LAB: GIS Concepts Review

SC 435 - Land Use Planning

LAB 1:

Office Rm. 321, phone # - 564-8309, and email – johnd@alakapacific.edu
Review the lab syllabus.
Project based labs.
Requires use of ArcInfo and/or ArcView. I am going to lean more towards ArcView due to its display and easy editing capabilities.
Each lab will have one or more assignments associated with them. All assignments are due the following lab meeting unless otherwise noted.

LAB: GIS Concepts Review

Maps

What are maps?
What purposes do they serve?
What kinds of maps are there?

general maps – positional relationships among features
thematic maps – spatial variations of a single phenomenon (population, zoning districts)
isoline maps – equal value along a line (temperature, elevation)
choropleth maps – shows the magnitude of some statistic (median income, percent employed in service sector industries)

How are real-world features displayed on maps? (symbology)

GIS

What is a GIS? - GIS is an organized collection of spatially referenced data that supports the retrieval of information for query, analysis, and display.
What are some components and functions of a GIS? (components then functions)

Hardware, Software, Data, Applications, People
Input, Display, Management, Analysis, Storage

What are the benefits of using a GIS?
What makes GIS so powerful? – relational database management system, query and analysis, display

Basic elements used in attributing real-world features

Use overhead map of the University district to describe the map features and cover the following:

Feature classes – wells, wetlands, zoning (cyan = commercial, rose = residential, tan = public facilities), roads, streams, lakes, buildings
Feature types – points, lines, polygons, and cells
Data types – character/string, numeric, date, binary
Data scales – nominal, ordinal, integer, ratio
Data models – vector format, raster format

Create a table to describe these features…

Feature class	Feature type	Data type	Data scale	Data model	Attributes
Well
Wetlands
Zoning
Roads
Streams
Buildings
Lakes

GIS project development
Database design

User needs

Data specifications

Database development

Data capture
Editing and attribution
Validation

Data analysis

Queries and cartographic modeling

Data display

Maps, charts, statistical summary

Data documentation

Metadata, data archive, and distribution

Database Specification

Include a detailed data specification for your database. Be sure to identify all source and derived data themes. For source themes identify the original data sources, and, if necessary, describe the acquisition techniques for original data themes. Additionally, your specification will address data type and scale, feature types, format, source, and whatever else you feel is appropriate to include.

Example Data Specification

Component	Class	Attributes	Data Type	Data Scale	Feature type	Format	Source
Biological	Species	Name	Character	Nominal	Annotation		F&G
		Body size	F.P.	Ratio	Annotation		F&G
		Locations	Integer	Nominal	Point	Vector	F&G
		Home range	F.P.	Ratio	Area	Vector	Derived
Physical	Landscape	Vegetation	Character	Nominal	Area	Vector	DNR
		Elevation	F.P.	Ratio	Cell	Raster	USGS
		Soils	Character	Nominal	Area	Vector	NRCS
		Stream class	Integer	Nominal	Line	Vector	DNR
Analytical	Habitat	Suitability	Integer	Ordinal	Area	Vector	Derived

Organizing data in a database for future analytical use

Feature attribute tables are the databases for your data. The data specification will help you construct FAT’s that will be useful when you capture data and attribute it, and eventually ask questions of your data.

Assignment(s):

Construct a paper GIS of Anchorage attractions including an attribute table.
Construct a data specification table for the data you will need for your individual project.

Next lab meeting: GPS some features on campus to use in your suitability analyses. Learn how to input and attribute GPS’ed features in ArcInfo and ArcView.

Fieldtrip to USGS to check out map resources and data

Anchorage Attractions Information Sheet

ID	Name	Cost	Feature type	Hours	Activity	X coord	Y coord

Indicate your top ten Anchorage area attractions by the number referenced on the map. For "feature type," indicate POINT, LINE, or AREA as the feature would be at the scale of the map.