GIS Geographical Information Systems

What is GI Geographical Information Any information that has a spatial element is Geographical. That is any information that can be located on a map.

Using GI to solve problems – Cholera Epidemic

Original map by Dr. John Snow showing the clusters of cholera cases in the London epidemic of 1854clusters

1854 London – Cholera (after Dr. John Snow)

Source: ESRI

“…a digital map, data located on the map, and a software application (GIS) that links the two together” Diana Freeman (2004) Slide from: Alan Parkinson

GIS-what makes it so successful? Tool for gathering, organizing, analyzing spatial data to produce geographic information With GIS we can describe an object in two interrelated ways: Attributive information: What it is? Kind: Oak Height: 15m Age: 75 Information about its location: Where? 51°N, 112°W

GIS database Spatial (location) data and attributive (describing) data are stored into the GIS relational database Kind : Oak Height: 15 m Age: 75 Attr. data 51°N, 112°W Spatial data

Where is GIS?

Coastal & Marine Protection Agriculture Defence Search & Rescue Port & Airport Management Land Registry Telecommunications Aviation Retail Education Parks & Recreation Health Museum Economic Development Government Utilities Security Banking Insurance Waste Collection Landscape Planning Asset Management Street Lighting Facility Management Tourism Public Safety Engineering Nature Conservation Logistics Town Planning Highways National Mapping Surveying Forestry Mining Petroleum

GIS is based on layers of Information Properties Census Data Health Statistics Utility Networks Policy Holders Land Ownership Flood Risk Rivers/Canals Locations CCTV Coverage Building Plans Assets Road Network Woodland Geology/Soils Terrain

Display features on a map Identify features within a target area Trigger activities based on location Show which features are related Perform comparative time-based analytics Create thematic maps Show clusters and hotspots Change the attributes of a feature Change location of a feature Perform proximity analysis Analyse where to reallocate resources View locations over a satellite image Answer what-if scenarios Find a route from A to B across a network Find a route from A to B considering impedances Value of GIS - Spatial Analysis