Geo325: Business Geographics
Lesson 8 ~ Comparing Business Locations
To US Census Data
Lesson Overview: In this lesson you will create a thematic map of Chester County as in previous lessons. Your thematic map will show a variable that would be of interest to a geocoded business location from earlier exercises. For example, if you mapped golf courses, you might wish to create a thematic map showing number of males between the ages of 50-65. Or, if you mapped Starbucks coffee shops you might wish to create a thematic map showing population between the ages of 20-24, prime consumers of coffee. You can then compare your business location to the information the census is showing you. This exercise will be completed using MapInfo.
Before you Begin. Create a folder on your storage disk. Name it Lesson8, or similar. Find the computer named \\Geographia on the network. Map the folder named Work as your W: drive. Next you'll need to find one of the geocoded layers that you created in an earlier MapInfo lesson. Look in your folder for Lesson 2 or 3. Both of them resulted in a new MapInfo layer containing businesses as points. The file will have a .TAB extension. If you did not save your geocoded business locations you'll need to geocode them again. Do that now. When you are done, proceed to the next step.
Launch MapInfo. In the Quick Start window click on Open Table. Go to your storage disk (D:, E:, or F:) and open the geocoded file you created from Lesson 2 or 3. This should bring up your geocoded points.
Next add the Census layer to your work. Go to File -> Open Table and open file W:\Geo325\Data\SpatialData\Chesco\CENSUSTR.
Now right-click on the map, select View Entire Layer, under the drop-down arrow select All Layers, and click Ok
Your map will now show a business location file (points) and census tracts for Chester County (polygons). You are ready to create a thematic map. Go to Map -> Create Thematic Map. Create a thematic map (as in Lesson 5) using a field from the census layer. Choose a field that relates to the business location layer that you added above.
Add a scale bar like you have done in previous MapInfo lessons. Click on the scale bar icon under the menu, then place the scale bar on you map, lower right corner. If you need to move or delete your scale bar refer to the directions on doing so in Lesson 2.
Label a few of your geocoded points with the label button
in the main toolbar. See Lesson 2 if you need help.
Change the order of the two theme items; you want the business locations to be on top. Simply click on the items and drag them up or down to reorder them.
Create a Layout. You are ready to create a layout for printing. On your menu bar, under Window, select New Layout Window. Click OK at the next window that appears. Set your layout to landscape (File then Page Setup and select Landscape as your orientation. Click OK.
Resize the map and the legend to fit nicely on a page. Resize them by selecting them and dragging your map window and legend window. Finalize your map layout by adding a north arrow (North Arrow, Lesson 1, adding your name, section, date and lesson number, adding a title for the map (See Adding Text, Lesson 1).
Now print by going to file on the menu bar and select print.
Make sure that you have saved your work. Go to file on the menu bar and select save workspace. Change your directory to that of your flash drive. Save the workspace as Lesson8.wor
Yippie! 
Lesson documentation updated 06/03/08;
Ellen Bryson.
The Center for Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis
at West Chester University