Name: Ana Diaz

Mapping America Activity

This activity will provide you detailed information about your neighborhood and larger
area of Southern California. In addition, it will introduce you to a valuable resource
you may be able to use in your teaching. You will be using the New York Times
Mapping America Website (http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer).
1. Go to the Mapping America Website (above). In the box next to the Go button, type
Los Angeles and click to the Go button.
This will take you to a map of the greater Los Angeles area showing racial and ethnic
distributions of Los Angeles.
Find your home area by entering your zip code (again in the box to the left of the Go
Button). Next, find the specific census tract where you live. You will probably want to
use the Magnifying Glass (to the right of the Go Botton) to locate your census tract.
Write down below the distribution of groups in your census tract. 553502
Whites

9%

Blacks

11%

Hispanics

76%

Asians

4%

Other Groups

0%

2. Looking at the larger area around your home, find a census tract
that meets each of the following criteria. Make a note of the tract
number and where the tract is located, as you will need to find
each tract again. (Helpful Hint: You can reduce the magnification of
the map to see a larger area by sliding the magnification tool in the
right-upper corner).

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

70% or more White in an area with a population of 1,000 or more.

70% or more Hispanic
70% or more Black.
70% or more Asians.
Less than 10% Whites and more than 10% of Blacks, more than 10% of
Hispanics, and more than 10% of Asians.

3.For the tracts you found, you will need to gather additional
information about them. To do this click on the View More Maps
button. Notice the four options under the Choose a Topic box on the
left. For each topic, you can select a map that provides you specific
information about different tracts. Complete the table for each of the
census tracts you have identified in the previous question. (Hint: You
may find easier to stay in one map and collect the same information
Foreign Born or Per Capita Income, for examplefor all of the tracts
before moving on to a different type of map.)

Census Tract
Census Tract Number

A
B
5775 553
02
502

C
541
2

D
E
554 543
517
802

Population

1,362

4,020 5,270

5,057

6,887

Foreign born

10%

40%

56%

39%

Per capita income

$100,179

$48,3 $51,53 $74,16 $60,35

1
4
7
39

Percentage with Income under $30,000

8% 34%

10%

30%

20%

24%

Percentage with Income over $199,999

21%

0%

0%

9%

2%

Percentage of High school graduates

100%

70%

83%

93%

81%

Percentage with Bachelors degree or

higher

66%

13%

17%

52%

27%

Percentage in Elementary private school 0%

About
students

3%

12%

7%

0%

Percentage of Same Sex Couples

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

Median home value

$1,000,0
01

326,7 $353,3 $650,60 $457,40

0
00 0
00

Median monthly rent

$1,448 $1,60 $810

2

101
students

$1,602 $995

4.

Respond to the following in complete sentences.

a.

Look up the definition of segregation in a reputable source. From data

that you found on the maps, give a specific example of an area that seems to
be segregated.

Segregation is the practice or policy of keeping people of different race, religious, etc.,
separate from each other. (Miriam- Webster Dictionary).
Using the information from the map, South Gate seemed to be segregated.
b. Among the census tracts you identified, which tract has the highest percentage in
the top income level? [In addition to giving the tract number, also describe where
the tract is located (ex. East Long Beach or between the 110 and 710 south of the
91).] Which tract has the highest percentage in the lowest income level?
The tract with the highest income is 577502 which is located in Long Beach by on E
Ocean Blvd.
The track with the lowest income is 542602 which is located in Compton in Alameda
St and W Compton Blvd.
c. Among the tracts that you gathered information about, which one has the highest
percentage of college degrees? Which has the lowest? [In addition to giving the
tract number, also describe where the tract is located.] Which ethnic group is the
largest in these tracts?
The tract with the highest college degree is 554517 which is located Cerritos by South
St and Bloomfield. The largest ethnic group in this area is Asian.
The track with the lowest college degree is 5429 which is located in Compton by
Central and W Compton Blvd and largest group in this area is Hispanic.
d. Look at the data you collected in your chart. What are three important differences
between areas with a high percentage of whites (A) and a high percentage of nonwhites (B-E).
1. Income, whites (A) have a higher income than other groups (B-E).
2. Whites (A) are more likely to obtain a higher level of education if you
compare them to Hispanics (B).
3. Population, whites (A) have a smaller population compared to the others
groups (B-E).
e. Return to a larger view of Los Angeles by typing Los Angeles in the box next to the
Go button and clicking Go. Go to the View More Maps page, and select the
Racial/Ethnic Distribution map. From the map, describe the areas (cities, parts of
citiy, coast, etc.) that have the largest concentration of Whites, of Blacks, and of
Hispanics in the Los Angeles area.
i. Most whites are located in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and
everywhere else near the ocean.

ii. Many blacks are located in Inglewood.

iii. Many Hispanics are located in East Los Angeles, south gate, Pico Rivera, and
lynwood. My area there's mostly Hispanics.
f. List at least two other interesting thing observations that you noted about Southern
California in doing this map assignment.
1. I found it interesting to see how most white (a) live by many beaches I never
quite noticed that or thought most whites lived there.
2. I was able to figure out what percentages of white, Hispanics, blacks, Asians
live in my area, I was somewhat surprised with the percentages. I thought I
would see a higher black percentage and smaller white percentage.