California State University, Los Angeles

Department of Geography and Urban Analysis

Cultural Geography – GEOG 155

Writing Exercise Two

The Racial Geography of My Neighborhood

 

 

This is the second of a three part exercise designed to teach students about the cultural geography of their immediate and extended neighborhoods.  This exercise first asks students to write about the racial characteristics of their immediate neighborhood (defined as the census tract in which they live).  Using the U.S. Census Bureau website, students will produce four (4) maps showing the distribution of the White, Black or African American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino populations of their census tract.  Additionally, students are required to fill in the table below using census table QT-PL (Hispanic or Latino and Race – all ages). Each student will then write a two to three page paper describing the racial characteristics of their neighborhood and comparing and contrasting their tract to the county in which it is located.  Students are again asked to submit the printouts that they obtain from the Census Bureau web site used to complete this assignment along with their maps and write-ups.

 

Tract _______________________

Number

Percent

White

 

 

Black or African American

 

 

Asian

 

 

Hispanic

 

 

Total

 

 

County _____________________

Number

Percent

White

 

 

Black or African American

 

 

Asian

 

 

Hispanic

 

 

Total