1. Education and Training Working Group
GIS in Connecticut
Education and Training Working Group

2. A Working Definition A GIS is……
a computer-based information system to:
capture,
manage,
update,
analyze,
display, and
output spatial data and information
to be used in a decision making context
A GIS is not just hardware and specialized software; it also includes data, applications, people and procedures for its use and maintenance.
Applications are perhaps the most important yet overlooked component of a GIS. Applications are what a GIS will be used for. They determine many of the other elements of a system; for example, what data will be necessary, how it will be processed, who will access the data and what products or information the system will produce. Having a clear understanding of applications and system use is a critical first step to system design and implementation.

3. Why GIS? Towns Regional Planning Organizations State Agencies Academia
locate information in different departments that all relate to the same location.
Regional Planning Organizations
coordinate services between towns.
State Agencies
develop special applications help residents get information on state programs.
Academia
bolster research with better tools to analyze data.
Utilities
deliver services more efficiently by getting rid of tasks once performed by hand.
Businesses
use for location of new stores, offices, and products.

4. Geography Brings Data Together
Multiple Data Layers
Geographically Referenced
Common Coordinate System
Provides basis for:
Data Integration
Systematic Analysis
Customized Maps

5. GIS Integrates Data & Applications Information from many town offices is brought together
Building
Human
Services
Police
Engineering
Health
Assessor
Town
Clerk
Planning
Fire
Department
Public
Works
Finance
Town
Manager
Parks &
Recreation
Senior
Center

6. GIS - More than the Sum of its Parts
Hardware
Software
Data
GIS
People
Applications
The purpose of this slide is allow the presenter to list the major components of a GIS and to discuss how they are integrated into a SYSTEM.
Hardware and software range from stand-alone desktop systems to complex enterprise-wide networks.
Data include existing public domain data sets, an organization’s own data that may be created in-house or through arrangements with another organization or vendor. Note that data are expensive, both to create and to maintain. Higher accuracy data cost orders of magnitude more than less accurate data. Accuracy and cost should match the requirements of the applications.
Applications and procedures define the uses of the GIS and the standardized methods, if appropriate, that will insure consistent high quality output and analyses. The applications determine data needs.
Trained and knowledgeable people to operate and maintain a system are essential. They can be expensive and they need continued training.

7. A GIS Manages Two Types of Data
Note that GIS data consist of cartographic features:
Points wells, utility poles, manholes
Lines road centerlines, small streams, trails
Polygons parcels, wetlands, building footprints, watersheds
AND
Attribute data that describe each feature
AND that features and attributes are linked
This permits accessing and analyzing GIS data either based on where it is or what it is; on in some cases based on a combination of where and what.
Attribute Data (what)
information that defines and describes each feature
Spatial Data (where)
cartographic features
points, lines & polygons

8. Visualizations - Layer Control

9. Different Ways to View Data

10. Answers to Simple Questions
Visualize spatial relationships
Answer questions about what “it” is
Answer questions about where things are ?
This example retrieves data for a single feature. Simply click on the polygon and its database record will be displayed.
Ad hoc queries such as this are a prime use of GIS.
Ad hoc queries are one of the most important and basic of all GIS functions

11. Queries - Class of Features
Select all parcels in a subdivision
That were sold in the past 3 years
For more than $200,000

12. Perform Spatial Analyses
Find
Buildings
Within 250’ of streams

13. GIS Applications – a Short List
Track Disease Incidence
Emergency response
Asset management
School redistricting
Law enforcement
Open space planning
Demographics and predictive modeling
Access to health services
Locate Fuel Stations and Track prices
Homeland security
Transportation planning
Site suitability / selection
Build-out analysis
Detect Food Stamp Fraud
Plans of C & D
Map design & production
Watershed protection
Permit review
E-911
Farmland protection
Aquifer protection
Archaeological research
Economic development

14. State Agency Applications
Environmental Reviews at CONNDOT
Middletown Area Bridge Crossing Study
Natural Diversity Reviews for Route 5 in Wallingford

15. RPO Applications
“A greenway takes shape where there is open space and available land. With GIS, we can visualize the regional land patterns across town lines to form those greenways”
GIS Coordinator, CRERPA
The Ground-Truthing map identifies vacant parcels greater than 5 acres and parcels greater than 25 acres with structures. This helps identify possible parcels, and landowners, that can contribute to a regional open space protection or greenway effort. Both maps include known and/or digitized trails from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the Connecticut Blue Blaze Trails, from the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Each parcel was categorized for land use using the Land Based Classification Standards created by the American Planning Association.

