34:970:592
Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
Professor Lyna L. Wiggins
Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University
Syllabus
Topics in Geographic Information Science
Course Description and Goals: This course is designed as a second course in
Geographic Information Science. It is also a required course for graduate students
pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Information Science. (For information
on the Graduate Certificate, go to crssa.rutgers.edu.) The prerequisite for the course is
at least one introductory level GIS course, or comparable experience and the permission
of the instructor. Students should also have completed a basic course in statistics. For
students in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development, the first GIS
course would be 970:591, Introduction to GIS for Planning and Policy, and the statistics
course would be 970:515, Methods I. Students should be familiar with basic GIS
concepts and terminology and feel comfortable using ArcGIS Desktop. In particular,
students should understand the following concepts and techniques from their first
course:
Geospatial metadata
Projections and their correct usage in ArcGIS
Geographic representations (vector, raster)
Layers, georelational model, topology, generalization
Unique identifiers
Basic concepts of relational database management systems
Multiple tables, joins, relates
Basic cartographic principles for thematic maps
Selecting the correct thematic map type for unique value and quantitative
attributes
Address geocoding
Point-in-polygon analysis
Spatial joins
Buffer analysis
Overlay analysis (intersection and union)
34:970:592
Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
Basic map algebra on raster data layers
The learning objective for this course is to introduce students to selected advanced
concepts and research topics in Geographic Information Science. Students completing
this course will have the preparation necessary to enroll in advanced research seminars
in Geographic Information Science. Since the full range of possible topics is too much
material for a single course, the selection of topics focuses on those of particular
interest to professionals working in the substantive areas of urban planning,
transportation planning, geography, and the environmental sciences. The selected
topics for 2014 include:
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Using ArcGIS Extensions (Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, Network Analyst,
Geostatistical Analyst)
Introduction to spatial statistics
Modeling GIS data
Creating, editing and documenting data in ArcGIS
Other topics (time dependent – ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, City Engine)
Using the Spatial Analyst Extension, we first introduce students to more advanced
hands-on skills with raster datasets. The focus is on more sophisticated use of the GIS
analysis tools including the overlay tools. Completing this topic area takes students well
beyond the basic raster functions covered in our first GIS course. In the second problem
set we complete a realistic suitability analysis. Next we look at 2 other popular
extensions, 3D Analyst and Network Analyst. Both of these extensions are greatly
enhanced starting at version 10.
The second topic introduces students to basic spatial statistics. These statistical tools
are useful in both professional practice for correctly analyzing spatial datasets, and are
also relevant to graduate students using geospatial datasets in their research work.
The third topic introduces students to the current state-of-the-art in designing
geospatial data models. This provides an increased understanding of the correct
structuring of geospatial databases. (After this section of the course you will never use
a shapefile again …)
The fourth topic introduces students to the concepts and techniques of creating primary
data for GIS projects. Students in a first GIS course are assumed to be users of GIS data,
not creators of GIS data. Students completing this second course gain knowledge of
data production and documentation techniques. With planning students the large
majority in this course, we spend some extra time on parcel datasets. Because of their
complexity, special handling is required for parcel data. In addition, we study the
concept of accuracy in more detail. Finally, we learn how to create geospatial metadata
for datasets that we create or modify from existing datasets.
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34:970:592
Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
The final topics (depending on time and interest) may include introductions to ArcGIS
Pro (not quite ready for prime time yet), ArcGIS Online (a lot better than last year),
and/or City Engine, Esri’s new 3D visualization software – a tool for “geodesign.”
Faculty: The faculty for this course is Professor Lyna L. Wiggins. Her office is in the
Civic Square building, room 359. Her phone number is 848-932-2208 and her email is
lyna@rci.rutgers.edu. Her office hours for the fall semester are Mondays from 4 to 6 and
Tuesdays from 4 to 6. The TA for the course is Sarah Moran. Her email is
sarah.moran@rutgers.edu and her office hours are Thursdays from 4 to 6 in Room 371.
Course Format: The course will combine lectures, discussion of required readings,
and hands-on exercises in the computer lab. Participation in class discussions is highly
encouraged.
Collaboration Policy: You are encouraged to work in groups on your problem sets.
However, the written answers and maps that you turn in must be your own work. The
Rutgers policies can be found at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/academicintegrity-at-rutgers.
Course Readings: The readings for this course are selected journal articles and book
chapters with additional powerpoints, notes and exercises written by the course
instructor. Required readings are scanned and available on the course web page on
Sakai and in the class folder on the m: drive (the Bloustein School common drive). The
pathname to the class folder is m:\F14-592-01.
There are four recommended books for this course. We will be using 2-3 chapters from
these 4 books as required readings. Depending on your finances, you might wish to
purchase these 3 books for your professional library.
Margaret H. Carr and Paul D. Zwick, 2007. Smart Land-Use Analysis: The LUCIS Model.
ESRI Press: Redlands, CA
Michael Zeiler, 2010. Modeling Our World: The ESRI Guide to Geodatabase Concepts.
Second Edition. ESRI Press: Redlands, CA.
Andy Mitchell, 2005. The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 2: Spatial Measurements
and Statistics. ESRI Press: Redlands, CA.
Andy Mitchell, 2012. The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 3: Modeling Suitability,
Movement, and Interaction. ESRI Press: Redlands, CA
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Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
These books are available from ESRI (www.esri.com) and also from Amazon.com. Under
the Rutgers University site license, you will receive a 1-year license for ArcGIS 10.2, plus
the extensions. If you don’t have access to a fairly new computer you will need to plan
time to work on exercises in the lab.
