Utilizing Data-Planet Datasets in ArcMap

Kian Flynn, UW Libraries

This spring, the University of Washington Libraries acquired access to Data-Planet, the largest repository of standardized and structured statistical data. In addition to providing users with access to statistical data from a broad array of sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, National Science Foundation, United Nations, and Zillow Real Estate, Data-Planet lets users download shapefiles of any datasets in their database that have geospatial data. To demonstrate the type of analysis you can do with Data-Planet datasets in ArcMap, this lightning talk analyzed county level U.S. data on the poverty rate, SNAP participation rate, and 2016 election results. An analysis of the data showed a stark "social services gap" — a condition where the poverty rate is higher than the SNAP participation rate — exists in some counties in the United States. These counties tend to be in more rural parts — specifically in the Mountain and Heartland regions — of the county. The median population of counties with a "social services gap" is 36,523; the median population of counties without such a gap is 20,871. In addition, these "gap" counties tended to vote more Republican in 2016. On average, an analysis of the data found that for every 4 percent increase in the "gap", the Democratic presidential candidate's share of the vote dropped by 3 percent.