16. Municipal Applications
Picture
“There is no better tool to show the statistical makeup of our tax base than our GIS system.”
Newington Assessor
Property Card
Point to be made is that many towns are now converting their Assessor’s tax maps to a digital format. Digital tax maps can be in a GIS format that allows other data to be linked to the map.
Field card data - physical description of property, structures, etc.
Administrative data - ownership data, mailing address, etc
Photos - image record
Aerial photos - town-wide image record as of a particular date
Thanks to the Town of Groton
Sketch

17. GIS Online Applications
Coastal Access Guide-
Helps residents to find public coastal parks and launching sites.
Department Of Agriculture Farm Guide –
provides residents with a map of Agricultural resources in the state.
Connecticut Resource Inventory (CRI)-
educates town officials and citizens about Natural Resources in their local area.

18. GIS in Education -Teaching K-12
“GPS & GIS technology excites kids because it helps them to better visualize connections in nature,” Laurie Doss, teacher, Marvelwood School.

19. GIS in Education – Research from field research to map products
“Remote sensing, GPS and GIS are being used to develop protocols to map invasive plant species in tidal marshes in the lower Connecticut River. Integrating these geospatial technologies permits us to create maps that would otherwise be too costly and time consuming to produce.”

20. GIS in Academia – Data Development
The Center for Land Use Education and Research used Landsat satellite imagery to develop a series of land cover maps that cover the state of Connecticut. The series now includes data for 1985, 1990, 1995, 2002 and What is unique about these data is that all datasets use the same land cover classes and each was created using the same protocol. This allows for consistent and accurate comparisons among data from different dates.

21. GIS in Academia – Data Development
Students at the University of Connecticut worked with LiDAR data acquired by the state to remove errors and add data to areas where LiDAR elevation points were missing. The result was a high precision statewide elevation dataset that can be used for applications that require land surface elevation data – watershed modeling, viewshed analyses, siting of cell towers, etc. These data can be downloaded for use in GIS.
Students at the University of Connecticut worked with LiDAR data acquired by the state to remove errors and add data to areas where LiDAR elevation points were missing. The result was a high precision statewide elevation dataset that can be used for applications that require land surface elevation data – watershed modeling, viewshed analyses, siting of cell towers, etc. These data were extracted for the area of each USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle that covers the state and now can be downloaded for use in GIS.

22. GIS in Academia – Data Deployment
The Center for Land Use Education and Research both develops and deploys GIS data to the public. These imagery examples are of the statewide 2004 digital orthophotos and some 2004 color_IR imagery for the state’s coastal communities.
The Center for Land Use Education and Research both develops and deploys GIS data to the public. Examples include serving imagery such as the statewide 2004 digital orthophotos and 2004 color and color_IR imagery for the state’s coastal communities.

23. Public Safety
Public Safety officials use GIS to see trends in crime. Maps provide the best way to see geographic concentrations of incidents.
On-line maps of sex offenders are one of the most widely used crime datasets.
By mapping a recent rash of burglaries and using its GIS analysis capabilities, the Hartford Crime Analysis Unit was able to see a trend that helped apprehend a suspect.

24. Public Utility Applications
At the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), GIS is used to support utility field operations to locate equipment and gather information from the field. That information is then kept in the GIS and associated with the equipment’s location.
“Using the GIS saves us time, and money and greatly improves the working knowledge of our infrastructure,”
GIS Coordinator, Metropolitan District Commission
Utility field workers have real time access to records. Modifications based on day to day operations can be reflected in a shorter time than paper media used to provide.

25. Business Applications
DATTCO, headquartered in New Britain, CT, uses routing software embedded with GIS capabilities to plan efficient bus routes for its customers.

26. Local Environmental Management
“Since its development two years ago, the GIS system has helped the Candlewood Lake Authority pin-point dozens of land use activities and provide accurate and critical information to land use enforcement staff."
Larry Marsicano, Executive Director
Candlewood Lake Authority