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Geo Factsheetwww.curriculum-press.co.uk Number 322

Understanding GISWhat is GIS and why is it important?GIS or Geographical Information Systems have become an important part of a 21st century way of life. GIS has traditionally been a back-office technology, and many of the maps created by GIS professionals only reach the hands of a few people. But all that is changing, and it’s changing very rapidly. GIS has evolved into a technology that is used by a huge number of industries and agencies to help plan, design, engineer, build and maintain information infrastructures that effects our everyday lives. There really is no limit to thetype of data that can be includedin a GIS. Consequently GIS can beused in a huge range ofgeographical contexts, and is increasingly being used in real time disaster management, to quickly map areas of damage (using GPS),identify services, locate possible refugee sites etc.

“GIS in not about making maps, per-se. It is about analysing often large sets of data to generate information, hypotheses, conclusions, insights and even new hunches. It’s about telling a story.” J.T Johnson (2003).

GIS has been around in the commercial world for half a century or more, yet its adoption in schools-based geography has been largely erratic. There have been obvious historical barriers including lack of access to ICT, complex industry-standard software packages, and a difficulty for teachers to work with and access large data sets. But Google Earth changed all of that – providing a brilliant point of entry into spatial data, allowing everyone with access to a computer to visualise information in a creative and imaginative way. It made geographical-space cool. But true GIS is not the same as visualisation (Google Earth, Bing Mapsetc). Importantlyreal GIS empowers the user with the ability to manipulate, query and even interrogate complex data sets which have a spatial dimension. This functionality goes to the heart of a full GIS system thus enabling high order questioning and creativity skills to be developed. See Figure 1

Figure 1 different types of geo-spatial mapsThe different meanings of geo-spatial maps“Where am I?” A location map can give us this answer“How do I get there?” Use a navigation map (often enabled with GPS)

“How are these things related?” A spatial relationship map answers this question

Geography GeographicInformation

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Understanding GIS

Understanding the basics and language of GISGeographic information is simply information that is a digital coded description of the locations of objects and features. It relates to the distribution of any physical and human features that are found on the Earth’s surface. Types of geographic information are varied including socio-economic and demographic data as well as physical and environmental data. The data can expressed as points, lines or areas. These areas are called vectors or polygons and often coded as shapefiles.

Each location (point, line or area) has other data, or attribute data, linked to that place reference – see Table 1 which is an example of weather data that could be displayed in a GIS system.

Table 1: An example of latitude and longitude (point data in green) with examples attribute data for weather. Site Code Site Name Latitude Longitude Region Wind Direction Wind Speed3017 KIRKWALL (3017) 58.954 -2.9 Orkney & Shetland W 14

3034 AULTBEA (3034) 57.859 -5.636 Highland &EileanSiar SW 10

3044 ALTNAHARRA SAWS (3044) 58.288 -4.442 Highland &EileanSiar SSW 5

3075 WICK AIRPORT (3075) 58.454 -3.089 Highland &EileanSiar SW 10

3068 LOSSIEMOUTH (3068) 57.712 -3.322 Grampian S 6

3100 TIREE (3100) 56.497 -6.887 Strathclyde W 19

3136 PRESTWICK RNAS (3136) 55.515 -4.585 Strathclyde WSW 18

3171 LEUCHARS (3171) 56.377 -2.862 Central Tayside& Fife SSW 9

Someone who understands GIS will be able to make use of a number of “geo-literacy” skills. These skills are not just restricted to geography; they are important in many other aspects of decision-making. See Table 2.

Table 2: Examples of Geo-literacy – GIS

• It means being able to detect patterns that vary across space, and to understand how phenomena in one place and time relate to other phenomena that may be that or similar places

• It means understanding how different groups might see and describe the value of a specific tree, a species, or an ocean, for example differently.

• It means looking at a advert next to an empty car-park on the way home from school / college and being able to describe some of what “Future home of BigBox Super-Store” might mean to the community beyond and in the regional neighbourhood.

• It means hearing a discussion about jobs, economy, local resources, and global patterns, and being able to talk about what different groups / companies and individuals might value.

• It means carefully choosing which ideas or theories to support and which to question, and knowing how to learn about new things, including deciding why certain bits of spatial information might be more valuable, accurate or reliable than others.

All these skills are becoming vital for A level students of geography.

Processing data with GIS – using volcano and UK crime example dataA key difference between a visualisation produced by Google Earth (a “digital view of the world”) and a full GIS system is the ability to interrogate the data, by using a set of processing tools. Historically these processing tools could only be used in the full desktop versions of the GIS systems and could only be used by professionals. This is now changing. The industry standard version of ArcGIS (Figure 2) now has an online version for example (ArcGIS Online) which allows users to carry out analysis without having to learn how to use the full program. Historically another barrier to GIS has been the complex language that has surrounded the software. In many instances this is becoming more accessible with the shift online. Also refer to the GIS glossary at the end of this article.

