generate arrows indicating commute flows from one census tract to another on ArcGIS Pro

[zhongying_gan]

Hello,

I am currently using ArcGIS Pro 3.0.2. My dataset consists of residence census tract, workplace census tract, and the number of people who commute from the residence census tract to the workplace census tract. The following is an example of my dataset:

residence_id   workplace_id   commute

0101                  0203                    50

0503                  0602                    20       

I have a map of census tracts. I am looking for a way for ArcGIS Pro to draw arrows from the residence census tract to the workplace census tract, in this case, from tract 0101 to tract 0203, and from tract 0503 to tract 0602.

The following is an illustration of what I would like to achieve:

If possible, I was wondering how to make the size of the arrow proportional to the size of the commute flow. For example, since there are more people commuting from 0101 to 0203 than from 0503 to 0602, the arrow from 0101 to 0203 should be thicker than the arrow from 0503 to 0602.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[AndreasHall · Accepted solution]

You would need to first create the lines using, e.g., the XY To Line geoprocessing tool. Then symbolize that line based on the commute attribute. If you google ArcGIS Pro Flow Map you can find some helpful resources. This video shows how to do it in ArcGIS Online and there were several how to instructions for ArcMap also (e.g., this one). The workflow is similar in ArcGIS Pro. 

There is also a tool called Distributive Flow Maps that can do this but in a bit different way than what you are looking for: Distributive Flow Maps for Pro - Esri Community.

[zhongying_gan]

Hello,

Thank you so much for your reply. I used the XY To Line geoprocessing tool, then changed the symbol to an arrow. Lastly, I used "vary symbology by attribute" option to vary the thickness of the line based on the size of the commute flow.