JIDA

Hi Jida,

I sent you the following email regarding my lab section grade. Please get back to me when you read this so that I know that you have seen it.

Hi Jida, I have completed the labs that I missed earlier this quarter and posted them to my blog, and wanted to make sure that I would receive full credit for them. I had tried to meet up with you and then you had overslept because you were prepping for your conference, and when we spoke after my lab session you told me I could turn in the labs when I finished them for full credit, because we were unable to talk earlier. On MyUCLA I have the grade for Lab 6 as a 0/10, and wanted to make sure that was a temporary grade (and that I would receive full credit for Lab 7 as well). Additionally, I am not sure why I received a 0/10 for Lab 2. Your notes say that it was not submitted--it was submitted on time and I am not sure why I didn't receive any credit. I tried to come by A155 to talk to you in person about these concerns but you were not there. If there is an issue and you would like to talk about these grades more in person I would be glad to come by. For your reference, my lab url is http://ergeog7.blogspot.com/ Thank you again for a great quarter!! Sincerely, Eli Rubin

FINAL LAB

Overall, this final lab was fairly straightforward once I was able to accurately join the data within ArcGIS. Originally I did not have the same column names on each list, and attempting to join the data was a very patience-trying ordeal. In terms of map-making, trying to fit as much of the map itself into the layout format was a difficult process. I ended up cutting out Hawaii, and I thought about eliminating Alaska as well. I wanted to include as much detail as possible on regions that would offer more analysis (ie the Continental US), but did not want to exclude data that could be helpful and add to the overall impression. I really enjoyed this exercise, as we finally were able to deviate from the Tutorial and utilize our own skills as novice map-makers within the confines of ArcGIS. Additionally, undergoing a preliminary spatial analysis with regards to each of the maps required thoughtful insights in order to explain the spatial distribution and autocorrelation that was present in each of the below maps.

As far as Geographic Information Systems goes, I still believe that digital map-making is one of the foremost skills in this information age. Humans are visual creatures and can take in far more data at once and gather an impression from glancing at one map than from analyzing tables of numerical data. Especially in today's information age, people are much less willing to sit down and pore over data tables full of monotonous numbers than glance at a map and automatically see a pattern that they can apply their own skills of spatial analysis to. In addition, learning how to work with GIS has helped in the "it takes one to know one sense." Learning how people can manipulate maps to present an ideological agenda, for example, by simply changing the histogram groupings or unit aggregation, helps put one on guard against misleading maps. Nonetheless, familiarity with GIS is a useful skill that will help me personally to find my way in much of my life to come.

Counties wtih Some Other Race Alone Population Ranked by Percent (Continental US and Alaska)

The percentage of people who self-classified themselves as "Some Other Race" is much higher along the southwestern United States. There could be a few reasons for this clustering of responses for "some other race." First of all, the American southwest is home to large swaths of Native American populations. They may still wish to refer to themselves as members of their original tribe, and thus mark the "Some Other Race" category (even instead of the Native American box). Additionally, the American West is known for being liberal, and marking "Some Other Race" category even if you fit into a different category could be a form of political statement.

Counties with Black Alone by Percentage (Continental US plus Alaska)

The counties that have a higher percentage of blacks are concentrated mostly throughout the southeastern United States. This makes sense as most blacks were forced to immigrate to the United States under the bonds of slavery, which was concentrated on large plantations in the southern United States. Additionally, there are dark spots that run up the Atlantic seaboard, denoting clusters of large cities throughout the East Coast that have many diverse job opportunities. In addition, these cities tend to offer several low income housing areas and service jobs. The same logic applies to the higher percentages of blacks living in the southwestern United States in Los Angeles--diverse job opportunities and many employment options for those that happen to be unemployed.

Asian Alone (Continental US plus Alaska)

The majority of the Asian population is clustered in California and the southwestern United States. Historically speaking, this makes sense as large numbers of Chinese immigrants came to California to help build the transcontinental railroad. In addition, California is a developed economy with the Silicon Valley having many Asian engineers and a corresponding dark spot denoting a higher percentage of the population being Asian. There are also several clusters of dark spots throughout the United States, in the areas that denote economic centers and metropolis economic activity that have specialized jobs that Asians partake in. This again makes sense as if Asian's first came here as immigrants than they would need jobs (offered only in large cities or areas of advanced technological innovation).

Lab 7: LA Station Fire Perimeters

The Los Angeles Station Fires were the most threatening natural disaster in Los Angeles of since the 1994 earthquake in Northridge. As fires go, the blaze was "unprecendented, with fire blazing through 25,000 acres in an eight-hour period", according to Deputy Fire Chieft Mike Bryant (L.A. Now). Within the first few days, firefighters attempted to cut a break between residential homes and the flames closest to these homes, but were struggling with winds burning in the wrong direction the whole time. "Damage assessment teams have confirmed 53 strutures have burned..." (L.A Now) and that was just in the opening stages. The Station fire would go on to burn over 160,000 acres and 209 structures, 89 of which were homes (Station Fire Update).

The fires threatened structures throughout the Angeles National Forest and the surrounding communities of La Canada, Flintridge, Glendale, La Crescenta, and Altadena as well as the City of Los Angeles (Station Fire Evening Update). The station fire also burned through Mt. Wilson, "threatening numerous television, radio, and cellular telephone antennas on the summit" (Knoll). It was later discovered that the fire was started by arson. Over 93.8 million dollars were spent fighting the fire (Station Fire Update September 15), and the fire was only fully contained after firefighters were aided by a light rainfall. The Station fire ranks as the 10th worst fire in California history, and the worst in Los Angeles County history.

However, the blaze was dangerous because it threatened several civilian and residential communities. Many fires occur out in the rural countryside, and while more acres may burn less human structure is at risk. The thematic map below details Los Angeles Population Density, and clearly the population at risk is not at the heart of Los Angeles population density. While this Station Fire only threatened the outside of Los Angeles communities, it still affected more individuals than almost any fire in recent memory (along with the devastating San Diego fires about 7 years ago).

Additionally, I included the thematic map of Los Angeles County freeways and major roads. Along with only affecting the outskirts of the population, major thoroughfares were not truly affected. Only California Interstate 210 was truly at risk, but most major Los Angeles traffic patterns were permitted to continue normally. From this point of view, the fire had a smaller effect.

The biggest problem with natural disasters on this scale and magnitude is that they strike fear into the hearts of the general population. In retrospect it is easy to say that less than 100 residential homes were burned, or that major roads and freeways were not forced to close, or that the largest effect on the lives of most Angelinos was the smoke in the air and the damage caused to the lungs from breathing smoky air. At the time, people were frightened that their house could be next, and that their way of life would be no more. GIS provides a valuable tool in delineating the borders and affected populations after the fact to determine the true scale and magnitude of the disaster.




Bibliography

"L.A. NOW" Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/some-official say-spread-of-station-fire-appears-to-be-slowing.html. Online. Dec 2, 2010.

"Station Fire Update" InciWeb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/. Online. Dec 2, 2010.

"Station Fire Evening Update." Inciweb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9360/. Dec 2, 2010.

Knoll, Corinna. "TV, cellphone signals from Mt. Wilson at risk" Los Angeles Times.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/31/local/me-fire-mount-wilson31. Online. Dec 2,
2010.

"Station Fire Update Sept. 15, 2009" Inciweb. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9535/.
Online. Dec 2, 2010.

LA Station Fire Perimeter

Map of LA Fire Perimeters.