Week 1 Lab Assignment - Three Interesting Maps

Map #1

This map is from a study published in 2000 by the National Assessment Synthesis Team of the US Global Change Research Program. I found it on the US Global Change Research Program's website, which is www.usgcrp.gov. This map shows population density as of 2000 (the height of the blocks extending from the map) as well as the projected change in population from 1970 to 2030 (with orange indicating growth and blue indicating a decrease in population). I find this map interesting because it does a very good job of simultaneously presenting the current density and as well as the projected population change. It effectively conveys a lot of information without looking overcrowded or overwhelming. In addition to it's stylistic elements, I am interested in the information it conveys. It's interesting to observe the population shift away from cities on the East Coast and the northern areas of the Midwest. Finally, I like that this map shows how Los Angeles County is a relatively low density area, which I think many people don't realize.

Map #2

This map is from a survey conducted by PetersonGIS in 2012 using USDA data from March 2011 (for the farmer's market locations) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention data (for obesity rates). I found it on the GIS Lounge's website, which is http://gislounge.com. This map shows county obesity rates throughout the US as well as the locations of farmer's markets (the yellow dots). In areas with the lowest obesity rates, there are three times more farmer's markets. It is more difficult to recognize trends using this map than it is with Map #1. One issue is that in areas with a heavy concentration of farmer's markets, it is difficult to determine what the obesity rates are. The first thing I noticed was not possible correlations between the distribution of obesity rates and farmer's markets, but rather the distribution of farmer's market. I found this distribution striking because I was surprised that there were not more farmer's markets in the West. This map is interesting to me because i am interested in farmer's markets as well as public health and was curious as to the correlation between the two.


Map #3

This map was created by Hayley Nahman (who is probably a Californian) and I accessed it from Gadling (www.gadling.com), which is a blog from the Huffington Post. It shows common stereotypes that Americans hold about one another, with the letters of each state or region's stereotypical characteristics forming the boundaries of that state or region. I like this because it displays valuable information about an area in an accessible and visually-appealing manner. These maps may seem superficial or silly, but they can actually be really interesting and useful, particularly for people wishing to know more about an area or to understand cultural jokes within the US. When I was studying abroad in Germany, I looked up many of these types of maps to better acquaint myself with the various regions within Germany and Berlin and to better understand jokes about Prussians, Bavarians, Swabians, etc. Of course this map is based on broad generalizations as opposed to concrete scientific data, but it nevertheless can be very helpful and is certainly very interesting.