Lesson 2: Download the ESRI shapefile data

In this lesson, you will download an ESRI shapefile from the US Census website ([external link] www2.census.gov). The shapefile you download represents the Massachusetts 5-digit code zip code information used during the 2002 census tabulation. Each zip code area is treated as either a polygon or multipolygon.

 Download sample spatial data

  1. Create a local directory called c:\temp\massdata.

  2. Go to the following URL: [external link] http://www2.census.gov/cgi-bin/shapefiles2009/national-files

  3. On the right side of the page, in the State- and County-based Shapefiles dropdown, click Massachusetts, and then click Submit.

  4. On the left side of the page, click 5-Digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area (2002), and then click Download Selected Files.

  5. When prompted, save the zip file, multiple_tiger_files.zip, to c:\temp\massdata, and extract its contents. This creates a subdirectory called 25_MASSACHUSETTS containing another zip file called tl_2009_25_zcta5.zip.

  6. Extract the contents of tl_2009_25_zcta5.zip to C:\temp\massdata.

    This unpacks five files, including an ESRI shapefile (.shp) you will use to load the spatial data into the database.

  7. Proceed to Lesson 3: Load the ESRI shapefile data.

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