Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Fall 2013 (INF 385T-28620)
Dr. David Arctur
Research Fellow, Adjunct Faculty
University of Texas at Austin
Lecture 1
Aug 29, 2013
Who am I? …or at least, where have I been?

University of Texas at Austin
 Research Fellow, Schools of Engineering & Geosciences
 Adjunct Assistant Professor, iSchool

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
 Director, Interoperability Programs 2008-2012
 Member/Delegate 1997-2008
 Laser-Scan, Esri, OGC Interoperability Institute

University of Florida, Gainesville
 PhD Urban Planning 1996
 Thesis re: GIS with adaptive, object-oriented database
https://gsites.google.com/site/dkarctur
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In relationship
Our social
fabric
with our
is evolving…
environment
Who
can
say what’s
to
be done?
Whose Issues Are These:
Population dynamics
Social equity issues
Sustainable development
Globalization of resource
mgmt, production & trade
Toxic waste disposal
Fresh water availability
Energy supplies and demands
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Overall Course Objectives

Basic understanding of GIS capabilities & tools
 ArcGIS 10.1 (software provided)
 Open Source GIS (individual exploration)

How many ways it can be used today
 Wide range of applications, from earth observation
& policy analysis, to helping manage libraries
 Presenting growing challenge to curate & preserve

This is mainly a lab course in how to use ArcGIS
 Widely used, sophisticated software, free for UT
students
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Lab workbook

Gorr & Kurland, GIS Tutorial 1:
Basic Workbook for ArcGIS 10.1 (2013)
 Tutorial maps & data
 Lab exercises to learn
concepts and techniques
 Assignments to be zipped
and uploaded for grading
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Primary text for GIS theory

Paul Bolstad, GIS Fundamentals, 4th Edition (2012)
 Online course materials:
http://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.html
 Good reference for GIS concepts beyond scope of
the tutorial workbook

Coordinate reference systems

GPS

Database design
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Course materials on the web

Syllabus on iSchool website
 Contact info, readings, schedule of topics,
lecture downloads
 http://courses.ischool.utexas.edu/Arctur_David/2013/fall/385T/index.php

UT Blackboard / Canvas
 Communications, assignments upload
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Outline for today

GIS overview

GIS data and layers

GIS applications and examples

Software overview

Course software & exercise files setup
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Lecture 1
GIS OVERVIEW
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What is GIS?


Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are
computerized systems designed for the storage,
retrieval and analysis of geographically
referenced data
GIS uses advanced analytical tools to explore at
a scientific level the spatial relationships,
patterns, and processes of cultural, biological,
demographic, economic, geographic, and
physical phenomena
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S.America map by Diego Gutierrez, 1562
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Today
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Aral Sea, Uzbekistan
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2012 National Election Results
http://www.esri.com/news/maps/2012/election-maps/2012-national-results.html
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Web-based GIS: Watershed delineation
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Group on Earth Observations (GEO):
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)
http://earthobservations.org
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Tools for GIS

Hardware





Software





Computer
Digitizer
Scanner
Printer/Plotter
Desktop GIS
Internet GIS
CAD Software
Database Software
Multimedia (photos, videos, 3D models)
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Unique capabilities of GIS


GIS stores related geographic features in
separate collections of files called map
layers
Map layers can be reused easily and
assembled into any number of map
compositions and overlaid for analysis
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GIS answers the following

Location: What is at...? Where is it?

Condition: Status of features?

Trends: What has changed since...?

Patterns: What spatial patterns exist?

Modeling: What if…?
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Scale of GIS data
Global to local
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Vector data

Map features
 Points, lines, polygons

Feature attributes
 Every feature has attributes (e.g. name, area,
population)
Shape
Name
Class
Pop2000
State
Point
New York
City
8,008,278
NY
Point
Los Angeles
City
3,694,820
CA
Point
Chicago
City
2,896,016
IL
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Raster Data
Stored electronic image
or picture taken as an
aerial photograph or
satellite image
Composed of a rectangular array of
square cells, called pixels, with a number
in each cell representing the solid color fill
of that cell
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The evolution of GIS
Computerized years
Early
Years
1960
1970
Specialized
Years
1980
1990
Connect &
Collaborate
2000
2010
Special thanks to Eric Hoel, Matt McGrath, and Craig Gillgrass of Esri, UC 2009
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Early years – 1960s

