Portfolio

 This assignment serves as a preliminary exploration into demographic data, prompting a deeper understanding of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Our task involved establishing a geodatabase and crafting a comprehensive data dictionary, detailing attributes, file types, and layer descriptions. This systematic approach fosters organization throughout project development and facilitates seamless modifications as needed. Embracing the role of a real estate agent, we curated maps focused on essential aspects of the community, envisioning ourselves as providers of vital information to potential clients. Opting to highlight schools and parks, key considerations for homebuyers, I navigated through the process smoothly, encountering minimal challenges in sourcing the requisite data. However, compiling the data dictionary proved to be the most demanding aspect, requiring meticulous attention and patience 

The aim of this assignment was to develop our proficiency in navigating census data and gaining insights into its significance. Central to understanding census data is recognizing the dual aspects of data and boundaries. To effectively utilize census data, we needed to determine the specific geographic level at which we wanted to extract data, in this case, tract-level data. This involved locating and downloading the relevant data tables and census geography boundaries for the same year. Upon acquiring the necessary data, I proceeded to clean up any extraneous information or address blank spaces before initiating the join process. Through this process, I connected the two datasets, enabling their visualization on maps. Choosing Fort Wayne, Indiana, as my focal point due to past residency, I opted to map median income and the number of people working from home. This selection was motivated by a desire to explore potential correlations between income levels and remote work tendencies. Interestingly, my analysis revealed that lower income brackets correlated with a lower likelihood of working from home. Delving further into the demographics of Fort Wayne could have led to mapping additional factors such as race, age, and the existence of redlined neighborhoods. Despite the relative ease of obtaining the required data, navigating the intricacies of census information proved challenging. The website's lack of user-friendliness coupled with the complexity of data attributes underscored the difficulties inherent in accessing and interpreting census data. 

 The culminating assignment of the semester, these maps of Colorado served as a comprehensive showcase of the skills acquired and honed throughout our coursework. Beyond applying a range of previously acquired techniques, I undertook the task of performing a Join table operation to calculate projections and percent changes. While the initial dataset was provided, it required some cleaning and organization, a task I found more efficient to perform in Excel than in ArcGIS Pro. One crucial lesson gleaned from this process was the importance of ensuring that cleaned data is inserted as numerals rather than text to facilitate accurate calculations. These maps served as a platform to exhibit our individual cartographic styles and brought together all the skills amassed over the semester into a single, cohesive representation