Sweden Series

For this map series I chose to represent the population by county of Sweden. I also decided to make this a bit more interesting and created a new field which is the population per square kilometer. I used the information that was provided in the ARCGIS database and the fields of population per county and that county’s size in square kilometers. After getting these values I plotted them 3 times on a map of Sweden that is projected using a local, Swedish projection. For the first map I used a dot density classification to display the results. This display uses individual dots to represent the population per square kilometer. This representation shows how some of the biggest counties also have some of the least dense populations. This map is good in that it displays the results individually, in that each dot represents 1 person per square kilometer. However when the county has a dense population it becomes difficult to see individual dots, as seen in the Stockholm county area. For the 2nd map I used a proportioned dot display to represent the population per square kilometer. This is similar to the dot density map however this one used a single dot for each county and varies in size depending on the density of the population. This representation is good for it shows different sized dots depending on the density, however it can be difficult to distinguish the difference size dots as well as to truly know what the actual density is. For the 3rd map I used a color ramped display. The counties have are assigned a color depending on their classification and for this I used the natural breaks class. This map, while perhaps the easiest map to interpret, does have problems accurately represented each county and providing each county with a unique value.
Each of these maps has both pros and cons, however the best representation of the data would have to be the dot density map. This map really provides the reader with a clear visual of not only the size of the county but then the population in proportion to its size. This allows one to compare different counties based on their population, size, and population densities all on one map. It also provides the most precise interpretation of the data since one dot equals one person per square kilometer.