Roger Tomlinson
 “Father of GIS”

Canadian Geographic Information System
 First computerized GIS
 Assisted in regulatory procedures of land-use
management and resource monitoring
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Early years – 1960s

Howard T. Fisher
 Harvard Graduate School of Design
 Laboratory for Computer Graphics and
Spatial Analysis
 Important theoretical concepts in spatial
data handling were developed
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Early years – 1960s

Jack Dangermond
 Environmental science and landscape architecture
degrees (Harvard GSD, 1969)
 Founded Esri with wife Laura in 1969
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Early years – 1960s and 1970s

GPS (Global Positioning Systems)
 Space-based positioning, navigation, and timing
system
 US Department of Defense (DoD)
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Specialized years (1980s and 1990s)
Desktop GIS applications released








ArcINFO (Esri)
Map Info
ArcGIS (Esri)
Mapguide (Autodesk)
Bentley Map, PowerMap (Bentley Systems)
Geomedia (Intergraph)
Smallworld (GE)
Grass, uDig, ERDAS
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Current and future GIS

Desktop GIS
 Advanced analysis and geoprocessing tools


Mobile GIS
GIS web solutions




ArcGIS Online
ArcServer
Google Earth
Bing Maps
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Lecture 1
GIS DATA AND LAYERS
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GIS example


Identify polluting companies and their proximity
to populations in poverty, water features, or
schools.
Start with
 Databases
 Map layers
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Databases
Not easy to interpret
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Data shown as GIS layers
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Political features
Municipalities
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Physical features
Lakes, rivers, etc.
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Administrative data
Schools
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Interactive GIS
Identify features on map
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Interactive GIS
Select features in table and map
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Proximity Selections
Polluting companies near water
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Buffers
Schools and children within 2-mile buffer of polluting company.
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Statistics to support visuals

US Census data (tracts within pollutant buffers)
 The mean percentage of total population in poverty in
these tracts is 23.25% as opposed to 9.54% who are
outside of these tracts.
 The mean percentage of children under the age of 18
living in poverty within these tracts is 26% as opposed
to 11.74% of children living in poverty who are outside
of these tracts.
 The mean median income of the tracts whose centroid
is within the top/multiple polluter buffers is $29,290 as
opposed to a mean median income of $53,690 for
those outside of these buffers.
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Statistics to support visuals

Schools
 There are 25 schools within the top/multiple pollutant
buffers.
 The total enrollment of these schools is 1,754
students.
 Of these schools, there are 1.9% Native American,
7.3% Asian, 25.3% Black, 8.2% Hispanic, and 20.7%
White students.
 This supports racial inequalities found by
environmental justice projects.
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Lecture 1
GIS APPLICATIONS AND
EXAMPLES
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GIS industries and applications
http://www.esri.com/industries.html
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Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS) database. Sample
locations displayed in Arctic projection, July 16, 2012
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Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS) database. Sample
locations displayed in Mercator projection, July 16, 2012
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Locations of in-situ stream gauges
World Soil Moisture from satellite
Source: NASA Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)
http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=7d6cefdf3f324b55b08c136654e91612
Charts show 3-hourly variation (37,000 values)
of soil water content of the top 1m of soil from 2000 to 2012
Popup on point links to
data and chart
New Zealand
A very wet region with little seasonality
A dryer region with
significant seasonality
Neuroscience: brain atlases
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2008 Election Results
Cretaceous Era 129-65 Million Years Ago
Green Belt
of Rich Soil
Matt Stiles/NPR
Ron Blakey/Northern Arizona University
Most Productive
Cotton Farms 1859
Percent Black,
2000 Census
Steven Dutch/
Geology and Election
2000
Source: Krulwich
Wonders: Obama's
Secret Weapon in the
South - Small, Dead,
but Still Kickin'
via The latest articles
from Radiolab Blogland
by Robert Krulwich on
10/10/12
Steven Dutch/Geology and Election 2000
U.S. Census via Wikimedia Common
Lecture 1
SOFTWARE OVERVIEW
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ArcMap (Desktop GIS)
Main menu
Table of
contents
Tools
toolbar
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Standard
toolbar
Map
document
window
Identify
results
window
53
Map documents



