Introduction to Geographic

Information Systems (GIS)

Definitions
❧ “…a system of hardware, software,
and procedures designed to support
the capture, management,
manipulation, analysis, modeling,
and display of spatially referenced
data for solving complex planning &
management problems” (Rhind,
1989)
Definitions
❧ “…a computer system capable of
assembling, storing, amnipulating,
and displaying geographically
referenced information…” (USGS,
1997)
❧ “…a set of computer-based systems
for managing geographic data and
using those data to solve spatial
problems” (Lo & Yeung, 2002)
Definitions
❧ a computer system that allows the
analysis and display of data with a
spatial component (Phillips, 2002)
Definitions
❧ data: collection of facts/figures
❧ information: data in useful form
❧ knowledge: what you have
❧ intelligence: what you use
Information System
❧ allows the transformation of data
into information via:
● structuring
● formatting
● conversion
● modeling
❧ GIS: transforms data with a spatial
component
Geographic Data
❧ spatial data
❧ referenced to “geographic space”
● coordinate system
• grid
• other
● projection
● source
• land survey
• GPS
• aerial imagery
❧ represented at a “geographic scale”
Geographic Information
Science
❧ approach to using GISystems
❧ what to do & how to do it
GIS History
❧ Table, page 6
❧ 1960’s & 1970’s - mainframe
computers
❧ 1980’s to mid 1990’s - mainframe &
minicomputers
❧ mid 1990’s to present - PCs &
workstations
GIS data
❧ types
● geodetic control network: surface location
● topographic base: point elevation
● graphical overlays: thematic data
❧ representation
● vector: point, lines, polygons
● raster: grid cells
● surface
❧ metadata
● information about the data
● key when sharing data
Point objects
❧ Locate by ordinal or ratio classification
● Implies quantitative attribute table
● Implies the selection of natural or arbitrary “break
points”
● Use descriptive statistics to define boundaries
• Mean, range, quartiles
• Choose boundaries of significance
❧ E.G. Housing Value
● May have actual value recorded
● Divide into classes based on “affordability” or
arbitrarily divide
● <$50,000; 51-100,000; 101,000-150,000, etc.
City of Atlanta Banks

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4 0 4 8 Miles

N
# Atlanta Banks
Highway Routes W E
Atlanta City Boundary
County Boundaries S
Atlanta Bank Deposits 1994
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4 0 4 8 Miles

Atlanta Banks by Deposits

# 87000 - 26825000
# 26825001 - 78484000 N
# 78484001 - 198631000
# 198631001 - 495078000
# 495078001 - 2455763000 W E
Highway Routes
Atlanta City Boundary
County Boundaries S
 ZIP COUNT SUM_DEPOSIT
30303 19 7234647000.0000
30305 15 727136000.0000
30306 2 56777000.0000
30308 5 133581000.0000
30309 13 352739000.0000
30310 5 94454000.0000
30311 5 55251000.0000
30312 1 6401000.0000
30313 1 37488000.0000
30314 1 22904000.0000
30315 3 78293000.0000
30316 2 25640000.0000
30318 9 176093000.0000
30319 1 2769000.0000
30324 9 305719000.0000
30326 5 138933000.0000
30327 5 219641000.0000
30331 3 23082000.0000
30336 2 51181000.0000
30342 8 253185000.0000
30354 2 52969000.0000

Use Summarize by Zones to Create "Density" Measure

Atlanta Bank Deposits by Zip 1994

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4 0 4 8 Miles

# Atlanta Banks by Deposits

Highway Routes
Total Deposits by Zip N
2769000 - 37488000
37488000 - 138933000
138933000 - 352739000 W E
352739000 - 727136000
727136000 - 7234647000
Atlanta City Boundary S
Contiguity (after DeMers)

Contiguous Perforated
Fragmented region
region region
GIS technology
❧ hardware
● organization
• intranet: servers & client computer stations
• PCs
• internet
● considerations
• processing power
• file size (very large)
• data access
GIS technology
❧ software
● proprietary
● open standard
❧ companies
● ESRI
• ArcInfo & ArcView
• ArcGIS
● Intergraph
● MapInfo
Application of GIS
❧ table - p 12
❧ academic
❧ business
❧ government
❧ industry
❧ military
Users of GIS
❧ Specialist: includes programmers,
designers, developers
❧ General Users: planners, scientists,
administrators (us)
❧ Viewers: everyone (our “clients”)