Reference no: EM133781730
Assignment: Project
You will be asked to showcase what you have learned by asking and answering a geographic question using the GIS skills you have developed throughout the quarter. In comparison with the labs, on the final project you will be expected to demonstrate a greater degree of autonomy so step-by-step instructions will not be provided. Instead you will be given a choice of four project options, each with broad instructions/guidance.
Regardless of the topic you choose, each student is expected to use at least two spatial analysis tools in QGIS and to write up a report between 500 and 1000 words explaining the specific question you asked and the context around it (introduction including research question), how you went about answering it (methodology), and what you found (results). Your report must include at least one map you made to illustrate your findings.
Option I: Gentrification in Seattle
Seattle is one of the fastest gentrifying cities in the US. As of 2020, it was the third fastest gentrifying city behind Washington D.C. and Portland, OR. You can read more about gentrification in Seattle in this article from Urban@UW.
In this option you are asked to use Census data to examine patterns of gentrification in Seattle. You learned how to access and clean up Census data in Lab 6. Explore the data available there and decide on a more specific research question (Ex. Which neighborhoods are gentrifying the most? Is gentrification slowing down or speeding up? How has the demographic composition of the city changed between 2010 and 2020? How does gentrification in Capital Hill differ from gentrification in Ballard? etc.) and devise a plan for how to analyze Census data to answer your question using the GIS skills you have developed over the course of the quarter. As with each option, you'll produce a report and a map to illustrate your findings.
Option II: Social Determinants of Health in Washington State
Social determinants of health are the physical, economic, and social conditions of the environments in which people live that affect the overall health of a community. They include things like access to education, economic stability, access to transportation, insurance rates, the built environment, etc.
In this option, you are asked to use Washington State Department of Health data to examine the social determinants of health affecting people in Washington State. The Washington State Department of Health provides a wide variety of data on social determinants of health and health disparities, organized into an online map interface. Explore the data available there (note that you can download any dataset there by clicking on the bar graph to the right of the data layer in the topics table of contents) and decide on a more specific research question (Ex. How does the distribution of poverty compare with the geography of superfund sites? What is the spatial relationship between lead exposure risk and poor health outcomes? Is there a correlation between food deserts and high Body Mass Index? etc.). Devise a plan for how to analyze the data to answer your question using the GIS skills you have developed over the course of the quarter. As with each option, you'll produce a report and a map to illustrate your findings.
Option III: Ecological Change in Washington State
Ecological change and disturbances to the environment can happen very quickly or over extended periods of time. In recent years, Washington State has faced changing patterns of precipitation, wildfires, heatwaves, and other environmental phenomena, each with their own ecological effects.
In this option, you are asked to use Washington State Department of Natural Resources data to examine the spatial patterns of environmental and/or ecological change in Washington State. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has a collection of data available to the public here. Explore the data available there and decide on a more specific research question (Ex. How has the geography and scale of wildfires changed in recent decades? How are conservation areas distributed in the state? How are natural hazards (volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides) distributed in the state? etc.). Devise a plan for how to analyze the data to answer your question using the GIS skills you have developed over the course of the quarter. As with each option, you'll produce a report and a map to illustrate your findings.
Option IV: Cartographer's Choice
Do you have your own idea of a geographic question you want to ask and answer? If so, you are welcome to do a project outside of the bounds of the three options above. If you choose this option, please first verify that you can find the data you'll need and then share your proposed research question/data with the teaching team to verify that it is appropriate for this project.
Instructions
Regardless of which option you choose above, each student should:
Identify a specific research question (using the options above for guidance)
Collect secondary data and bring it into QGIS
Perform at least two spatial analysis operations (ex. spatial query, overlay (union, intersection, difference), non-overlay (buffer, dissolve, clip), raster calculation, etc.) Note that table join and table query are not spatial queries.
Produce a map that demonstrates the results. Your map should include all map elements.
Write a 500 to 1,000 report explaining the specific question you asked and the context around it (introduction including research question), how you went about answering it (methodology), and what you found (results).