In addition to familiarity with economic concepts, data, tool, the student of government (and the thing itself) relies immensely on demographics. The people, the community, county, what have you. In economic usage, people and populations are both consumers, and the labor force. It’s all part of that big multi-ingredient stew called Texas, or the US for that matter. Now, add in maps and you’ve got a policymaker’s dream (as well as a marketer’s, realtors, business folk, etc.) Let’s use the power of the web, and our interactive cd to digress. Please read over sections 8-11, in chapter 1, then view the You Tube video in section 8. Hmmm…more please!

Please go to the site  http://www.policymap.com/map. It will take a few minutes to load. Put your ZIP CODE IN THE YELLOW SEARCH WINDOW at the top, and voila! (Your zip code area is outlined in orange) You can see the immense resource the site can offer, by rolling over the tabs across the top of the map.  It’s a good idea to familiarize with the categories of data…

FOR WEEK 3 part 2 ASSIGNMENT, you are going to make a profile of your area, by clicking thedemographics tab at the top of the map, and clicking on the 4 major race categories (white, hispanic, african-american, asian... Also include the persons living in poverty, household income, and school district funding (state and federal assistance) After that, compare your zip code with any other in our state.

http://www.50states.com/zipcodes/  is a link to look up zip codes.

 Try to pick a zip code that’s different from yours, that is, a city or rural, the other side of town, the Valley, etc….. Just be creative, and curious…that will make you a great researcher.