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 GIS
An Introduction to Mapping
­Technologies
 GIS
An Introduction to Mapping
­Technologies

Patrick McHaffie, Sungsoon Hwang,

and Cassie Follett
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

© 2019 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed on acid-free paper

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-4023-4 (Hardback)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable
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Contents

Preface.......................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgments..................................................................................................xi
Authors.................................................................................................................. xiii

1. Making Sense of Geotechnology.................................................................1

1.1 Coming to GIS........................................................................................1
1.2 The Geospatial Analyst: A Definition.................................................6
1.3 What This Book Is About......................................................................7
1.4 How This Book Is Organized...............................................................9
References........................................................................................................ 20

2. Georeferencing............................................................................................... 23
2.1 Needs for Metric Georeferencing...................................................... 23
2.2 Understanding Datums...................................................................... 24
2.3 Understanding Map Projection.......................................................... 27
2.4 Coordinate Systems for GIS................................................................ 31
2.5 Address Geocoding............................................................................. 36
References........................................................................................................ 59

3. Getting the World Into Your GIS............................................................... 61

3.1 Introduction: A World of Geospatial Data....................................... 61
3.2 Data Acquisition: Getting Started.....................................................63
3.3 Private Sector Geospatial Services and Data................................... 67
3.3.1 “Snapshot” Services............................................................... 67
3.3.2 Subscription/“On-Demand” Services................................. 67
3.4 Conversion Services............................................................................. 69
3.5 GNSS: A Viable Approach to Data Collection................................. 70
3.5.1 DIY Data Collection Using GNSS......................................... 71
3.6 Geodatabases in ArcGIS Desktop...................................................... 72
References........................................................................................................ 74

4. Geospatial Analysis: Introduction.............................................................77

4.1 Introduction to Geospatial Analysis.................................................77
4.2 Selection and Subsetting..................................................................... 78
4.3 Classification.........................................................................................83
4.4 Exploring Proximity, Buffering, and Spatial Relationships...........83
4.5 Interpolation.........................................................................................85
4.6 Networks............................................................................................... 86
References........................................................................................................ 88

v
vi Contents

5. Thematic Mapping........................................................................................ 91
5.1 Fundamental Elements of Maps........................................................ 91
5.2 Gallery of Maps.................................................................................... 93
5.3 How Data Representation Affects Map Reading and
Interpretation������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 102
5.4 Choosing Symbology (Visual Variables)........................................ 107
5.5 Choosing a Quantitative Thematic Mapping Technique............. 112
5.6 Organizing Thematic Content......................................................... 113
References...................................................................................................... 137

6. Data Models.................................................................................................. 139

6.1 Geospatial Data is Special................................................................. 139
6.2 How Spatial Data Is Structured—Raster and Vector.................... 140
6.3 How Attribute Data Is Structured—Relational Databases.......... 144
6.3.1 Relational Databases............................................................ 144
6.3.2 Database Normalization...................................................... 145
6.3.3 Field Data Types.................................................................... 148
6.3.4 Table Join................................................................................ 149
6.4 How Spatial and Attribute Data are Put Together........................ 151
References...................................................................................................... 181

7. Web GIS......................................................................................................... 183

7.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 183
7.2 Web and Internet Fundamentals..................................................... 185
7.3 Web GIS History................................................................................. 190
7.4 Mainstream Web GIS Applications................................................. 194
7.5 Desktop Web GIS Exercise................................................................ 198
7.6 ArcGIS Online Exercise..................................................................... 206
7.7 Emerging Trends in Web GIS and Advanced Topics.................... 212
References...................................................................................................... 216

8. Open-Source GIS......................................................................................... 217

8.1 What Is Open-Source GIS?............................................................... 217
8.2 Getting Started with QGIS............................................................... 218
8.3 GDAL and Raster Data......................................................................223
8.4 GeoDa and Open-Source GIS Databases........................................ 231
8.5 The Future of Open-Source GIS....................................................... 238
References...................................................................................................... 238

9. Introduction to Remote Sensing and GIS ............................................. 239

9.1 Remote Sensing Fundamentals........................................................ 239
9.2 Organizational Considerations When Beginning Remote
Sensing Work������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 245
9.3 Major Land Remote Sensing Projects............................................. 247
9.3.1 Government Aerial Photography....................................... 247
Contents vii

9.3.2 Landsat and Other Multispectral Imaging Programs......252

9.4 Digital Remote Sensing Data............................................................ 255
9.4.1 Sensors.................................................................................... 255
9.5 Remote Sensing Applications .......................................................... 258
References...................................................................................................... 269

10. Introduction to Health GIS Applications............................................... 271

10.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 271
10.2 Accessibility ....................................................................................... 272
10.3 Accessibility in Design...................................................................... 279
10.4 Cartograms......................................................................................... 281
10.5 Ring Maps........................................................................................... 283
References...................................................................................................... 286

11. GIS and Digital Humanities..................................................................... 289

11.1 Digital Humanities Meets GIS......................................................... 289
11.2 Thinking Spatially with GIS............................................................. 293
11.3 Georeferencing Images..................................................................... 295
11.4 Mapping Texts.................................................................................... 297
11.5 Representing Time in a Geographic Database.............................. 299
11.6 Mapping Temporal Data................................................................... 302
11.7 Mapping Qualitative Data................................................................306
References...................................................................................................... 321

12. Organizational GIS..................................................................................... 323

12.1 Working as a GIS Professional......................................................... 323
12.2 Organizational Implementation of GIS.......................................... 324
12.3 Organizational Best Practices.......................................................... 325
12.4 Collaborative GIS............................................................................... 327
12.5 Survey123 and Collaborative StoryMaps........................................ 329
References...................................................................................................... 339
Index...................................................................................................................... 341
Preface

This project is a product of the work of numerous faculty and staff over the
past few decades developing a strong and focused curriculum and ­program
in the geospatial and geographical information sciences. Because we are
­residents of Chicago, a vast city of immigrants, and working teachers of
bright and motivated students who challenge us every day to be relevant,
engaged, and interesting, we have tended to take advantage of the urban
milieu around us. Working with staff and faculty from university centers and
institutions like the Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning,
the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, and the College of
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at DePaul University we have been able
to make connections with and learn from communities across the city. At
the same time, we have learned to listen to our students. Teachers are often
accused of not listening to their subjects (and some of us do this better than
others), but in our case we’ve done this and have learned from it. Faculty in
strong undergraduate teaching programs in geography like ours (and there
are many) draw much of their inspiration, motivation, and sustenance from
the time they spend with their students and ultimately the success those
students achieve during their matriculation and beyond as scholars, profes-
sionals, and citizens.
Our experiences and interests range across numerous fields and
­subject areas, including Manual Cartographic Production, Card-punched
Computer Mapping, Analog and Digital Photogrammetry, Environmental
and Social Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Science,
Web GIS, Augmented Reality GIS, Mobile GIS, Web App Development,
GIS in Sustainability Education and Research, Community GIS, GIS in
Development Studies, Housing Market Analysis, Transportation GIS, and
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Trajectory Computing. This
smorgasbord is the palette we draw on when working in our classrooms,
interacting with students, and creating and shaping courses in our pro-
grams. At DePaul Geography we have grown into a premier provider of
undergraduate GIS education over the past decade, principally focused
on undergraduate programs including a GIS Certificate Program and
Geotechnology concentration in the BA program. In addition, we have
recently collaborated in the launch of a very promising Master’s Program
in Sustainable Urban Development (SUD), with the previously mentioned
Steans Center and the Chaddick Institute.
SUD combines coursework in planning and policy, green infrastructure,
brownfields redevelopment, GIS for community development, and GIS for
sustainable urban development with coursework in public service, statistics,
and a broad array of practical electives and a GIS practicum. In many ways

ix
x Preface

this program is a crystallization of the community GIS ethic we have incor-

porated into our undergraduate program over the last decade. A number of
people have participated in this and are working now to make the program
better, some as faculty, others as students. All who have can take some pride
in the success of SUD, and the successes of students who have completed it
and are working in the field as well as those who will be part of this program
in the future.
In 1973, William Warntz, describing his work at the Harvard Lab for
Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis speaking to Maynard Dow, said
“It was no trick to actually get a computer (to) output map form, but you
could combine all the facilities of the computer for analysis and manipula-
tion purposes so that literally the map became an experimental tool. So the
map became the geographer’s laboratory. We could experiment in ways that
were denied to us previously by using the enormous power of the com-
puter, and hence I would say that we literally experiment with spatial struc-
ture via… computer mapping in a way that we could never do before.” This
vision of the map as experiment has become a reality through GIS, and the
computer now is an ubiquitous and embedded form of “knowledge mat-
ter” in our pockets, knapsacks, briefcases, offices, classrooms, homes, and
vehicles. The data collected by these place-aware, space-calculating devices
is now and forever biographical, so that our every movement, motion, and
action is knowable, trackable, and analyzable. Work with these data seems
to be a big part of the emerging future for geospatial analysis and loca-
tion-based services. The need is for educated, smart, well-trained, ethical
GIS professionals who are capable of navigating this future. This text is
intended to provide a starting point for many, and our hope is that this will
be the beginning of a collaboration that fills a gap in the GIS literature with
resources and guidance that will deepen and broaden the diverse knowl-
edge community in this field.
Users of this text can obtain data and other peripheral files associated with
the included lab activities at the CRC Press site:
https://www.crcpress.com/GIS-An-Introduction-to-Mapping-Technologies/
McHaffie-Hwang-Follett/p/book/9781498740234.
These materials will be updated as necessary.

Reference
Association of American Geographers, Maynard Weston Dow, Maynard Weston
Dow, and William Warntz. Geographers on Film Interview with William
Warntz. Association of American Geographers, 1973. Video. https://www.loc.
gov/item/mbrs01844953/.
Acknowledgments

My contribution to this project has been helped by many colleagues over the
years. Irma Shagla-Britton and her staff at Taylor and Francis/CRC have been
patient and supportive. My friends Jeremy Crampton, Alan MacEachren,
Matt Wilson, John Cloud, John Krygier, Nick Chrisman, Francis Harvey,
Rina Ghose, John Pickles, and Laurel Smith helped me to think about
­mapping as a human, cultural process early on. At Kentucky, Adrian Smith,
Ian Cook, and Karen Falconer-al Hindi taught me how to think, and J.P.
Jones and Wolfgang Natter showed me what was important to think about.
In Chicago, Alex Papadopoulos gave me a chance to be part of a small but
strong group of geographers. Sarah Elwood and Howard Rosing showed
me what ­community means, and Sungsoon Hwang showed me how to do
things that really matter for our students and the communities we serve.
And of course Amy, Tessa, and Kienan give me strength, sustenance, and an
occasional smile every day of my life.

Patrick McHaffie

This book would not be possible without those who put thought and care into
advancing GIS and GIS education. Many of my writings were inspired by the
work of Paul Longley, Mike Goodchild, David Maguire, David Rhind, Jon
Kimerling, Phillip Muehrcke, Nick Chrisman, Mike Worboys, John Krygier,
Denis Wood, Paul Bolstad, Menno-Jan Kraak, F. J. Ormeling and Timothy
Nyerges. I thank my ­colleagues Euan Hague and Patrick McHaffie for their
friendship and tireless support. I thank students who became ­audience
to my classes, and inspired me to think how to teach. Finally, my deepest
thanks go to my family.

Sungsoon Hwang

My contributions would not have been possible without the help and
­encouragement of the DePaul Geography department, especially the support
from Dr. Euan Hague and the other authors.
My special thanks to Cameron, Belinda, Penny, and Diane, who gave
­feedback on my drafts and other materials.
Thanks also to Claire, Adalyn, and my mom for being there for me this
past year.
And finally, my thanks to Chris and Jamie, Steve and Steph, and my many
friends at DeSoto.

Cassie Follett

xi
Authors

Patrick McHaffie: Professor McHaffie joined the faculty at DePaul University

in 1996 after academic appointments at West Virginia University, Dartmouth
College, and West Georgia College. During the 1980s he served with the
Kentucky Geological Survey where he conducted environmental research
related to coal mining, directed the National Cartographic Information
Center affiliate office, and coordinated the State Topographic Mapping
Program. His research interests and publication history include the social
history of cartography and GIS, the cartographic labor process, cartographic
ethics, the geography of education spending, Appalachian social geogra-
phy, and the social construction of the global. He currently is completing
a study of highway planning in Chicago during the cold war. His work has
been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, History of
Cartography Project (University of Wisconsin), and the University Research
and Quality of Instruction Councils (DePaul University), and he holds a GIS
Professional (GISP) certification.

Sungsoon Hwang:  Sungsoon Hwang is an associate professor in the

Department of Geography at DePaul University. She received her BA in
Geography Education from Seoul National University. She received her MS
in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Nottingham. She
received her PhD in Geography with a concentration on Urban and Regional
Analysis from State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. She has
­created and taught 20 courses related to GIS. She has published on fuzzy
geodemographics, GIS for sustainability education, and uncertain GPS
­trajectory computing in the disciplines of geography, urban planning, and
computer science.

