Activity 1: PolicyMap

What is PolicyMap:

PolicyMap is a Web-based Geographic Information System covering the United States used to understand communities. With easy-to-use menus, PolicyMap is a “GIS tool for non-GIS experts” for those who need to visualize large amounts of data quickly and easily, often down to the census tract or block group level.

Why do I need to learn how to use it?

When studying policy topics like public health or urban planning, it can be illuminating to see how concepts from class exist in the real world. Finding real-world conditions is possible by referring to data collected by sources like the Census Bureau or CDC. By visualizing these kinds of data on a map, you can investigate and demonstrate patterns that might not be apparent on a spreadsheet to ultimately develop recommendations for for addressing current issues in different fields. These exercises will go over, step by step, how to interpret data on a map.

To complete Activity 1:

Explore PolicyMap following the below slideshow and share your answers to the following questions with us!

Questions:

Choose a different city, and create a map of life expectancy at birth. (Hint: Either look in the Health menu, or use the data search bar.)

1. What is the source of this data?
2. What time frame does the data represent?
3. What is the unit of the data?
4. What patterns do you see? What is the life expectancy in an area with high life expectancy? What is the expectancy in an area with low life expectancy?