everything that happens, happens somewhere in space and time
knowing where can be critical to:
getting from A to B
responding to emergencies
keeping track of assets
planning new activities
administering zoning regulations
forecasting the weather
managing natural resources
all of these are major applications of GIS
GIS is about managing knowledge of location
keeping track
making maps
assembling inventories
planning activities
every item of information in a GIS ties a location at or near the Earth's surface to some property, characteristic, attribute, feature, etc.
a simple test of a GIS
does it involve recording the locations of things?
GIS uses the power of the computer and geographic information to:
acquire, assemble, interpret, compile
store, archive, share
measure, analyze, summarize, manipulate
predict, model, forecast
edit, validate
2. The example of 9/11
the World Trade Center attacks
NYC's emergency management office in one of the towers
backups in a nearby building also eliminated
Hunter College NYC digital basemap
GIS experts, hardware, software assembled on Pier 92
producing hundreds of maps, analyses, tables
updated daily
imagery supplied by numerous vendors
lessons learned?
geographic data and products essential
must be up and running quickly
paper products most useful, NYFD not high-tech
Katrina - what changed?
public access to data via Internet
Google Earth image of flooded area
vast area
need for maps to organize search and rescue
3. Important terms
geographic data, information
links places to properties
attribute
technical GIS term for a property
a location can have many many attributes
location
a precise specification of a point on the Earth's surface
geospatial
referring to geographic space
the domain of the Earth's surface
500,000,000 sq km
2/3 water
above the surface to the top of the atmosphere
below the surface to include the groundwater zone, caves, mines
spatial resolution limits
how much detail?
10km upper limit
10cm lower limit?
spatial
referring to any space
but in GIS to geographic space
spatially aware professional (SAP)
someone who knows enough about GIS to function effectively
you at the end of this course
geographic information science
the set of scientific questions and problems surrounding, arising from GIS
the use of GIS in a scientific context
what researchers in GIS do (what I do)
the inventions that will appear in the next generation of GIS
the accumulated body of knowledge on which GIS is based
cartography
computer science
photogrammetry
surveying
remote sensing
spatial cognition
journals
International Journal of Geographical Information Science
Transactions in Geographic Information Science
Cartography and Geographic Information Science
conference series
organizations
4. The context of GIS
a practical tool for day-to-day human activities
the general public
consultants, agencies, organizations, corporations
a tool for science
anthropology, geography, criminology, ecology, geology, ...
any discipline that deals with the Earth's surface and near-surface
religious studies, education, history, ...
idiographic geography
special geography
the study of the unique properties of places
the GIS database
nomothetic geography
general geography
the study of principles that apply everywhere on the Earth's surface
the algorithms, processes, models, procedures of GIS software
inductive geography
looking for patterns, anomalies, outliers on the Earth's surface
coming up with hypotheses, theories, principles, explanations for pattern
deductive geography
applying theories, principles, testing hypotheses on data
positive geography
concerned with discovering how the world works
normative geography
concerned with improving the world, design, planning
5. The social critique of GIS
who does it empower?
the powerful had it first
it used to be expensive
it allows only one view of the world
how to allow multiple views in GIS?
public-participation GIS
favors a vertical (God's eye) view
military and intelligence applications
lots of funding
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
National Security Administration (NSA)
Central Intelligence Agency
spy satellites, UAVs, targeting with geographic data
surveillance
tracking with GPS
license-plate, facial recognition
a simplified, biased view of the world?
are there types of geographic knowledge that cannot be represented in a GIS?
