How GIS differs from Related Systems

• DBMS - typical MIS database contains implicit but not explicit locational information

- city, country, zip code, etc. but no geographical coordinates

- is 100 N. High around the corner or across town from 200 E Main?

• Automated Mapping (AM) - primary to dimensional display davice

- thematic mapping (choropleth, etc such as SAS/GRAPH, DIDS, business mapping software) unable to relate different geographical layers (e.g zip codes and countries)

- automated cartography - graphical design oriented; limited database ability

• Facility Management (FM) System - lack spatial analysis tools
• CAD/CAM (computer aid design/drafting) - primarily 3 - D graphic creation (engineering design) and display systems

- don't reference via geographic location

- limited (if any) database ability (especially for non-spatial data)

• Graphic Software (Photoshop, Corel Draw) - sophisticated multi - dimensional graphics, but:

- lack database support

- lack two -  dimensional spatial analysis tools

GIS Data Type

Two types of data are stored for each item in the database

1. Attribute data:

               Says what a feature is 

                       Eg. statistic, text, images, sound, etc.

     2. Spatial data:

                Says where the feature is

                Co-ordinate based

                Vector data - discrete features:

                         Points

                         Lines

                         Polygons (zones or areas)

                 Raster data:

                         A continuous surface

Why study GIS?

• 80% of local government activities estimated to be geographically based

- plats, zoning public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage collection, land ownership and valuation, public safety (fire and police)

• A significant portion of state government has a geographical component

- natural resources management

- highways and transportation

• Businesses use GIS for a very wide array of applications

- retail site selection & customer analysis

- logistics: vehicle tracking & routing

- natural resources exploration (petroleum, etc.)

- precision agriculture

-civil engineering and construction

• Military and Defense

- Battlefield management

- Satellite imagery interpretation

• Scientific research employs GIS

- geography, geology, botany

- anthropology, sociology, economics, political science

-epidemiology, criminology

Examples of Applied GIS

Urban planning, Management & Policy

• Zonning, subdivision, planning
• Land acquisition
• Economic development
• Code enforcement
• Housing renovation programs
• Emergency response
• Crime analysis
• Tax assessment

Environment Sciences

• Monitoring environment risk
• Modeling storm water run off
• Management of water sheds, floodplains, wetlands, forests, aquifers
• Environmental Impact Analysis
• Hazardous or toxic facility siting
• Ground water modeling and contamination tracking

Political Science

• Redistricting
• Analysis of election result
• Predictive modeling

Civil Engineering/Utility

• Locating underground facilities
• Designing alignment for freeways, transit
• Coordination of infrastructure maintenance

Business

• Demographic Analysis
• Market Penetration/Share Analysis
• Site Selection

Education Administration

• Attendance Area Maintenance
• Enrollment Projections
• School Bus Routing

Health Care

• Epidemiology
• Needs Analysis
• Service Inventory

What is GIS Application DO:(manage, analyze, communication)

- make possible the automation of activities involving geographic data

• map production
• calculation of areas, distances, routes lengths
• measurement of slope, aspect, view shed
• logistics: route planning, vehicle tracking, traffic management

- allow for the integration of data hitherto confined to independent domains (e.g property maps and air photos)

- by tieing data to maps, permits the succinct communication of complex spatial patterns ( e.g environmental sensitivity)

- provides answer to spatial queries

- perform complex spatial modeling (what if scenarios for transportation planning, disaster planning, resource management, utility design)