1. Overview What is geography? What is geographic information?
What is a GIS?
GIS applications
Tool versus science

2. Geography = Place names only?

3. What is geography?
The scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in physical and human phenomena
Where things are located on the earth’s surface
How places differ from one another
How people interact with the environment

4. Geographic Information
Examining patterns & processes of human and physical phenomena on the surface of earth
Examples of geographic information:
Spatial distribution of world population totals or growth rates
Location of Chapel Hill
Interstate I40’s spatial pattern
Urban sprawl/development of Raleigh over time

5. Geographic Information (GI)
GI - static or dynamic?
Static: Does not change position
Locations, such as city/town, lake, park
Dynamic
Car with On-Star recording its position
Studying population change at a particular location over time
Motorola, Nokia,

6. What is GIS? Many definitions, depending on whom you ask
A computer-based system to aid in the collection, maintenance, storage, analysis, output, and distribution of spatial data and information

7. Components of a GIS Computer hardware Software Spatial data
Data management and analysis procedures
Spatial data
People needed to operate the GIS

8. Computer Hardware Computers Disk storage Digitizers and scanners
Printer and plotter output devices

9. Components of a GIS: software
ArcGIS from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
ERDAS Imagine from Earth Resources Data Analysis System

10. Components of a GIS: Spatial Data
Aerial photographs
Digital remote sensing
Surveying
Global Positioning System
Digitizing maps
Censuses

11. Data in GIS (vector model)
Pasture
So you have your Entities, your real world objects that you want to put into the GIS.
Entities are represented by Data Objects.
A data object is…
House
Road

12. Data in GIS (raster model)

15. Reasons for GIS applications?
GIS address environmental problems.
Identify the source, location, and extent of the adverse environmental impacts.
Many businesses need GIS
Where are the potential customers?
What is the spatial distribution of competing businesses?
Public organizations need GIS
Monitor urban growth and use GIS for rational planning
Emergency service vehicles are dispatched and routed using GIS

16. GIS Application Areas Government Business Education & Research
Census Bureau: population
Dept of Agriculture: soils data
Dept of Defense/CIA: monitoring
Dept of Transportation: roads data
Political redistricting
Business
Researching retail markets
Evaluating site suitability
Evaluating health care resources
Education & Research
Land use change research
Environmental monitoring
Seismological research
Population research