Cassie Follett: Cassie Follett is the GIS Coordinator for the Department of
Geography at DePaul University, helping to plan and expand GIS ­capabilities
on-campus and managing the new GIS Lab. Before coming to DePaul she
worked for NASA and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and
received her MA from West Virginia University while researching big data
and open-source web GIS. She holds a bachelor’s degree with a double major
in Geography and History from Carthage College. ‘She contributes code to
the open source QGIS project, and was a “Hacker in Residence” with local
Chicago startup Hologram, and a “Cyberacademy Fellow” with SANS. Her
research interests are participatory GIS, GIS programming, critical GIS,
­environmental justice, and virtual reality.

xiii
1
Making Sense of Geotechnology

1.1 Coming to GIS
Imagine a world where spatial relationships between people and their physi-
cal and human environments, economies, and cultures are made clear in
ways that have never before been possible. This is the promise of geographic
information systems (GIS).
Over the past century scientific and technical advancements have com-
pletely changed the ways in which we map. First, through the incorporation
of aerial photography and photogrammetry taking mapping out of the field
and moving it into the factory, then through a series of developments in the
materials, machines, and methods used to make representations of the world
mapmaking became more standardized and thus more efficient and precise.
In the decades following World War II a societal shift to (1) electronic data
processing and quantification in many public and private bureaucratic pro-
cesses, (2) the professionalization and implementation of operations research
and systems analysis methods in many settings, and (3) the widespread
deployment of general- purpose computing systems in government, busi-
ness, higher education, and the military. Each of these three were closely
bound up in defense research in both peacetime and war, and the subse-
quent transfer of defense technologies into civil society and applications in
civilian settings has been a driving force in these changes.
Once general-purpose paper and film maps produced by national mapping
agencies were digitized (layers of rivers, roads, and terrains were converted
to digital files of x, y coordinates) they became the “elixir of life” for emerg-
ing new technologies such as GIS and remote sensing. It is no exaggeration
to point out that mappers entered the 20th century on the back of a mule and
left it staring at georeferenced electronic images collected by robotic space-
borne sensors, all embedded in a framework of exquisitely precise models
of the geoid, festooned with layer upon layer of digital cartographic data.
Mature GIS is an information constellation; a database management system
with all the characteristics of other IS technologies, foregrounding power-
ful geospatial logic and “spatio-enabling” platforms ranging from smart
watches to interplanetary probes.

1
2 GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies

However, there still exists a wide gap between the haves and have-nots in
their ability to access technologies and thus to derive the benefits. The digi-
tal divide is evident and stark in GIS and geotechnology more ­generally—
indeed, even access to reliable and widely available electric service (often
accepted in the developed world as a given) is considered a luxury in much
of sub-Saharan Africa, south and southeast Asia, and Latin America. Yet
over the past two decades there has been a stunning democratization of
technologies through a shift to less expensive and more powerful mobile
platforms and the creation and articulation of global wireless data networks,
accelerating the pace of change and perhaps even speeding up the bridging
of the technological divide. The coming years will determine whether the
technological tsunami that has swamped the developed world over the past
several decades in the realms of culture, communication, information, and
governance will be made available to all people, communities, and nations.
In the realm of geography, the academic home of GIS, it will help the
reader to view this book as a disciplinary-resident response to the common
­misunderstanding of what we do and why it matters. We often refer to the two
“big questions” we (as geographers) are expected to answer. The first ques-
tion actually comes in two parts (What and where is it?), commonly seen as
“the inventory question.” Answering these questions has occupied mappers
for millennia. Our answer at present is the geodatabase: massive sets of geo-
graphically referenced features with associated attribute tables that refine
and detail each and every feature. This systematizes a Cartesian inventory of
the world and everything in it, albeit in machine-readable form, and presents
a rich matrix of associated spatially explicit information as the raw mate-
rial that can fuel possible answers to the second question (Why is it there?).
This often requires research in other disciplinary realms while trying to
understand the processes that have produced the outcomes we map, hinting
at the multidisciplinary nature of our work. The cartographic answers to
the first question can be considered as general-purpose “base maps,” while
answers to the second are most assuredly “thematic maps” (specialized con-
tent with quantitative or qualitative evidence of processes and their effects).
Answering the second question opens a dialogue with our two-part rep-
resentations (features and attributes) that is only becoming more complex,
reflexive, and power-laden over time. Responses to the “why” question in
GIS should always be:

• Complex—to reflect the reality of the world we all share

• Reflexive—rather than pulling apart causes and effects, understand-
ing them as swirling in cyclical, asymmetric relationships
• Powerful—in that it (GIS) can endow individuals, collectives, and
institutions with competitive advantages in a multitude of contexts

And it is not presumptive to suggest a third big question for GIS users of
all disciplines—and this is perhaps the most important of the three—can
Making Sense of Geotechnology 3

a different arrangement of spatial facts revealed by geospatial technologies

make possible more just, humane, and sustainable futures for our shared
and finite planet? The answer to this question will be determined largely by
the next generation of GIS users.
This work is intended to open a door to new users of geotechnology,
whether they are pursuing accreditation in geography and GIS, or have
arrived here from other disciplines hoping to incorporate geospatial analy-
sis in their work.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of GIS and geospatial technology has
been its meteoric rise in the public consciousness and entry into the main-
stream over the past two decades, alongside other “techs” (e.g., nano-, bio-).
The broad umbrella presented by this category has grown to include such
diverse technologies and activities as global navigation satellite systems/
global positioning systems (GNSS/GPS), remote sensing, interactive web
mapping, open-source geospatial data and systems projects and user com-
munities, and participatory and community GIS (P GIS/C GIS). The constel-
lation of categories that comprise and enable GIS includes:

• general-purpose and specialized devices;

• applications and logical systems (from simple one-task phone apps
to complex, all-encompassing meta-systems in commercial and
open-source contexts);
• geographically referenced data in vector, raster, and hybrid formats;
• rules and standards (allowing communication, integration, and
coordination between and among different users);
• the people who work with the technology (from individuals to large
and complex private and public organizations); and
• wired and wireless digital communications networks (local,
regional, and global).

This collection of “GI things” that make up “the system” on one hand sug-
gests a certain complexity, but also allows new users to grasp the scope and
scale of the whole and its parts: their interdependence, relationships, roles,
and purposes in the enterprise. At the same time, it gives some evidence
of the embeddedness of geotech and its connections to many other activi-
ties, disciplines, economic sectors, and governmental structures, rather than
drawing a boundary around the whole.
In GIS we use two different representational models to organize the spa-
tial data used to depict the world; this data is separated into layers that are
grouped based on their membership in particular classes. The vector data
model uses a geometry of points, lines, or polygons defined by Cartesian
coordinates referenced to systems based on the spherical coordinates of lati-
tude and longitude. When separated into layers, and then combined, the rep-
resentation is very much like a traditional paper map, with points, lines, and
4 GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies

areas (Figure 1.1). The raster data model divides the same geography into a
system of equal-sized grid cells. The grid is also referenced to a geographic
coordinate system, a process called georeferencing. These grids are used to
represent a single characteristic of the area contained within the cell, and
they can represent either classed or continuous data. In a sense, the raster
model is like a photo or digital image (Figures 1.1 and 1.2).
Recent appraisals of the growing place this technology has taken within the
US economy give some sense of its relevance and the degree that our world
has become dependent on maps. In late 2013 the Federal Geographic Data
Committee released an eye-popping estimate of the size of the “G-Conomy”:
A 2012 study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimated that the
U.S. geospatial industry generated approximately $73 billion in revenues
in 2011 and comprises at least 500,000 high-wage jobs. In addition, BCG
found that geospatial services deliver efficiency gains in the rest of the
economy that are valued at many times the size of the sector itself—with
geospatial services driving $1.6 trillion in revenue and $1.4 trillion in cost
savings. These benefits, representing 15 to 20 times the size of the geo-
spatial services sector itself, create an important competitive advantage

FIGURE 1.1
Vector data model.
Making Sense of Geotechnology 5

FIGURE 1.2
Raster data model.

for the U.S. economy. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor recently
identified the geospatial technology sector as one of the three technol-
ogy areas that would create the greatest number of new jobs over the
next decade…
Worldwide, a 2012 study by Oxera commissioned by Google esti-
mated that the global geospatial services sector generates $150 to
$270 billion annually. By comparison, this is greater than the $25 bil-
lion generated by the video games industry, roughly equivalent to the
$140 billion in revenue from the global security services industry, and
about one-third of the global airline industry’s annual revenues of $594
billion.*

Clearly, GIS has moved beyond the realm of specialized mapping software
and into the mainstream of global economic activity.

