowest numbers. In other words, the bars should have a step-like pattern for all or at least for most of the variable mapped.
   Here are two examples:
   1) In Graph 1, the blue bar (891) has fewer tracts than the red bar (1220) but more than the green bar (665) and so on.
   2) In Graph 2, the blue bar (211) has fewer tracts than the red bar(169) but more than the green bar (658); but since the green (lowest class interval) areas (3923) contain almost none (to < 1) of the variable mapped, this green bar is the largest (3023).

   Graph 1	Graph 2
   All tracts have some percent of the variable mapped. This is a common pattern for large groups, such as Whites and Blacks.	Most of the tracts (3923) contain very little of the variable mapped. This a common pattern for small groups, such as Asians, Indians, and Blacks in some cities.

   If you print in black and white, be sure that you click on each of the colors and select the ones YOU want. The highest values should be black and the lowest values should be white; all the values in-between should be appropriate greys!

4. Log: background info

In the CensusCD + Maps program, the highest values should be set to black; then dark grey, light grey, and the lowest values to white.

Information on a Particular Census Tract
In the CensusCD + Maps program, information on a particular census tract can be acquired by

• clickon the ?I (Info Cursor) icon on the map menu at the top -- click twice on the same area to undo this function
  or
• click on the the right-hand mouse button which results in a menu showing
  Record: all data for the clicked on tract
  Polygon: tract# and only the value of the variable mapped

Click on Log to see the values for each of the areas you clicked on. This is a great way to see the different values between areas and what numbers you might want to use for class intervals.

In the CensusCD + Maps program, the Log (section D above) can be edited to show only the lines you want.

Print Map

1. Before you print, make sure that each map is as large as possible without excluding important areas for a particular racial group. In other words, the maps of the racial minorities will be zoomed in far more than the white racial group map, which will be zoomed out.
2. Under View, select Grey Scale and undo Water.
3. In the CensusCD + Maps program, under File, select Print or click on the Print icon in the top menu; and fill in the Text and Subtext lines, both appear on the printed map, and under Orientation select Landscape and Legend Include and/or Overlap, Left or Right side of the page.
   
   [If you can NOT print directly from the Census+Maps software, copy the map by using the Print Screen key (top row, on the right-hand end of the keyboard) and then paste it into WORD. Be sure that you select Landscape Mode in the print mode. Add a title and you are done! If you know how to use a PAINT program, paste the screen dump into this program and then select only the map and then the legend; deleting all the other stuff.]
   
   
4. Be sure to make well-designed maps, which include
   I. a comprehensive title which includes usually three elements:
   * the scale of the map, such as particular metro area: e.g., ". . . Chicago";
   * variable mapped: e.g., "Percent of Blacks;"
   * mapping unit of the data, in this case, "by tract."
   A complete map title would, therefore, be " Percent of Blacks in Chicago, by Tract."
   II. the legend must indicate what the numbers are, e.g., percent in this case, and
   III. the source for all these data are the 1990 U.S. Census, which you must add by hand, or in a WORD or PAINT program, at the bottom of the map, if you print directly from the mapping software!
5. You might also make an outline map without data showing (select the 1 category option) to show the whole metropolitan area with an appropriate title. You could add in WORD or in PAINT the names of the cities that make-up the metropolitan area and where the main CBD (central business district) is located and any other physical and cultural features that you think would help the map reader locate the various concentrations.

Or open WORD, select a new file, type a preliminary map title, and hit return. In the CensusCD + Maps program save the map under Edit, Copy Map to the Clipboard, and paste into the open WORD file and then go back to the CensusCD + Maps program and save the legend under Edit, Copy Statistics to Clipboard, and paste it into the same WORD file. Arrange the map and legend appropriately and add text (best done by using the DRAW menu in WORD), such as the title and data source.

Final Project
Create one more map that YOU think correlates (spatially matches) with the dominant racial groups in the city you mapped. As a bare minimum, submit a hard copy of each of the six maps (5 racial groups & 1 other relevant map) for your metropolitan area, include a map title, legend, and source.

If you like, use the subtitle box to add your name. Otherwise, place your name in the top right-hand corner of the first map. Order the maps to reflect the rank (largest group, first) of the racial groups in the city you mapped! Staple your project in the upper left-hand corner.

City Street Map
You might want to look at a street map of the city you selected either or both of these two sources:
A) Go to the MapQuest web site and click on Maps, and on the menu that appears
1) select the city from the list provided (under Quick Maps, in the right-hand menu) or type the name of the city yourself (under Map Search, in the left-hand menu);
2) when the city map appears, click on large map (in the right-hand menu);
3) when the city map appears, zoom in and use the compass (in the left-hand menu) to go where you want in the city.
B) Go to the Topozone web site to see a topographic map of your city. Type the name of your city and select the scale that you want.