GISC 9118: Foundations of Mapping and Cartography

D1: Multivariate Mapping

Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
November 22, 2017

TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
Project: Multivariate Mapping; Population Density and Proportional Density
Client: Xinxia (James) Jiang

135 Taylor Road

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

L0S 1J0

Prepared by: Winona Drouin, B.Sc.

RE: Multivariate mapping using the choropleth and proportional symbol method in MapInfo 15.0.

1.0 Introduction

Multivariate mapping is a technique that can be used to map multiple attributes on one map
(PennState, 2017). Using different methods, this technique allows a user to easily identify different
variables while also being able to compare them to each other. Using this system, two different
methods can be used to obtain a multivariate map. These include the choropleth and proportional
symbol method (which will be further discussed in section 2.0 Mapping Methods).

The objective of the deliverable is to create a multivariate map using MapInfo and to demonstrate
map design skills (Niagara College, 2017). Using data provided by Niagara College, the two
methods (choropleth and proportional symbol) were reflected in the design. The final map portrays
population density (1990) and change in population (from 1980-1990) within the United States.

2.0 Mapping Methods

2.1 Choropleth Mapping

One type of multivariate mapping is called choropleth mapping. This is where specific areas are
coloured, shaded or patterned in association to a specific variable (TDVC, 2017). The colours of
the area correspond with a coloured variable. Choropleth mapping is used frequently in density
mapping.
The map was completed using MapInfo create thematic map tool housed under the Map window.
From here, the ranges type with a template of region ranges default was used. To obtain the data
for the choropleth map, population density must be calculated. This is through the expression tool
with the following expression: Pop_1990/Total_Area (or population in 1990 divided by total area).
Once the map has been created, the class intervals were determined. This was done through the
customize ranges button which allowed us to use the equal count method with 7 ranges.

2.2 Proportional Symbol Mapping

Proportional symbol mapping is another type of multivariate mapping that uses the size of symbols
(usually a circle) to determine a specific variable (Axismaps, 2017). For example, the larger the
size circle the “more” of something that exists within that point. Proportional symbol mapping is
commonly used in human density maps.

The map was completed using MapInfo create thematic map tool housed under the Map window.
From here, the graduated type with a template graduated symbol default was used. To obtain the
data for the proportional symbol map, population growth must be calculated. This was done
through the expression tool with the following expression: Pop_1980-Pop1990 (or population in
1980 minus population in 1990).

3.0 Class Intervals

When creating multivariate maps, class intervals must be used to classify numerical fields for the
graduated symbol. Some methods include: manual interval, defined interval, equal interval,
quantile, natural breaks and standard geometric (ArcGIS Pro, 2017).

The most common interval, and the one used in this deliverable, is the equal interval method. This
is where the range of attribute values are divided into equal subranges (ArcGIS Pro, 2017). For
example, if there are values ranging from 0 to 100 then 3 different ranges can be created being 0-
33, 33-66, and 66-100. Based on the data provided (for population density), equal intervals resulted
in 7 different ranges within a factor of 20. For the proportional density, a manual class interval
was used. This is because the range of values are substantial (0-6,100,000). In order to show a
change in population, the intervals were adjusted manually.

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 2
4.0 Map Design

The design of the map features the United States (excluding Alaska) showing both population
density in 1990 and proportional density (1980-1990). Figure 1 shows the map created from the
deliverable entitled ‘United States of America 1990 Population Density and Population Change
from (1980-1990)’.

The population density and the proportional density have a matching colour scheme so as to make
the map appealing to the eye. It has been formatted with title, data source, creator, scale bar, scale
text, legend, and north arrow.

Some data/features were omitted from the map to make the map visually appealing. State names
and state capitals when added to the map make it look cluttered and the proportional symbols were
hard to delineate thus, the feature was not added. Secondly, Alaska was not added to the map as
its position puts the map out of skew showing a large gap. A small view window would have been
appropriate.

5.0 Data Distribution

Table 1 shows the provided data from Niagara College sorted into 7 categories: state name, state
abbreviation, population in 1980, population in 1990, total area, population density (population
1990 divided by total area) and population growth (population in 1990 minus population 1980).
Based on the table, we can conclude that the state with the lowest population density is Alaska
with a density of 0.8. The state with the highest population density is the District of Columbia with
a population density of 8596.3.

Table 1. Population data obtained from Niagara College. Ranked by population density; smallest to highest.

