GGRA30H3: GIS and Empirical Reasoning
Department of Human Geography
Assigned Date: 2025-05-29
Due date: 2024-06-12
Assignment #2: QGIS and Mapping
Summer 2025
(Total of 20 Marks- 10% of the final grade)
Learning objectives:
a. You should be able to connect and add data from a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database
b. You should be able to make basic maps with simple GIS data using open-source software
c. You should be able to develop few skills in map layout and labelling
Problem background: We will be using neighbourhood boundaries and related data from the City of Toronto. For a list of neighbourhoods in Toronto, click here:
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/data-research-maps/neighbourhoods-communities/neighbourhood-profiles/
There are a total of 140 neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto. These neighbourhoods are pre- defined geographic units within the City. They were created by the Social Policy Analysis and Research unit in the City’s Social Development and Administration Division. These neighbourhoods have information that comes from Toronto Public Health and a variety of other sources, including demographic information from Statistics Canada.
These neighbourhoods contain information that is very useful to the residents. If you live in Toronto, you live in one of the neighbourhoods. The results from this assignment could be used as a model (sample) to evaluate your neighbourhood. Although the data are from different sources and times, under the Open Data policy.
We are going to use some data, import some, join them and query them to get answers to the questions below. You will explore the neighbourhoods and related data in those neighbourhoods.
For this assignment, we are going to look at the data from 2011.
Problem to solve: A pharmaceutical company came up with a medication that is best suited for seniors (65+ years old). They are exploring neighbourhoods with that segment of the population. Given the data for this assignment, your job is to map the data, look at the attributes and come up with the top four neighbourhoods they should consider. We are looking at location analysis based on only one variable (population density of seniors (65 and over)) for this exercise, all other variables are ignored.
Data: The data you require for the assignment is provided in the form of an online PostgreSQL/PostGIS database.
Server name: ggrgis.utsc.utoronto.ca
Database: ggra30_sum_a2
Password: ggra30
If you need a refresher on how to connect to the server, review tutorial #4 (week 5).
The assignment contains data related to the senior population within the different neighbourhoods in Toronto.
You learnt how to make a basic map using tutorial # 3 (week 4). You will be using that as background knowledge and building on what you learnt in tutorial #4 (week 5) to come up with a solution for this assignment. You will need to recall the steps you took to come up with custom labels for tutorial # 4. To complete the assignment, you will need to complete both tutorial #3 and tutorial #4 (weeks 4 and 5) first.
Data Sources: City of Toronto (2019). Wellbeing Toronto-Demographics.
The steps you completed during the class tutorials are not repeated. If you need a reference, you can check back on the tutorials.
Here are the summary steps for this assignment (for your convenience, the questions are bolded and underlined in each step):
1. Download the assignment pdf to your local computer.
2. Start QGIS and start a new project called assignment 2. Connect to the server and load the
neighbourhood data layer to your map project. Note the GIS layer files are in polygon format. As you studied in the class, they contain areas. These files contain neighbourhood areas within the City of Toronto. At this point, you are going to add the layer. Examine the attributes and answer the following questions:
Answer questions i, ii & ii from the submission section below.
3. Create a map using the graduated symbol (style) and choose the blue colour. Make sure that you select the natural break (Jenks) method for the classification types with a total of 4 classes. Set transparency to 30. This will require you to explore the symbology property a little more and come up with a solution.
-In addition, you need to label the names of the neighbourhoods so that they appear as follows: Toronto: The Beaches (64)
-Make sure that you choose the font size to be around 8 or lower avoid clutter.
Add a base map (WMS!) that shows enough information to answer the questions below. It might slow down the speed the map pans or zooms, but before you make the final map you can zoom in to certain neighbourhoods one at a time to answer the questions. Feel free to turn the base map layer on and off as needed so that it will speed up your work.
Answer questions iv & v from the submission section below.
4. Make a map that shows the whole Toronto (zoomed in enough to cover all of it) using the data (classified and well-labelled neighbourhoods from #3 above with the base map) and answer questions/prepare a map based on vi from the submission section below.
Final submission: Answer the following questions and submit screenshots and maps as needed:
i. List the field names from attribute table? (1 mark)
ii. If the area of the neighbourhood is required in hectares, how would you convert it? Write down the formula. (1 mark)
iii. What is the seniors’ population density (per sq. km) in following neighbourhoods? (1 mark)
a. The Beaches
b. Rustic
iv. Answer these questions:
a. Where do you think, the pharmaceutical company open their retail store so that they
can reach the most seniors (list top 4 neighbourhood)? (2 marks). Identify whether it is in the East, West, North or South in Toronto. Yonge Street divides Toronto into East and West and Eglington divides Toronto into North and South for this exercise. If they straddle those boundaries, provide a logical reasoning why it belongs to North vs South (2 marks) Total 4 marks.
b. Zoom in to the area and take either one screenshot showing the top four
neighbourhoods clearly or four screenshots showing those four neighbourhoods. (1 mark)
v. If those neighbourhoods were in Mississauga and you wanted to label them similarly (with a
hyphen) to what you did in step #3 above (the intended result is: “(Mississauga)- Square One”, what would be your expression given the following table? (2 marks):
vi. Make a map showing all neighbourhoods in the city classified with graduated colour in four
classes using the Natural Break (Jenks) method. Note: you’ve already done all of it to answer the question from iv above. You just need to make a map to show all of Toronto instead of zoomed-in screenshots. In addition, you can add more things on the map. The background should contain a base map (i.e. includes road network). Make sure the transparency from step 3 above (30 percent) is there. The map should contain a title of the map, well-formatted legend, scale bar, text about data source and your name as the map author, and the map itself. It should show the City of Toronto. The names of the neighbourhoods on the map might look crowded, but it is okay for this assignment. Export the map as a PDF or image and include it with your assignment. (10 marks)
You are required to submit:
a. A document answering questions with screenshots and numbers (if needed) from i to
vi above (“Final submission” section). This includes your map as well.
b. The submission must be an online submission.