Howell and Stevens-Klein 1
Brent Howell and Elizabeth Stevens-Klein
Professor Hodza
GES 4050 W 1:00-4:20
Assignment 1: Essay
August 31, 2011
Geographic information systems are a type of geospatial technology and incorporate
many different disciplines, from computer science to geodesy. As such, the use of them can be
very complex, but in simple terms they are information systems that take geographic data and
turn it into information. In order to accomplish this there are five basic components that are
used: people, which can be developers or users; hardware—the computers, printers, etc.;
software, such as ArcGIS; data, in the form of spatial (feature) or non-spatial (attribute) data; and
the methods used to acquire, store, analyze, manipulate, interpret, and display these data, which
in essence transforms it into information. A geographic information system is defined as a
“powerful set of computer-based tools for acquiring, storing, manipulating, analyzing,
interpreting, and displaying geographic data” (Hodza).
Applications, such as MapQuest, have been classified by some as geographic information
systems. Although MapQuest may consist of users, hardware, software, data, and methods,
MapQuest is more limiting than ArcGIS (a program considered to be a true GIS). With
MapQuest, a user can interact with the application by panning, zooming, entering locations into
search fields, manipulating map versus satellite views, and turning different layers on and off,
such as restaurants, gas stations, movie theatres, etc. However, the extent of these characteristics
do not compare with ArcGIS. One of the major differences between MapQuest and ArcGIS is
that MapQuest is a general purpose mapping application, whereas ArcGIS can be used to create
Howell and Stevens-Klein 2
general purpose maps and thematic maps. Users of ArcGIS have the capability of adding as
many layers to a map as they deem necessary, from digital elevation models to soils. Not only
can these layers be turned on and off, their transparency and order can be manipulated, which
provides users with a better and more coherent visual presentation of the data, empowering them
in their analysis. Furthermore, MapQuest does not serve the same three purposes of ArcGIS.
True geographic information systems help users understand their data and aid in the decisionmaking and problem-solving processes because data has the potential to become information and
then knowledge—the strength of ArcGIS is in the analysis of data. To the contrary, MapQuest
primarily involves data, such as locations and directions. This data may help a user solve a
problem of being lost or having a limited amount of time to get somewhere, but because of its
nonspecific properties, it is not as effective in aiding users in specific problem-solving and
decision-making processes as compared to the potential products of ArcGIS. Additionally,
ArcGIS enables users to analyze the change over time that has taken place in particular areas.
For example, an aerial image taken in 2000 of a particular area can be compared with an aerial
image of the same place taken in 2010. With MapQuest, only current images of the earth are
accessible.
To truly answer the question of whether or not MapQuest is a “true” GIS we must revert
back to our definition of what constitutes a GIS. The goals of using GIS are to solve problems,
better understand phenomena, and to make decisions. To compare MapQuest with a true GIS, let
us map the location of schools in a certain area in order to determine where another school
should be built. The first two things GIS is supposed to allow are acquiring and storing data.
The user can go into the field and get the location of every school in a designated area. The user
must then open MapQuest, enter the street address of each school, and then save the map. This
Howell and Stevens-Klein 3
is very limited in its use and can be less accurate than other GIS programs; however, it does
allow for acquiring and storing data. The next two requirements, according to our previous
definition, is the ability to manipulate and analyze data. With MapQuest you can add a layer of
gas stations and other already-available layers to see how close schools are to other services.
The ability to switch from a traditional map to a satellite view is again a manipulation that allows
you to analyze the information to better make a decision. The final requirement for a program to
be a GIS is the ability to interpret and display geospatial data that was collected and manipulated.
Interpretations are relative to the one doing the interpreting; however, given a clean map of
points in MapQuest, a user would be able to see where a lack of schools are in a geographic area.
After breaking down the definition of a GIS, going down the list, and asking ‘does it truly fall
under the ability of a GIS?’ the facts speak for themselves. However, just by the school
example, if the user were to make a decision based on the information displayed by MapQuest, it
might be a very poor and unwise decision—maybe a soils layer added in a true GIS would reveal
a lens of expanding clay material where it was decided the new school should be built.
MapQuest does not provide such a layer. Furthermore, MapQuest is very pedestrian; it does not
allow for the information of population in areas, nor does it allow one to determine safe areas in
which to build a school so that the school would not be next to a known high-crime-rate area.
However, this is not the overall goal of MapQuest; MapQuest could be used to make this
decision, but this level of decision-making is not its purpose, and therefore, should only be used
as designed.
There are some who will say that MapQuest is not a “true” GIS, but in an attempt to find
what the standards are for a true GIS, we were left with our definition. Even though MapQuest
is very basic and good for only one or two things, it does have the properties of a GIS, albeit very
Howell and Stevens-Klein 4
limited. In the toolbox of GIS programs, MapQuest would be the micro screwdriver to fix your
pair of eye glasses, where other GIS programs would be a multi-tool like a Leatherman or
Gerber, which are able to do everything MapQuest can do—maybe not as fast, but in the end,
much more efficiently. Until a true standard of GIS is created and accepted, there will always be
room for doubt or error in determining what constitutes a “true” GIS. This leaves it to be a
subjective judgment relative to every individual who is asked the question. Based on the
definition of GIS, MapQuest has the properties required to be a “true” GIS but is more like a tool
made by someone using a “true” GIS program for those who do not need access to, or have the
knowledge, to run a much better and in-depth GIS program.
Howell and Stevens-Klein 5
Work Cited
Hodza, Paddington. “Introduction to GIS.” University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. 24 Aug.
2011.