State_Name State Pop_1990 Pop_1980 Total_Area PopDensity PopGrowth

Alaska AK 401851 550043 652868.2 0.8 148192
Wyoming WY 469557 453588 97636.8 4.6 -15969
Montana MT 786690 799065 146720.9 5.4 12375
South Dakota SD 690768 696004 76941.7 9 5236
North Dakota ND 652717 638800 70462.2 9.1 -13917
Nevada NV 800493 1201833 110484.5 10.9 401340
Idaho ID 943935 1006749 83313 12.1 62814
New Mexico NM 1302894 1515069 121617.5 12.5 212175

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 3
 Utah UT 1461037 1722850 84823.6 20.3 261813
Nebraska NE 1569825 1578385 77265.5 20.4 8560
Oregon OR 2633105 2842321 96895.5 29.3 209216
Kansas KS 2363679 2477574 82246.6 30.1 113895
Colorado CO 2889964 3294394 104001.5 31.7 404430
Arizona AZ 2718215 3665228 114016.3 32.1 947013
Maine ME 1124660 1227928 32941.9 37.3 103268
Arkansas AR 2286435 2350725 53058.3 44.3 64290
Oklahoma OK 3025290 3145585 69974.2 45 120295
Iowa IA 2913808 2776755 56203.8 49.4 -99999.9
Minnesota MN 4075970 4375099 84277.9 51.9 299129
Mississippi MS 2520638 2573216 47824.8 53.8 52578
Vermont VT 511456 562758 9612.5 58.5 51302
Texas TX 14229191 16986510 266918.9 63.6 999999.9
Washington WA 4132156 4866692 67972.1 71.6 734536
Missouri MO 4916686 5117073 69706.9 73.4 200387
West Virginia WV 1949644 1793477 24178.5 74.2 -99999.9
Alabama AL 3893888 4040587 51832.5 78 146699
Wisconsin WI 4705767 4891769 55912.5 87.5 186002
Louisiana LA 4205900 4219973 47947.3 88 14073
Kentucky KY 3660777 3685296 40437.6 91.1 24519
Georgia GA 5463105 6478216 58958.5 109.9 999999.9
South Carolina SC 3121820 3486703 31134.7 112 364883
Tennessee TN 4591120 4877185 42149.2 115.7 286065
New Hampshire NH 920610 1109252 9293.5 119.4 188642
North Carolina NC 5881766 6628637 52678.9 125.8 746871
Virginia VA 5346818 6187358 40673.1 152.1 840540
Indiana IN 5490224 5544159 36091.7 153.6 53935
Michigan MI 9262078 9295297 57910.6 160.5 33219
Hawaii HI 964691 1108229 6257.4 177.1 143538
California CA 23667902 29760021 158508.5 187.8 999999.9
Illinois IL 11426518 11430602 56276 203.1 4084
Florida FL 9746324 12937926 58907.2 219.6 999999.9
Pennsylvania PA 11863895 11881643 45257.3 262.5 17748
Ohio OH 10797630 10847115 41298.9 262.6 49485
Delaware DE 594338 666168 2049.2 325.1 71830
New York NY 17558072 17990455 49000.5 367.1 432383
Maryland MD 4216975 4781468 10364.5 461.3 564493

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 4
 Connecticut CT 3107576 3287116 5021.6 654.6 179540
Massachusetts MA 5737037 6016425 8267.7 727.7 279388
Rhode Island RI 947154 1003464 1209.1 829.9 56310
New Jersey NJ 7364823 7730188 7799.2 991.2 365365
District Of Columbia DC 638333 606900 70.6 8596.3 -31433

Table 2 houses the same data as Table 1 but is ranked by population growth from smallest to
largest. Based on this information, West Virginia is the state with the lowest population growth
from 1980 to 1990 (-156167). The state with the highest population is California with a population
growth of 6092119.

Table 2. Population data obtained from Niagara College. Ranked by population growth; smallest to highest.

