Draft Project Propsal

Mapping the Boundaries and Changes in Population and Demographics of Albany from 1754-1810 using a GIS Model

Sarah Schaefer
Siena College
Loudonville, NY 12211
March 9, 2010

Introduction: The capital of New York State, Albany, is a city rich with a diverse people and a diverse history nestled below the converging Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. Modern Albany was founded as the Dutch trading posts of Fort Nassau in 1614 and Fort Orange in 1623,and was renamed Albany by the English years later. Albany finally became an officially chartered city in 1686. Since then a lot has happened in this area; however, not all history has been clearly documented up to today’s standards. Between the years 1750 and 1810 the population of Albany grew three fold. This gargantuan leap within only sixty years is something to be noted; population and development spiked during this time period. Furthermore, the disastrous fire that arose from a slave rebellion in 1793, and the city becoming the capital of the state of New York in 1797 had huge effects on population and city development.
Developing a GIS model to depict the growth and destruction of the city through two major events along with providing a detailed account of the flow of population and demographics throughout this time period will effectively present this segment of local history in one intelligible map. Such a map might assist us in tracing back through Albany’s History and provide answers about this city’s beginnings.

Objectives: The goal of this project is to use GIS mapping tools to create an intelligible map that shows the changing Albany, New York city boundaries, population, and demographics between 1754 and 1810. The specific objectives include:
· Develop layers of the GIS map for each year with in this time period
· Layers will show the city boundaries with a bordering outline of the city limits
· Layers will show the city population with a color gradient
· Layers will show the demographics in the areas of the city using a color gradient
· Show the names of streets and major landmarks
· Data will be easy to read and well organized and combine years of information in one GIS map

Methodology: The Arc GIS map will be used to upload a geographic map of the Albany area in 10-m resolution. Since most of the data needed for this GIS map is not geospatial and needs to be created I will need to compile the information and then organize the data into categories and eventually create metadata for each layer. I will create the boundaries of the city in each year layer. I will add the population data to the map, showing the population density in each area. The demographic data will be organized as a metadata and will have different colors for each demographic. A legend will show the information and the colors that they correspond to on the GIS map of Albany. Users will be able to turn on and off the layers for each year between 1754 and 1810 to see the changes that occur in city boundaries, population, and demographics between each year.

Data Sources:
ESRI Data and Maps [DVD]. (2006) Redlands, CA:ESRI, Inc. [October,2008].
1754-1810 Census Data- New York State Library ( Contacted but still waiting for Census Data)
1754-1810 Albany City Boundaries Map-New York State Library ( Contacted but still waiting for data)

Work Plan:
March-April 2010 Obtain geospatial map of Albany. Research Albany city boundaries 1754-1810, research population and demographics information. Compile information. Organize information in metadata and layers. Depict data in the geospatial map of Albany with functioning layers
April-May 2010 Apply an appropriate coordinate system, scale, and north arrow. Create an easy to read legend corresponding to data components. Format map. Make sure everything is cohesive and complete.