GIS -

A QUICK OVERVIEW

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 GIS
An acronym for:
• Geographic Information Systems
(US)
• Geographical Information Systems
(UK, Aust., Canada)
• Geographic Information Science
(Academia)
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 GIS
• An understanding of what Geographic
Information Systems represent may be
helped by considering the component
parts of the term separately.

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 Geographic
• Geography - Pattern and process of human
and
physical phenomena on the surface of earth.
What is where? (Spatial Distribution and
Variations)
Why is there? (Spatial Interactions)

How do we care? (Spatial Planning and

Management)
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 GIS concepts are not new!
• To combine topography and military maps during wars
in early 1800s
• Original uses were to track spread of diseases in UK
(1850s)
• Evolution of GIS was stimulated by the concept of
overlay
―W. Manning combined soil, vegetation, and topography
maps to analyze relationship (1912)
―Alexander used weightings and multiple factors to
make transportation decisions (1963)
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GIS concepts are not new!

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SPATIAL INFORMATION HANDLEING

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 History of GIS
• First GIS – CGIS (Beginning of 1960s) Canada Geographic
System. Its initial task was to classify and map the land
resources of Canada.
—Canadian Department of Forestry and Rural
Development.
—Purpose: to collect and analyze Canada Land Inventory
—Still operating today
—Its development provided many conceptual and
technical contributions
• Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) was
founded in 1969 by Jack Dangermond
— Utilized CGIS ideas with release of Arc/INFO in the ’80s
— Initially application was in forestry
— Currently constitutesCentre
40.7for %GIS market share
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 History of GIS contd…
• Constant feedback from industry and users has led to
rapid evolution of GIS:
― Improvement in software tools and an increase in software
availability
― Improvements in computing speed and memory
― Increased quantities and qualities of data (i.e. remote
sensing)
― Improvements in analytical and statistical techniques
• There are now scores of free GIS software packages
available online Today, GIS can:
— provide driving directions
— map criminal behavior
— monitor voting trends
— evaluate landuse changes and geo-hazards
— provide community planners
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GIS info on development
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Components of GIS

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 Components of GIS
HARDWARE
(PCs, Printers, Plotters, Scanners, Digitizing Tablets, Networks,
Storage Devices etc.)
SOFTWARE
(MapInfo, AutoCAD Map, Arcview, ArcGIS, IDRISI etc.)
PEOPLE
(Specialists, Developers, Analysts, Users, Viewers)
DATA
(spatial, aspatial; temporal, maps, images, reports, survey
points etc.)
APPLICATIONS
(methods, procedures, customized interfaces, GUI, atlases etc.)
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 Capabilities / What can a GIS do ?
The questions that a GIS is required to answer are
mainly:
What is at......?
Where is it.....?
How has it changed........?
Which data are related ........?
What if.......?
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 LOCATION – What is at ??
• Here we are seeking to f in d out what exists at a
particular location. A location can be described in
many dif ferent ways using, for example, place name,
zip code, or latitude and longitude coordinates.

Who owns the lot at 3233 Texas

Street, and what is it zoned for?

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 CONDITION -- Where is it?
• Instead of identifying what exists at a given location,
you want to f ind a location where certain conditions
are satisf ied. For example, you wish to f ind a house
assessed at less than $20,000 with 4 bedrooms and
made of wood or ber.

Where are houses located

that you might consider
buying?

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TRENDS -- How has it changed........?

Smallville in 1950 Smallville in 1990

How much land has gone from agriculture to
other uses since 1950?
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PATTERNS--- Which data are related…?

What kinds of patterns exist for motor vehicle accidents?

Where do they occur and at what times?
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 MODELS -- What If…..?

School Hospital

Bookstore Restaurant

If you wanted to open a new facility, where

would you locate it? Centre for GIS
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Q&A
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