State_Name State Pop_1990 Pop_1980 Total_Area PopDensity PopGrowth

West Virginia WV 1949644 1793477 24178.5 74.2 -156167
Iowa IA 2913808 2776755 56203.8 49.4 -137053
District Of Columbia DC 638333 606900 70.6 8596.3 -31433
Wyoming WY 469557 453588 97636.8 4.6 -15969
North Dakota ND 652717 638800 70462.2 9.1 -13917
Illinois IL 11426518 11430602 56276 203.1 4084
South Dakota SD 690768 696004 76941.7 9 5236
Nebraska NE 1569825 1578385 77265.5 20.4 8560
Montana MT 786690 799065 146720.9 5.4 12375
Louisiana LA 4205900 4219973 47947.3 88 14073
Pennsylvania PA 11863895 11881643 45257.3 262.5 17748
Kentucky KY 3660777 3685296 40437.6 91.1 24519
Michigan MI 9262078 9295297 57910.6 160.5 33219
Ohio OH 10797630 10847115 41298.9 262.6 49485
Vermont VT 511456 562758 9612.5 58.5 51302
Mississippi MS 2520638 2573216 47824.8 53.8 52578
Indiana IN 5490224 5544159 36091.7 153.6 53935
Rhode Island RI 947154 1003464 1209.1 829.9 56310
Idaho ID 943935 1006749 83313 12.1 62814
Arkansas AR 2286435 2350725 53058.3 44.3 64290
Delaware DE 594338 666168 2049.2 325.1 71830
Maine ME 1124660 1227928 32941.9 37.3 103268
Kansas KS 2363679 2477574 82246.6 30.1 113895
Oklahoma OK 3025290 3145585 69974.2 45 120295

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 5
 Hawaii HI 964691 1108229 6257.4 177.1 143538
Alabama AL 3893888 4040587 51832.5 78 146699
Alaska AK 401851 550043 652868.2 0.8 148192
Connecticut CT 3107576 3287116 5021.6 654.6 179540
Wisconsin WI 4705767 4891769 55912.5 87.5 186002
New Hampshire NH 920610 1109252 9293.5 119.4 188642
Missouri MO 4916686 5117073 69706.9 73.4 200387
Oregon OR 2633105 2842321 96895.5 29.3 209216
New Mexico NM 1302894 1515069 121617.5 12.5 212175
Utah UT 1461037 1722850 84823.6 20.3 261813
Massachusetts MA 5737037 6016425 8267.7 727.7 279388
Tennessee TN 4591120 4877185 42149.2 115.7 286065
Minnesota MN 4075970 4375099 84277.9 51.9 299129
South Carolina SC 3121820 3486703 31134.7 112 364883
New Jersey NJ 7364823 7730188 7799.2 991.2 365365
Nevada NV 800493 1201833 110484.5 10.9 401340
Colorado CO 2889964 3294394 104001.5 31.7 404430
New York NY 17558072 17990455 49000.5 367.1 432383
Maryland MD 4216975 4781468 10364.5 461.3 564493
Washington WA 4132156 4866692 67972.1 71.6 734536
North Carolina NC 5881766 6628637 52678.9 125.8 746871
Virginia VA 5346818 6187358 40673.1 152.1 840540
Arizona AZ 2718215 3665228 114016.3 32.1 947013
Georgia GA 5463105 6478216 58958.5 109.9 1015111
Texas TX 14229191 16986510 266918.9 63.6 2757319
Florida FL 9746324 12937926 58907.2 219.6 3191602
California CA 23667902 29760021 158508.5 187.8 6092119

6.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the creation of a multivariate map showing the population density and growth for
the United States allowed us to determine which states are growing and declining. Through the
choropleth and proportional symbol methods, a visually pleasing multivariate map was created
with MapInfo. Lastly, the following deliverable provided insight into how to create a multivariate
map using MapInfo and demonstrated basic map design skills.

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 6
Figure 1. Multivariate map created using choropleth and proportional symbol methods. Data obtained from Niagara College.

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 7
7.0 References

ArcGIS Pro. 2017. [Online]. Data classification methods. Symbology. Accessed on 11/21/2017.
Available from: http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/mapping/symbols-and-styles/data-
classification-methods.htm

Axismaps. 2017. [Online]. Thematic cartography guide. Proportional Symbols. Accessed on

11/21/2017. Available from: http://axismaps.github.io/thematic-
cartography/articles/proportional_symbols.html

Niagara College. 2017. [Online]. Deliverable 1: multivariate mapping. GISC 9118: Foundations
of Mapping and Cartography. Accessed on 11/21/2017. Available from Niagara College’s
Blackboard.

PennState. 2017. [Online]. Multivariate representation. Department of Geography. Cartography

and Visualization. Accessed on 11/21/2017. Available from: https://www.e-
education.psu.edu/geog486/node/1889

TDVC. 2017. [Online]. Choropleth map description. The Data Visualization Catalogue. Accessed
on 11/21/17. Available from: https://datavizcatalogue.com/methods/choropleth.html

Winona Drouin | 49 Canal Bank Street | Welland | Ontario | L3B 3M9 | [email protected] 8