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Table 3 provides some examples of tools that can be used in the context of analysis.

Table 3 – examples of GIS processing activities

1 Querying a database to determine the types of features existing at given place answers the question “what is at…?” (i.e. what is the population density of city X?).

2 Finding the location of sites which have certain characteristics responds to the question “where is it…?” (i.e. where are the residential areas within 200m. from aspecific river?).

3 Monitoring how things change over time provides answer to the question “what has changed…?” (i.e. whatis the change in the traffic flow along a certain road or motorway?).

4Allowing the description and comparisons of the distribution of data help answer the question “what is the pattern…?”, which in turn can help in understanding the processes which influence their distribution (i.e. is there a pattern in the distribution of crimes which are thought to be related to higher than average index of multiple deprivation?).

5 Calculating the “best” (fastest, quickest, shortestetc) route between places answers the question “which is the best way…?”, a question related to interaction of factors (i.e. which is the best way to the hospital if the main road is flooded?)

Figure 2 – the ArcGIS the full desktop program is complex to use and requires specialist training. This is an example of a flood alert area map (green) using shapefile data the Environment Agency.

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Case Study 1: VolcanoesData on volcanoes earthquakes for example, can be downloaded from the USGS website (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/csv.php) . This is available as a CSV (spreadsheet) file which includes latitude and longitude as well as a number of other attributes. This can be imported into a GIS system and displayed as dots – see Figure 3a. It can then be filtered – Figure 3b as a separate layer.

The importance of this proper GIS system is the ability to interrogate the data, as well as turn layers on and off. Figure 4, for example, shows the example of a buffer query to find out how many people live within a 6km radius of CampiFlegrei, Naples, Italy. This is displayed as a pop-up showing the population. Buffers can be displayed as proportional circles.

Figure 3b – overlaying other layers (plate boundaries – pink) and “filtering” only active volcanoes (green dots) for a different part of the world.

Figure 3a – showing the distribution of all volcanoes (orange dots).

Case Study 2: CrimeA huge range of other data can be downloaded, for example local crime data for the UK (http://data.police.uk/). In Figure 5 you can see for example, a month’s worth of local crime data has been plotted using different colours to display the different types of crime reported. A very simple exercise since once again the data is a CSV file.

Figure 4– an example of GIS processing to find out how many people live within a 6km radius of CampiFlegrei

Figure 5 – examples of different types of crimes plotted by location (downloaded from police.gov.uk)

Anti-social behaviour Burglary Crimnal damage and arsonOther crime Other theft Poscession of weaponsPublic order Shoplifting Vehicle crimeViolence & sexual offences

Wiveliscombe

WiveliscombePrimary School

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Acknowledgements; This Geo Factsheet was researched and written by David Holmes, a GIS Schools Partner Trainer and geography consultant. www.david-holmes-geography.co.uk. Curriculum Press, Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NUSSN 1351-5136

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Much more sophisticated analysis also exists, such as producing ‘heat maps’ to identify crime hotspots, or combining crime points to overlay districts to look at population profiles – such as percentage of young males, percentage living in terraced homes etc.

GIS and industry – an example from retailingGIS is really important in a whole range of industries and activities, including:• Aid and development• Defence and intelligence• Local, regional and national government• Public health systems• Mapping and charting, e.g. aeronautical and nautical• Natural resources allocation and distribution• Public safety• Transportation• Utilities and communications• Disaster management

In retail, deciding where to put a new store is a complex geo-spatial decision involving a range location-based data to be analysed. Argos for example, has used GIS software to gain a better understanding of boththeir customers and competitors. So called “location analytics” has helped the retailer to identify new store locations and prioritise store refurbishment, using detailed GIS drive-time and postcode analysis. GIS helps the company understand the spatial distribution of its store network to ensure it offers optimum coverage of the UK and Ireland. GIS technology will be used to inform of many marketing and property decisions, helping to drive a strategy based around a particular customer group (or segment).

GIS is equally important in food retailing. The Co-operative for example,visualise and manipulate a whole range of GIS information, from competitor sites and transport networks to demographics, natural features, Experian credit data and new housing developments. The supermarket also has a customer loyalty card. They use location analytics to understand where their customers live, shop and how far they are prepared to travel to a store. This information is particularly valuable when assessing current stores for possible extensions or downsizes. The Co-Op also use GIS to help model information about customer segments (lifestyle, income, family size etc) and shopping preferences so that individual stores can be customised in terms of their product range to better match the needs of that particular customer hinterland.

For retailers in particular,the role of location-based data is only going to become more important in the future, especially with an increasing move to more online deliveries. It’s likely that new services will be created, which could include personalised offers in real-time to people as they enter a predefined area or alert them to other relevant information about shops and restaurants nearby. Retailers will further use GIS to reduce transport costs and streamline distribution networks.

Using GIS with fieldwork GIS has great potential to enhance and streamline your fieldwork. It can save time and hard work and allow a large amount of both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected in a short space of time. All that data is geo-located, even photographs if they are taken on smartphones with a built-in GPS.