* This excerpt is taken from page 10, Federal Geographic Data Committee, 2013, National
Spatial Data Infrastructure Strategic Plan 2014–2016: Reston, Va.; Federal Geographic Data
Committee. The entire report can be accessed online at http://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi-plan/
nsdi-strategic-plan-final-draft-12-4-13.pdf.
6 GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies

1.2 The Geospatial Analyst: A Definition

One of the most common questions from students first studying GIS is,
“What is a geospatial analyst, and what does she do?” This is a difficult ques-
tion, as geospatial analysis is a relatively recent job category, perhaps the
largest category (in numbers) in the industry, and its roles and descriptions
of duties encompass a broad understanding of GIS, even within specialized
application areas.
We should probably start with a definition of analysis. At the risk of com-
mitting rhetorical tautology, analysis is what analysts do; more specifically,
what professional analysts do in response to requests or queries from public
or private organizations and individuals (clients) regarding unknowns. They
produce reports that may be written, tabular, quantitative or qualitative, and
may include graphical elements of various kinds. Analysts typically use
database management systems, statistical analysis, synthesis of multidisci-
plinary logics, as well as critical analysis of written texts, images, and other
artifacts to answer questions. They may work using secondary data sources
and extract specialized subsets of these, or they may gather their own infor-
mation and record it using various methods in the field. Strong communica-
tion skills (spoken, written, graphical, photographic, and videographic) are
needed to be a successful analyst. Analysts are judged based on their abil-
ity to compose strong and convincing arguments within their reports that
­support their responses to clients.
Analysts produce reports that answer questions from clients regard-
ing unknowns in the human and physical world, but what do geospatial
analysts do? Geospatial analysts do all of this using all of the tools, skills,
and logics that most other analysts use, but in addition they use GIS and
other geotechnologies to produce their reports. Geospatial analysts produce
reports that include maps (conventional paper maps and/or smart interactive
maps), which can include qualitative and quantitative data such as evidence
of social or environmental phenomena that strengthen claims or arguments
being made. They also produce image maps or animations that may incorpo-
rate the results of analytical techniques applied to satellite images that have
been used to make visible that which was only assumed or theorized. Quite
often they are expected to work within a larger group of specialists making
contributions to a flexible or ad hoc working group. They may work with
analysts from other fields and collaborate with them, using their knowledge
and expertise to respond to requests for specific products (graphical, tabular,
or textual) that will contribute to larger projects and team-written reports.
They may also be asked to help develop applications that can be used by
non-specialists to access, edit, manipulate, or analyze geospatial data.
In summary, a geospatial analyst is necessarily a generalist in a world
of specialists. This suggests that a broad breadth of interests, training,
Making Sense of Geotechnology 7

knowledge, and skills are a necessary prerequisite, both in quantitative ana-

lytical techniques (e.g., mathematics, statistics, logic, content-laden fields
in the social and physical disciplines). While it is critical for the geospa-
tial analyst to master the technologies we work with it is also necessary
for them to bring something more to the table. GIS can open doors to new
ways of understanding, analyzing, and representing the world and is only
the beginning of what can become a lifelong engagement with a learning
community that is growing larger, smarter, and more intellectually diverse
every year.
The authors of this book are colleagues in a strong Department of
Geography situated in Chicago, one of the more interesting and diverse
cities in the United States with a long history and tradition in cartography,
mapping, and geography. In 2016 the Department was awarded the ini-
tial Association of American Geographers award for program excellence.
In particular, the program was recognized for “developing a curriculum
that advances urban social justice, community service, and geotechnol-
ogy.” The faculty and staff maintain high standards in geospatial analysis
and technology, and are committed to engagement and service in the city
that serves as both home and workplace. As a result, each of our world-
views and voices are distinct, focused, and geographical, concerned pri-
marily with understanding and sharing the rich spatiality of the world at
all scales.