(.mxd) extension
“Points” to layers
Saves layer colors, symbology, etc.
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Tutorial 1-1.mxd

Two layers
 USCities (red points, restricted to major cities)
 USStates (yellow polygons)
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Adding map layers
Separate files added to a map document
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Geodatabases
The geodatabase is a "container" used to hold a
collection of datasets (GIS features, tables,
raster images, etc).
Country layer
World.gdb
Graticule layer
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ArcCatalog
Arranges and manages geographic information
in workspace folders and geodatabases.
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ArcToolbox
Advanced tools
with form-based
input by users
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Lecture 1
GIS TUTORIAL 1
OVERVIEW
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Part I Using and making maps

Chapter 1: Introduction
 Learn the basics of working with existing GIS data and maps

Chapter 2: Map design
 Learn how to create choropleth and point maps

Chapter 3: GIS outputs
 Learn how to build and export maps using GIS data, map animation,
and ArcGIS Online
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Part II Working with spatial data

Chapter 4: File geodatabases
 Learn how to create geodatabases and import data into them

Chapter 5: Spatial data
 Explore the basic data types used within GIS and how to use the
Internet to gather GIS data

Chapter 6: Geoprocessing
 Perform spatial analysis using geoprocessing tools

Chapter 7: Digitizing
 Learn how to digitize vector data and transform data to match realworld coordinates

Chapter 8: Geocoding
 Learn how to map address data as points through the geocoding
process
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Part III Analyzing spatial data

Chapter 9: Spatial analysis
 Use buffering points for proximity analysis, conduct site suitability
analysis, use multiple ring buffers for calibrating a gravity model, use
data mining with cluster analysis

Chapter 10: ArcGIS 3D Analyst
 Introduces ArcGIS 3D Analyst, allowing users to create 3D scenes,
conduct fly-through animations, and conduct line-of-sight studies

Chapter 11: ArcGIS Spatial Analyst
 Introduces ArcGIS Spatial Analyst for creating and analyzing raster
maps, including hillshades, density maps, site suitability surfaces, and
risk index surfaces
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Chapter structure

Tutorials
 Multiple tutorials in every chapter
 Include step-by step exercises

Your turns
 Reinforce the skills learned in the step-by-step exercises

Advanced assignments
 Found at the end of each chapter.
 Provokes critical problem-solving skills

Note: all references in Tutorial book to \ESRIPress\ should be
treated as “c:\users\student’s UTID\”
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Data


C:\users\UTID\GIST1\Data\
Map layers, geodatabases,
data tables, etc.
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Maps for workbook tutorials



C:\users\UTID\GIST1\Maps\
Map documents
Starting place for tutorials
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MyExercises

C:\users\UTID\GIST1\MyExercises\

Location to save tutorial exercises
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FinishedExercises


C:\users\UTID\GIST1\MyExercises\
FinishedExercises
Completed exercises from each chapter
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MyAssignments



C:\users\UTID\GIST1\MyAssignments\
Empty folders
Location to save
end of chapter
assignments
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Assignment Gradesheet 1-1
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Assignment Gradesheet 1-2
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Using relative paths in ArcGIS


An “.mxd” file is really a set of indexes into a
database, with various rules for controlling which
features to show, what order to draw them,
symbology & transparency, etc.
The “.mxd” files you submit for your assignments
need to know where to find all the pieces of their
map. The best way to do this is to “use relative
paths” (see tutorial 1-2, page 7).
 Set for one map at a time in ArcMap > File > Map Document
Properties…
 Set globally in ArcMap > Customize > ArcMap Options…
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Caveat



The GIS Tutorial provides step-by-step
instructions at such a high level of detail, that
after you’ve finished a chapter, you may not
realize what you’ve just practiced.
In later chapters that call for previously learned
skills, you may not remember that was covered
before, much less the chapter & exercise.
SO… as you complete each tutorial exercise,
take a moment to go back over it, and highlight
the various skills you learned & practiced.
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Summary

GIS overview

GIS data and layers

GIS applications and examples

Software overview

GIS Tutorial 1 overview
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