Quieter areas are shown with a green colour and noisy areas with a red colour, with varying shades in between. The noise level was measured with an app. The use of GIS for fieldwork will be explained in detail in one of a series of Neo-Geo factsheets designed to support the 2016 new A level specification.

ConclusionsThe geospatial revolution has really started. Location and place is woven into the fabric of how we live in the 21st century. Almost anyone can publish a map or spatial data, or put dots on a map, or create a “cool” web-mapping app to show something of interest to them, their friends or even the wider community. The role of geography is a platform for understanding the world so GIS is making geography come alive. It condenses our data, information, and science into a language that we can easily understand: maps.

Sources and references • An article from the RGS about GIS – “Ask the Expert” http://

www.rgs.org/OurWork/Schools/Geography+in+the+News/Ask+the+experts/GIS.htm

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXS0bsR0e7w – “Geospa-tial Revolution” video 2. Some useful information about how GIS works.

• Co-Op and Argos case studies https://www.esriuk.com/sites/de-fault/files/uploads/Think%20GIS_Retail_online.pdf

• The RGS GIS day in November 2013 http://www.rgs.org/Our-Work/Schools/GIS+Day.htm

• Examples of topic GIS maps from ERSI http://www.arcgis.com/home/

• Download up to date earthquake data here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/

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Figure 6a – Screenshot from a smartphone app that allows the user to collect a variety of fieldwork data

.Figure 6b – an example of GIS data collected on the “RGS GIS Day” in November 2013.

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A general GIS Glossary

ArcGIS Online (AGOL)

A set of web-based base maps, globes and other data and services created by ESRI for use inside ArcGIS products and GIS applications on the internet.

Area Rather than a single point on a map, and area is a closed shape (see polygon). Can be used for instance to define census output areas.

AttributeDescriptive information about a geographic feature or location that is usually stored in a table. Examples include ownership of a parcel of land, the population of a neighbourhood, depth of earthquake, or the speed limit or name of a road.

BasemapA map containing geographic features used for locational reference. Roads are commonly found on basemaps. ArcGIS Online has several different basemaps that can be chosen. They should be changed depending on what you are trying to show.

BufferA zone of a specified distance or time around coverage features, useful for proximity analysis. Buffers are typically used to create areas that can be further analysed using a tool such as Overlay Layers. For example, if the question is “What buildings are within one mile of the school?”

Collector AppAn ESRI smartphone app (iOS and Android) which allows users to capture, update, and report spatial and tabular information directly from your phone. In geography it’s something we would be using alongside fieldwork.

Coordinates Positions, X, Y, i.e. latitude and longitude. Form the basis of a GIS system along with attributes.

CSV FileSimilar to a spread as CSV (Comma separated file) should contact lat/long or other locational data to allow ArcGIS to display data. Can be dragged into AGOL and represented. CSV files need to contain address information or latitude & longitude coordinates in decimal degrees.

Database A table (or CSV) that has columns and rows of data. The data must contain a geospatial element, i.e. a location (such as lat-long or postcode) and an attribute for that position.

Field In a database (or spreadsheet), another term for column.

GeocodingA GIS process for converting street addresses, intersections or named locations into spatial data that can be displayed or mapped. For example, the geographic location for an address may be found by comparing it to reference data, such as address points, street center-lines or zip code boundaries.

Layer A thematic set of spatial data, layers are organized by subject matter.

Line A set of ordered coordinate pairs that represent a linear feature with no area, or with a shape too narrow to be displayed as a polygon. Lines make up vector maps.

Logical query A way of filtering or selecting data that you want to show. Can be used as part of the perform analysis tool, e.g. showing attributes with data > a specified amount.

Point A single x, y coordinate point that represents a geographic feature, i.e. a specific location.

Polygon A representation of an area defined by lines that make up its boundary. For example, it may represent a building footprint, parcel, city limits, or country’s boundary

Projection A mathematical model that transforms the locations of features on the Earth’s surface (sphere) to locations on a two-dimensional surface (flat map).

Raster

A way of representing geographic features by dividing the world into discrete squares called cells. Aerial photos are a common example of raster data. It’s really like a picture and depending on its resolution it can become coarse / grainy / pixelated when the user zooms-in. Raster maps may be converted into a more useful vectors.

Shapefile A shapefile is a dataset that is associated with ESRI’s GIS software products (like a.doc for MS Word). Shapefiles contain spatial geometry (points, lines, polygons) in multiple files.

Vector A coordinate-based data model that represents geographic features as points, lines, and polygons. Each point feature is represented as a single coordinate pair, while line and polygon features are represented as ordered lists of vertices. Attributes are associated with each vector feature. Can require a lot of computer processing.

WGS84 (World Geodetic Survey 1984). Standard model of the earth used frequently in GIS and the model on which most GPS operate (need to check – including smartphones).