Post Office ProjectMapping the locations of existing and proposed

post office closings in the Kentucky Appalachian area

We partnered with the Appalachian Center to map the locations of post offices in the fifty-four county Appalachian region of Kentucky.

Number of proposed post office closings unusually high in this region (approximately 90).

Map both the existing locations and the post offices slated for closure.

How will these closures affect the local population and community?

Project Overview

Shane at the Appalachian Center contacted the ARC and provided us with shapefiles for Kentucky and the fifty-four county region.◦ Shane also gave us data on rurality and broadband internet coverage

Population characteristics from the census Post office locations from U.S. Postal Service website

Geocoded post office locations Joined census data table to shapefile Created choropleth maps

Data/Operations

Produced approximately 30 choropleth maps, each one representing a characteristic

Created an interactive map which displays the locations of the existing post offices and those to be closed using geocommons.com◦ Location points are linked to images on the UK Appalachian Center’s Post Office Project website

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Results