1.3 What This Book Is About

The purpose of this text is to provide an accessible introduction to geotech-
nology for a wide range of students. If you are considering pursuing bac-
calaureate credentials in geography, the home discipline of the authors, this
book will provide a strong introduction to geotech. You may be coming from
another academic discipline as an undergraduate with an interest in apply-
ing spatial analysis to datasets or research questions you have been investi-
gating (e.g., environmental science, public policy, biology, sociology, political
science). The techniques and approaches to problem solving, project orga-
nization and management, and data visualization found here will produce
information products that support the work that you are doing and provide
new ways to view your results. If you are a graduate student in one of these
disciplines this text can serve as a manageable and adaptable introduction
to GIS that will add gravitas to your work. Finally, if you are a working pro-
fessional or analyst in any of a broad array of professions and considering
retooling or refreshing your credentials, this book will be a useful reference
and introduction to the technology.
8 GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies

This guide to GIS and geospatial analysis is grounded in applications

based on three broad and linked ontologies:

• Social: Understanding the world of people as a spatial system of

urban and rural places, made meaningful by the actions of indi-
viduals, bound together more or less loosely by political, economic,
and cultural structures, and each with temporal and spatial qualities
that may or may not be quantifiable.
• Environmental: Understanding the physical world as a single spatial
system of interlocked subsystems, bio-, hydro-, litho-, and atmo-
spherical, that can be analyzed using geoscientific techniques and
technologies.
• Sustainable: Accepting and working toward a spatial system of social
and environmental ethics that obliges relationships and exchanges
between and among entities from the first two categories to be orga-
nized and conducted in ways that neither harm nor exclude the pos-
sibilities of future similar relationships and exchanges.

Like a three-legged table, these must all “stand together.” That is, analyses,
models, and representations of the contemporary world derived and pro-
duced using GIS should not stand in isolation within a particular silo, but
rather be embedded in an understandable and accessible framework that
draws on what is known across the disciplines in these three categories. For
example, if we are working to understand human land use in a particular
geometry (e.g., states, communities, watersheds) for the purpose of rational
land-use planning, the primary goal often is to inform decisions regarding
development or conversion of land from one use to another. A proper analy-
sis then would consider not only the economic consequences of development
but a wide range of physical, environmental, social, and cultural effects as
well. The ability of analysts to synthesize, visualize, and even model the rela-
tionships between a myriad of human and physical entities, spatially and
temporally, makes the use of GIS and the skills of geospatial analysts criti-
cally necessary. For this reason, we repeat the importance of the geospatial
analyst as necessarily being a generalist. In this book we will work with a
number of necessary tools including software, hardware, data, and network
resources. The principal system we use to explore GIS is ArcGIS Desktop
10.5. This is the leading enterprise and desktop GIS worldwide, and those
interested in becoming proficient and competitive in the current environ-
ment will be well served to learn to use this powerful, integrative toolset.
We will also explore a number of other working environments, both directly
within GIS and within domains connected and related to this technology.
These will include public-domain/open-source resources that may be easily
accessed and acquired through the Internet, technologies such as GNSS/GPS
locational systems, image processing and remote sensing systems, and other
Making Sense of Geotechnology 9

related technologies. We are a methodological and content-diverse group

and our writing will reflect that, allowing each of us to explore and present
analytical and substantive topics that cover a broad gamut of applications,
techniques, locales, and contexts. While everything here may interest some,
for others there may be particular parts of interest—take the time to explore
each chapter with an open and inquisitive mind.
Throughout this book there will be a number of online resources students
will need to access in order to complete activities, learn about freely available
data and applications, and build a complete foundation for a lifetime of work
in the geospatial services sector. The authors recognize and understand that
not all people have access to the technological resources needed to use a text
of this sort. This is not to suggest or propose a solution to the larger problem
of free and open access to the Internet and information technology but rather
as an admission of the unevenness of these resources in many parts of the
world. Our hope is that we are moving to a time where increased and open
access to all is achievable. Whether this is possible is beyond the scope of
this book.

1.4 How This Book Is Organized

This book is comprised of chapters that are organized first around general
then more specific topics and tasks that are necessary to become a comfort-
able and confident user of GIS. Several chapters contain detailed exercises
(activities) for a particular analytical task or workflow that can be adapted to
other circumstances, data types, or areas of interest. Detailed lists of refer-
ences and occasional resource guides are also included with each chapter.
The following includes an overview of the chapters in this book:

1. Making sense of geotechnology (McHaffie)

A lucid and engaging description of what geotechnology is, what
role professionals engaged with the technology assume, and the
ontology of the text. A brief description of the structure and outline
of the text is presented. Activity 1.1 can be found at the end of this
chapter.
2. Georeferencing (Hwang)
This chapter helps readers make sense of map datums, map projec-
tions, and coordinate reference systems (CRSs). Other fundamental
mapping concepts (e.g., scale, position, distance) depend on precise
georeferencing that seamlessly converts between diverse CRSs in
use within a multilayer dataset. The chapter includes visuals and
ArcGIS tutorials designed to foster understanding of these concepts.
10 GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies

3. Getting the world into your GIS (McHaffie)

There is a world of data available for GIS projects through many
­possible sources, and in the age of the network, these are often just
a click away. Both public-domain and commercial datasets provide
options for mappers in generally usable formats, whether the applica-
tion requires physical, human, vector, or raster data. Sometimes data
that exists in tabular form with spatial fields can be converted quickly
into mappable layers. Users may also require remote sensing images
or digital terrain data that is used to visualize physical and human
landscapes. Increasingly users collect their own vector data in the
field using GNSS/GPS devices. Or they may rely on in situ measure-
ments collected in near real time to populate their analytical models.
And some users still rely on in-house or contracted digitizing services
to convert scanned or hard copy materials into map layers. This chap-
ter presents an organized guide to finding, collecting, or converting
and organizing different types of geospatial data for a GIS project.
4. Geospatial Analysis: Introduction (McHaffie)
This discussion introduces spatial analysis and presents some of the
basic operations performed by analysts including selection and sub-
setting, classification, proximity functions and buffering, interpola-
tion, and network analysis. An activity demonstrates selection by
attributes and locations using ArcGIS.
5. Thematic mapping (Hwang)
The most common use of GIS is to create maps based on attribute
values, which is also called thematic mapping. While it has become
easy to create maps using GIS, learning to read maps in an informed
manner and designing maps effectively are more difficult. The chap-
ter discusses on the fundamental elements of maps—namely, map
scale and cartographic abstraction—to compare maps to other types
of media. Different types of thematic maps are also explained. The
impact of data representation (namely, data classification and nor-
malization) on thematic maps is discussed with illustrations. Finally,
the chapter addresses questions essential to effective cartographic
design—i.e., how to go about choosing aspects of map symbols such
as color and shape, choosing thematic mapping techniques, and
organizing thematic content. An activity shows how to create the-
matic maps from geospatial data using ArcGIS.
6. Data models (Hwang)
One of the challenges in many GIS projects is the diversity of data.
Most GIS projects involve a variety of geospatial data formats and
nonspatial (attribute) data stored in tables. This chapter explains how
both spatial and nonspatial aspects of the world are represented in
GIS. Understanding data models for both spatial and attribute data is
Making Sense of Geotechnology 11

crucial to exploring geospatial data and manipulating attribute tables

(e.g., tasks such as field calculation, query, table join). The activities in
this chapter explain how to display and review geospatial data and
how to create a thematic map from census data using table join.
7. Web GIS (Follett)
Web GIS bring static maps to life, allowing interaction, flowing nar-
ratives, and new ways to present maps and data through interactive
maps. Technical knowledge and history and the basics of HTML,
the web, and server technology relevant to GIS on the web are
explained. An overview of different web GIS platforms and tech-
nologies precedes an in-depth exploration of the ArcGIS Online
platform, with special attention and activities relating to web maps
and ESRI Storymaps. Readers will learn how to share their data and
maps with a global audience, learning techniques of design and fea-
tures unique to the web.
8. Open-source GIS (Follett)
The world of GIS has changed appreciably over the past 20 years
as numerous open-source and web-based mapping platforms have
become available to users and developers, creating a variety of ways
to make, manipulate, and deliver content. As discussed in this chap-
ter, this could include providing free standalone desktop or mobile
applications like QGIS or GRASS, or developing specialized map-
ping applications with analytical power delivered through ordinary
web browsers on different platforms.
9. Introduction to Remote sensing and GIS (McHaffie)
Remote sensing, the interpretation and analysis of digital images
acquired by aerial platforms in the atmosphere and outer space, is
a major component of GIS. It is described as a linear process that
begins with electromagnetic radiation from a natural or human-
made source and ends with products of analysis such as images,
maps, and reports. This chapter covers several ways to acquire digi-
tal image data, different sensors and data types, and approaches to
analysis. A short activity showing how to acquire digital imagery
using the Landsat program and how to produce a false-color com-
posite image is also included.
10. Introduction to Health GIS applications (Follett)
In the health sector GIS are used by everyone from emergency
responders directing ambulances to epidemiologists analyzing dis-
ease outbreaks and by those providers in between. Methods and
approaches of special relevance to health GIS concerns are discussed
as well as techniques presented in a health GIS context that are use-
ful for other fields as well, such as network analysis. Issues of acces-
sibility in map design are also discussed.
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