Course Web Page: The readings and additional course material are available on the
course web page. Go to sakai.rutgers.edu. Enter your user name and password. Access
is also available to students outside of Rutgers, with permission from the instructor.
Duplicate copies of all problem sets are included in the course folder on the m: drive
(m:\F14-592-01). I try to be consistent in the use of file names, subfolders, etc. between
Sakai and the network drive. The data folder for this class is large – over 1 Gig. You can
copy it onto a flash drive from s:\ArcGIS_592 or download it from
http://ejbsurvey.rutgers.edu/ArcGIS_592.zip.
Material and problem sets for the week will be posted by Tuesday afternoon, the day
following the class meetings. Problem sets for the week are also due on Tuesdays, by
11:55 p.m. This schedule allows the instructor to ensure that all the material was
covered in class for that week’s problem set. It also allows students to ask last-minute
questions on the assignment in class, on the day before that assignment is due.
Grading: The grading for the course will be based on problem sets. There will be 12
problem sets during the semester. These problem sets comprise 90 percent of the
course grade. Late problem sets are accepted, but a penalty of 10 percent of the grade
will be deducted for each week late. Class participation makes up the final 10 percent of
the course grade.
Schedule: The schedule of topics follows:
Week 1, September 8: Analyzing raster datasets. Lecture introduces general concepts
of raster data structures and map algebra. Local, focal, zonal and global functions are
discussed. Various spatial analysis functions using raster data are described. These
include extrapolation functions, contour, slope, aspect, and hillshade. The lab exercise
(Problem Set 1) uses the Spatial Analyst extension to ArcGIS.
Week 2, September 15: Using Model Builder in ArcGIS. The lecture focuses on using
logical arguments to complete land-use suitability analyses using raster analysis.
Required reading is several chapters from Carr and Swick, Smart Land Use Analysis. The
lab exercise (Problem Set 2) uses Model Builder and the Spatial Analyst extension to
ArcGIS.
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34:970:592
Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
Week 3, September 22: Analyzing networks. Lecture introduces network data
structures and analytic tools. The lab exercise (Problem Set 3) uses the Network Analyst
Extension to ArcGIS.
Week 4, September 29: Using 3D analysis and visualization. Lecture discusses several
GIS data structures (DEM and TIN) in more detail, 3-D symbolization, creating and
converting 3D themes, finding steepest paths, and analyzing visibility. We also discuss
3D graphics, animations, 3D annotation, ArcGlobe and ArcGlobe animations. The lab
exercise (Problem Set 3) uses the 3D Analyst extension to ArcGIS.
Week 5, October 6: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA). Lecture introduces basic
ESDA techniques. We then examine the surface interpolation techniques in more detail
and introduce kriging. The lab exercise (Problem Set 4) uses the Geostatistical Analyst
Extension to ArcGIS.
Week 6, October 13: Introduction to Spatial Statistics. Spatial description. Distance
analysis. Hot spot analysis. The lab exercise uses CrimeStat and ArcGIS. Reading
includes several chapters from Mitchell, Spatial Measurements and Statistics.
Additional required reading from CrimeStat II: A Spatial Statistics Program for the
Analysis of Crime Incident Locations, Ned Levine & Associates, The National Institute of
Justice, Washington, DC. The lab exercise (Problem Set 5) uses ArcGIS and CrimeStat.
Week 7, October 20: Spatial Statistics. Lecture covers additional topics in spatial
statistics, including hypothesis testing, spatial autocorrelation, and models for statistical
analysis of spatial data. Required reading includes several chapters from Robert
Haining, Spatial Data Analysis: Theory and Practice, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Several journal articles will also be assigned to provide illustrations of these techniques
in practice. The lab exercise (Problem Set 6) uses ArcGIS.
Week 8, October 27: Spatial econometric modeling. The lab exercise (Problem Set 7)
uses ArcGIS and Geoda (a free geostatistical program from Luc Anselin).
Week 9, November 3: Measuring error and evaluating accuracy. Lecture explores more
advanced GIS topics in the areas of measurement of error, accuracy and fitness for use,
and the implications of these topics to model building within a GIS. Lecture and readings
will include background for writing accuracy statements for geospatial metadata.
Readings will include several articles by Gary Hunter from the URISA Journal, and a
handbook from the State of Minnesota. The lab exercise (Problem Set 8) uses ArcGIS.
Week 10, November 10: Designing Geodatabases. Lecture focuses on more advanced
topology applications and introduces the details of the geodatabase structure. We then
discuss basic geodatabase design principles. Required reading from Zeiler, Modeling
Our World. The lab exercise (Problem Set 9) uses ArcGIS.
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34:970:592
Mondays 1:10 – 3:50
Fall Semester 2014
Week 11, November 17: Editing and digitizing. We will discuss basic good practice in
editing and digitizing in ArcMap. The lab exercise (Problem Set 10) uses ArcGIS.
Week 12, November 24: Parcel Editor toolbar. We will consider the techniques and
issues involved in creating a land base for cadastral mapping. We will discuss some
basic topics in geodetic control, photogrammetric base map specification and
construction, map registration, conversion of tax maps and integration of other layers
into a Multipurpose Cadastre. The lab exercise (Problem Set 11) includes using the
parcel editor toolbar, georeferencing an aerial photograph, performing coordinate
transformation for vector data, and adding X,Y data to ArcMap.
Weeks 13 and 14, December 1 and December 8: Additional topics. The lab exercise
(Problem Set 12) will use some combination of City Engine and/or ArcGIS Pro and/or
ArcGIS Online.
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