May 16, 2014 - Census Data

When: May 16, 2014, 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Where: Mann Library Stone Classroom (Cornell University)

Stone Classroom is immediately to the left after entering the library proper.

Census Data

Emily Goldman, PhD candidate in City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
Boris Michev, Map Librarian at Olin Library, Cornell University

Census data, while imperfect, comprise the country’s best source of population, demographic, economic, and housing data. Census data is fundamentally spatial in format, as all Census data have geographic identifiers – tying the data to a particular location. For this reason, using a GIS to analyze Census data is like putting puzzle pieces together.

This presentation will describe and critically evaluate some of the main resources available (most are free or have free versions) for viewing and analyzing the Census data you’re interested in, in a GIS. These include: American FactFinder, Social Explorer, National Historic GIS, and GeoLytics’ Neighborhood Change Database. Some of these programs enable us to track Census data changes over time in a GIS, as well–which may be of particular interest to historians. The presentation will take place in a computer lab so participants can work with these resources alongside the instruction.