1. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Carmelle J. Terborgh, Ph.D.
ESRI

2. Flying Blind
Jul 24th 2003
The Economist

3. We Live in Two Worlds These are increasingly in Conflict…
Natural World
Constructed World
Self-Regulating
Managed
These are increasingly in Conflict…
…..think water use, electricity and heating

4. What is GIS?
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based system including software, hardware, people, and geographic information
A GIS can:
create, edit, query, analyze, and display map information on the computer

5. Geographic Information System
Geographic – 80% of government data collected is associated with some location in space
Information - attributes, or the characteristics (data), can be used to symbolize and provide further insight into a given location
System – a seamless operation linking the information to the geography – which requires hardware, networks, software, data, and operational procedures
…not just software!
…not just for making maps!

6. Abstracting the Real World

7. Context and Content Seeing the Whole Managing Places Patterns Linkages
Trends
Watersheds
Communities
Neighborhoods
Districts

9. Who uses GIS? International organizations Private industry Government
UN HABITAT, The World Bank, UNEP, FAO, WHO, etc.
Private industry
Transport, Real Estate, Insurance, etc.
Government
Ministries of Environment, Housing, Agriculture, etc.
Local Authorities, Cities, Municipalities, etc.
Provincial Agencies for Planning, Parks, Transportation, etc.
Non-profit organizations/NGO’s
World Resources Institute, ICMA, etc.
Academic and Research Institutions
Smithsonian Institution, CIESIN, etc.

10. What can you do with a GIS?
The possibilities are unlimited…
Environmental impact assessment
Resource management
Land use planning
Tax Mapping
Water and Sanitation Mapping
Transportation routing
and more ...

11. How does a GIS work? GIS data has a spatial/geographic reference
This might be a reference that describes a feature on the earth using:
a latitude & longitude
a national coordinate system
an address
a district
a wetland identifier
a road name

12. Geography and Databases
A GIS stores information about the world as a collection of thematic layers that can be linked together by geography
Polygon 3
Scrub 17
Very high
Clay

13. GIS provides Data Integration
Vectors
Topology
Networks
Terrain
Surveys
Images
CAD
Drawings
Annotation
Addresses
27 Main St.
Attributes
ABC
107’
3D Objects
Dimensions
Roads
Land Parcels
Population
Utilities
Land Mines
Hospitals
Refugee Camps
Wells
Sanitation

14. Two fundamental types of data
Vector
A series of x,y coordinates
For discrete data represented as points, lines, polygons
Raster
Grid and cells
For continuous data such as elevation, slope, surfaces
A Desktop GIS should be able to handle both types of data effectively!

15. Data Representation
Raster
Vector
Real World

16. Other features of a GIS
Produce good cartographic products (translation = maps)
Generate and maintain metadata
Use and share geoprocessing models
Managing data in a geodatabase using data models for each sector

17. The World Geographic Knowledge Citizens
Inventory
Decision Support

18. Left - Africa Food Balance is a supply, demand and balance GIS process
Left - Africa Food Balance is a supply, demand and balance GIS process. Demand is subtracted from supply to derive food balance, showing areas of surplus and shortage. The GIS model allocates 1998 FAOSTAT domestic and import food production to produce domestic and import calorie supply surfaces for the entire African continent.
Right - The Africa water balance model draws total average annual water demand from total average annual renewable water supply to estimate a regional scale watershed water balance. Water supply is derived from ESRI ArcAtlas groundwater discharge and runoff, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geophysical Data Center precipitation and evapotranspiration.

19. Poverty Indicators Org: UNAM Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Name: Enrique Soto Alva and Adri∑n BenÃtez Ortega
Software: Arc Info for Workstation and Arc View GIS for PC
Hardware: Silicon Graphics O2, Sun, Compaq deskpro
The map was created to explain the process of overlaid maps as different indicators of urban poverty in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The upper map is the summary. The GIS is used to analyze poor areas at a detailed urban scale.
File1.jpg

20. Monitoring fair trade - local banana farmers
ArcIMS applications used with local farmers to ensure fair trade.

21. GIS for planning underdeveloped areas
A Tale of Two Cities
The formal and the informal
Both deserve GIS… complexity is not an accuse!
Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez

22. GIS for planning underdeveloped areas
Urban poverty measured in terms of quantity and quality of public space.
The lack of public open space.
Barrios have a percentage of public space between 5% and 10%.
In the average city total space
constitute over 30% of the total space.
The absence of adequate infrastructure,
Urban furniture and maintenance which
combined produces unhealthy and insecure conditions.
Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez

23. GIS for planning underdeveloped areas
DEALING WITH A COMPLEX MORPHOLOGY REQUIERES:
Understanding the existing physical order
Identifying the social order conformed by community
ties and with no physical evidence
Transformation capacity is determined through a detailed review of the built form
Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez

24. GIS for planning underdeveloped areas
Analysis of the social network and community ties
Sustainability is preserving
the small social groups
The social network is topology related.
Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez