Census data retrieval and presentation
Go to the website given in the assignment outline when retrieving the census tract number, please make sure to use my postal code M1V3M2 to get the information.
Census tract number should be 5350378.08.
Written component should be no more than 6 pages.
Present data in comparative table and graph form. See assignment outline for more details.
GEO 151 Location, Location, Location
Major Assignment (25%) – Winter 2019 – Prof. Daniel
Your Locality
As we have observed often in class, land uses and landscapes vary significantly by location within the city. In this exercise you are to consider your own location – your neighbourhood – in the city and compare it to a contrasting location.
In the first part of the assignment you have already evaluated the neighbourhood you live in without the benefit of formal data. In the second and third parts you evaluate your neighbourhood (census tract) with the benefit of census and National Household Survey (NHS) data and compare it to benchmarks and another neighbourhood (census tract).
Part Two: Census data retrieval and presentation
Go to the Statistics Canada website: www.statcan.gc.ca and review your understanding of the concept of census tract – you can find a formal definition at the website and also find criteria for identifying the boundaries of census tracts.
You are to use two sources of data at the census tract level: the 2016 Census and the 2016 National Household Survey (NHS).
Go to Community Profiles at the Statistics Canada site:
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
Notice you have three tab options: Place name, Postal code and Geographic code; select Postal code. Type in your home postal code (e.g. M5B2K3 is the campus postal code) and select the census tract number under Census tracts (CT) (e.g. the CT in the vicinity of the campus is 5350034.02).
This will give you your home CT and also a benchmark for comparison (such as the Toronto CMA). Study the census data. If you think you do not live in the Toronto CMA speak to Prof. Daniel. (If the above link does not work to identify your CT use a different web browser.)
Note you also have a tab option to Map the areas; do this and you will see the boundaries of your home census tract. Copy the image of the map (right click > copy image or save image as) and use it on the title page of your assignment (right click on title page > paste; or Insert > Picture).
Note that you have an option tab of Related data; if you select this you will see an option to retrieve NHS data for your CT.
Also note that you have the option to download the data in CSV format to open in an Excel spread sheet. You might want to do this to construct graphs (see below).
Collect data for your home CT and the Toronto CMA on the following themes:
From the Census Data
– Population change and density
– Age composition (also calculate each age group as a percentage of total population)
– Median or average age of the population
– Predominant dwelling types (e.g. single detached, apartments?)
– Average number of persons in private households (household size), persons in private households – living alone (one-person households).
– Main mother tongue groups
– Immigrant and non-immigrant population
– Movers over last five years
– Visible minority population; identify notable visible minorities if relevant
From the National Household Survey (remember you can select the Related data tab to access this):
– Median household income (for all private households)
Note: For the NHS you will have to retrieve the CMA data separately because it does not automatically come up for comparison when you retrieve your CT data.
IMPORTANT.
Comparative data. In most cases it will be useful to compare your areas using proportional (percentage) data as well as the actual numbers.
Obviously in most cases you will be looking at vastly larger raw numbers for the CMA (with a population of approx. 2.7 m) compared to your home CT (average approx. 4,000) so it is sensible to compute and compare percentage data (exceptions include median income).
For example, if we compare the downtown CT 034 to the CMA we can see the CT had only 1,725 one-person households compared to 470,615 for the CMA, but one-person households as a proportion of total households is 56.4% for the CT compared to only 23.7% for the CMA.
Take care to use the appropriate total number to calculate the proportions. In the example above, it is sensible to use the total number of private households to calculate the % of one-person households. Age groups are sensibly calculated as a percentage of total population. More guidance will be given on this in class.
A helpful hint: each time a row of data is indented in the data table it is a subset of an earlier number.
Presenting the data. In most cases above you can present the data in comparative table and graph form. Where possible present the graphs for the two areas together to enable more direct comparison. Give your tables and graphs table and figure numbers and refer to these numbers in your discussion.
If you can access “figures” as you retrieve the data at the StatCan website these will not be adequate; you need to create your own. More guidance on graphing will be given in class.
Part Three: Questions and analysis
1. Using the variables you have collected for your CT, provide a comprehensive description of your area. In your description be sure to draw from the actual data in the tables and graphs and use the CMA as a comparative benchmark. Do some of the characteristics appear to be associated with each other?
2. Compare the characteristics of your neighbourhood as you perceived them in Assignment One above with your CT description. How do they differ? Which do you think is best to define your neighbourhood?
3. Where are the census data weak in describing your neighbourhood relative to your description in Assignment One?
4. Does the geographical location of your CT within the city appear to influence its characteristics? In what ways?
5. Explore the data for the CT’s below. Select one that you think contrasts your home CT. Compare your CT and this second CT in the characteristics where you think the differences are most apparent.
Use the relevant data for the second CT and your home CT in the comparison (you can present the selected comparative variables in table form but it is not necessary to graph them; use percentage data where appropriate). Does the relative location of the CTs within the city account for any differences you observe?
(Remember you can map the CT. You can also use a GeoSearch interactive map option to manipulate the map – e.g. zoom in and out.)
Second CT choices; select one: 5350130.00; 5350065.00; 5350401.19.
Length: The written component of the assignment must not be more than six pages, double spaced, 12 point font, with regular margins (these latter constraints did not apply to Part One).
Do not place essential material such as graphs and tables in appendices; incorporate them as effectively as possible in the text of the assignment (as soon after their first mention as possible).
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