Intro to GIS
- What is GIS
- Asking a GIS question
- GIS in Real World Application
- Spatial Analysis in GIS (A history)
- Data Representation in GIS
- The GIS Software We will Learn for this Course
2023-01-20
Overview
What is Geographic Information System?
Definition?
What is Geographic Information System?
Definition
- Definition by ESRI(Environmental Systems Research Institute): A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations—helping users make smarter decisions.
- Definition by National Geographic Society: “A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface.”
What is Geographic Information System?
Definition
- A Practical Definition by Nick Santos from UC Davis: Software and data that enable us to ask and answer questions involving where something is and how that location relates to other things.
- A Summary: Four pillars of GIS
- Technology
- Spatial Data
- Visual Communication
- Pattern/Spatial Analysis
Asking a GIS question
- What is at certain location?
- What has changed in certain location over time?
- What is the spatial pattern? dispersed? agglomerated?
- Why the spatial pattern?
- How to make decision based on the spatial pattern?
Asking a GIS question
Based on the type of GIS questions you asked.
Normative uses:
- e.g., use GIS to conduct a site suitability analysis for a retail establishment (where the best site should be located)
Positive uses:
- e.g., confirm a theory by finding positive evidence in support of it,reject theories when negative evidence is found (why this is the best site: the site is close to a major highway and far from any competitors) — a causal inference
- Now, you can form your questions (theory/research hypothesis): What questions intrigue you?
Asking a GIS question
Advancement of human understanding (build theory) of science from a spatial perspective
Example Question:
- What is the spatial distribution of asthma cases among children in New Jersey?
- What factors (demographic, environmental, etc.) might help explain the spatial distribution of asthma cases?
Excellent Final Projects:
- A Spatial Equity Analysis of Flooding Susceptibility in Informal Settlements: Case Study of Mumbai, India
- Roadside Ditches and Pollution Risk
- Mapping Police Violence in the Midwestern United States
- Examining Impacts of Predecessor Rain Events
- Mapping the Intersection between Demographic Data and Rising Sea Levels as Demonstrated by the 2020’s 100-year Floodplain: A Case Study of New York City
GIS in Real World Application (incomplete list…)
- Emergency management
- Social services
- Policy Analysis
- Economic development
- Transportation
- Urban planning and development
- Water resources
- Business Management
- Environmental sciences and security
- Real estate development and appraisal > - ……GIS can be applied in any spatial-related research!
GIS in Real World Application
Hazard Mitigation
Example from Texas Sustainable and Resilient Planning Atlases: Mapping the environmental hazards
- Where are mitigation mostly needed
- Which neighborhoods face the most hazard risks
- Where should future growth occur
GIS in Real World Application
Environmental Impact Assessment
Example from CRP 5072 taught by Prof. Linda Shi:
- Mapping the connections land use planning, municipal budgeting, and sea-level rise for three towns near Boston
- Students developed scenario models that demonstrated need for regional housing and integration strategies for towns in Massachusetts (e.g., Hull, Hingham & Cohasset)
GIS in Real World Application
Environmental Planning
Hydrology analysis:
- Where does the water flow?
- Location choice based on the flooding risk
GIS in Real World Application
Transportation Planning
Applying network analysis to optimal route calculation:
- What is the quickest way to get from New York to Flushing?
- What is the cheapest option?
- Optimal route calculation
GIS in Real World Application
Emergency Service Planning
Applying network analysis to emergency service planning:
- Optimal planning of fire stations to cover all the fire incidents can be reached within 5 mins.
GIS in Real World Application
Business Planning
Applying network analysis to business planning:
- What regions does the business cover?
- evaluate accessibility (green points represent warehouses and color code represent commuting time)
- Further analysis the demographic composition
GIS in Real World Application
Business Planning
Applying network analysis to business planning:
- Location-allocation modeling
- Where should we open a new branch of business?
GIS in Real World Application
Infrastructure Planning
Land use suitability analysis:
- Location-allocation modeling (Network analysis)
- Where should we locate an educational facility?
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
World first thematic map: Erupting volcano, Konya town, Turkey; 6200 BC.
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
World first disease spot map: Yellow Fever Deaths in New York 1798.
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
A Pioneer in GIS study: Doctor John Snow’s map of cholera outbreaks from 1854 London changed how we saw a disease.
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
Today, with the computing power and modern analytic methods available to us, we can take the analysis even further: The concentration around the Broad Street pump becomes even clearer, showing why Geographic Maps are an important tool to have in your analytic toolbox.
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
Jacqueline Tyrwhitt, Town & Country Planning (1950 textbook)
GIS’s origins lie in thematic cartography. Many planners used the method of map overlay using manual techniques. Manual map overlay as a method was first described comprehensively by Jacqueline Tyrwhitt in a 1950 planning textbook
Spatial Analysis in GIS
A history
Ian MacHarg, Design with Nature (1969)
Pioneer in environmental study and site suitability analysis using GIS analysis. McHarg, a Scottish landscape architect and a writer on regional planning, used blacked out transparent overlays for site selection in Design with Nature
Spatial Analysis in GIS
What is Spatial Analysis?
- Overlay features to tell a story, make an argument, solve or understand a problem, etc.
- Visual communication: share your analysis in reports, maps, tables, and charts.
Data Representation in GIS
Data representation in GIS is a translation process: turning real-world data into map and other human readable features (Vector and Raster).
Data Representation in GIS
Spatial data allows abstract representations of geographic features in real world locations to be digitally represented and stored in a database — The Ironman 2 Clips
Data Representation in GIS
GIS integrates all these layers’ of information and provide tools for analysis.
There are three types of information stored within spatial data:
- Topological relationships: Connect, adjacent, contained within, overlap, near, etc.
- Spatial features: point, line, polygons, etc.
- Non-spatial attributes: population, rates of poverty, GDP, etc.
The Software
History of ArcGIS
The Software
Transition to ArcGIS Pro
The Software
Transition to ArcGIS Pro
The Software
Filetype in ArcGIS Pro
The data file used in ArcGIS Pro is called: shapefiles. It is comprised of several support files.
The Software
Filetype in ArcGIS Pro
Next Steps:
