GE 362: Principles of Geographic Information Systems "GIS" Lecture 01: Concepts of GIS PDF

GE 362: Principles of Geographic Information Systems “GIS” Lecture 01: Concepts of GIS Eric Kwabena Forkuo (PhD), Department of Geomatic Eng, KNUST, 2024  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS What this lesson covers?: What is geographic information System? Purpose of GIS...

GE 362: Principles of Geographic Information Systems “GIS” Lecture 01: Concepts of GIS Eric Kwabena Forkuo (PhD), Department of Geomatic Eng, KNUST, 2024  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS What this lesson covers?: What is geographic information System? Purpose of GIS Functions (tasks) of a GIS Spatial Data and Geo-information Attribute Data Systems and Information Systems Why GIS is Important? Components of GIS Applications of GIS  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS AIM: To introduce the basic principles of GIS. After this lecture you should be able to: Explain what GIS is Describe the main components required to run a successful GIS Give examples of the applications of GIS Outline the characteristics of GIS Describe how the real world is represented in GIS Know where to find more information about GIS Give examples of some GIS applications  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS Introduction Every day you ask questions with a spatial component. Whether you are at work, studying or at leisure you probably ask spatial questions. Many of these questions you answer for yourself without reference to a map or a GIS, but both of these tools could help. GIS has particular value when you need to answer questions about location, patterns, trends and conditions Location: Where is the nearest bookshop Patterns. Where do high concentrations of students live in this city? What is the flow of traffic along this motorway? What is the distribution of crime incidents in Ghana? Trends. How are patterns of retailing changing in response to the development of out-of-town  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS Conditions. Where can I find holiday accommodation that is within 1 km of a shopping mall and accessible by public transport? – Where is there flat land within 500 m of a major highway? – Where are there over 100,000 potential customers within a 5 km radius of a railway station? Implications. If I move to a new home in this location, how far will I be from the office, gym or coffee shop? – If we build a new theme park here, what will be the effect on traffic flows? – What would be the time saving if we delivered our parcels using this route, rather than an alternative?  01: Definition and Concepts of GIS The generic questions that a GIS can help to answer can be summarized as: – Where are particular features found? – What geographical patterns exist? – Where have changes occurred over a given period? – Where do certain conditions apply? – What will the spatial implications be if an organization takes certain action?  GIS concepts are not new! GIS_INFO\History_GIS_2018.pptx London cholera epidemic 1854 This Dr John Snow story is about spatial analysis or, in other words, on how the location in which events take place can have help us understand better the nature of phenomenon. At the time of the breakout, cholera was not understood to be geographically related. However, as soon as location of deaths was introduced into the picture it was clear that this was a geographical problem. The most interesting point of this story is that there were no computers used for the analysis. But we still consider it to be a story about GIS. Why is that?  Towards a GIS definition Acronym: GIS- Geographic Information System There have been so many attempts to define GIS that it is difficult to select one definitive definition. Any definition of GIS will depend on who is giving it, and their background and viewpoint. Definitions of GIS are likely to change quickly as technology and applications develop further GIS concepts and technologies arise from a wide variety of fields, and GIS has become a generic term referring to all automated systems used primarily for the management of maps and geographic data.  Towards a GIS definition Alternative terms associated with GIS include: GIS has many alternative names used over the years with respect to the range of applications and emphasis – Automated mapping and facilities management (AM/FM): Used by public and private utility organizations to manage information on facilities (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electricity distribution); enables real-time inventory of facilities and production of maps for use in the Feld and for the creation of a map library. Land information system (LIS): Used by assessors and land management organizations for land ownership information on quantity, value, and ownership of land parcels.  Towards a GIS definition Geospatial (Spatial) Information System Geospatial (Spatial) Information System Geographic(al) Information System Environmental Information System Resources Information System Geographical Information Sciences (GIScience) Planning Information System Desktop Mapping Spatial data-handling system Soil information System, and so on  Towards a GIS definition GIS is: ► 1. “…a system of hardware, software, and procedures designed to support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling, and display of spatially referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems (Rhind 1989)”. ► 2. “…a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e., data identified according to their location (USGS, 1997)”. ► 3. “…a particular form of information system applied to geographical data (NCGIA, 2005)”. ► 4. “… is a system designed for the collection, storage, and analysis of objects and phenomena where geographic location is an important characteristic or critical to the analysis (Aronoff, 1987)”  Towards a GIS definition ► 5. “…a computer-based information system which attempts to capture, store, manipulate, analyze and display spatially referenced and associated attribute data for solving complex research, planning and management problems (Duggal, 2004)” ► 6. “…a computer-based system that provides the following sets of capabilities to handle georeferenced data: data and preparation; data management (storage and maintenance); data manipulation and analysis; and data presentation (Georgiadou et al, 2004)”. ► 7. “…. as a computerized system for capture, storage, retrieval, analysis and display of spatial data describing the land attributes and environmental features for a given geographic region, by using modem information technology (Thurgood, 1995).  Towards a GIS definition ► 8. “…a set of computer-based systems for managing geographic data and using those data to solve spatial problems” (Lo & Yeung, 2002) ► 9. “…a computer system that allows the analysis and display of data with a spatial component” (Phillips, 2002) ► 10. “… a system which uses a spatial database to provide answers to queries of a geographic nature “(Goodchild, 1991) ► 11. “….a computer assisted system for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data within a particular organization” (Clark, 2001) ► 12. “…a powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world” (Bourrough, 1996)  Towards a GIS definition ► 13. “…an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographical data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analysis, and display all forms of geographically referenced information” (ESRI) ► 14. “ …. a database system in which most of the data are spatially indexed and upon which a set of procedures operated in order to answer queries about spatial entities in the database (Smith et al., 1987).” ► 15. “ …an automated set of functions that provide professionals with advanced capabilities for storage, retrieval, manipulation and display of geographically located data (Ozemoy et al, 1981)” ► 16. “...a system for capturing, storing, checking, manipulating, analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth (Doe, 1987)  Towards a GIS definition ► 17. “ …. a system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. This is normally considered to involve a spatially referenced computer database and appropriate applications software” ( Chorley Report, 1987) ► 18“ …. is a digital system for the acquisition, management, analysis and visualization of spatial data for the purposes of planning, administering and monitoring the natural and socioeconomic Environment, (Konecny, 2003) ► 19“ …. is a decision support system involving the integration of spatially referenced data in a problem-solving environment” (Cowen,1988) ► 20.”..is an information technology, which stores, analyses, and displays both spatial and non-spatial data (Parker,1989)  Towards a GIS definition 1. Various definitions have been offered that reinforce the major dimensions of GIS. Several of these definitions are listed in Section. Elements of a GIS include the data and information technology (i.e., computers, software, and networks) to support it. 2. Spatial data include any data that have a geographic location. This “toolbox” definition focuses on the hardware and software components of a GIS. 3. In its totality, a GIS can be viewed as a data-management system that permits access to and manipulation of spatial data and visual portrayal of data and analysis results. 4. There are also the human and organizational aspects. For example, standards must be agreed upon to facilitate database integrity and sharing across the organization. 16  Towards a GIS definition 5. There are also the people with GIS expertise who understand and can carry out the procedures and build and maintain the GIS. 6. Finally, there is the organizational setting—the technical, political, and financial operating environments created by the interaction among stakeholders—in which the GIS is to function. 17  Towards a GIS definition ► This definition includes requirement of personnel trained in the technology who can o capture, store and update the data, and provide answers to the complex queries of the management by integrating information contained in various o layers, through maps, tables, and charts ► A GIS is an information system that is designed to work with data referenced by spatial or geographical coordinates ► A GIS is both a database system with a specific capabilities for spatially- referenced data as well as a set of operations for working with data  Towards a GIS definition ► GIS uses advanced analytical tools to explore at a scientific level the spatial relationships, patterns, and processes of cultural, biological, demographic, economic, geographic, and physical phenomena. ► Therefore GIS function includes o Capture or Create ꞉ Input of data o Store ꞉ Data organization and management o Edit o Data analysis o Query o Data visualization and o Output of information  Towards a GIS definition ► Data: collection of facts/figures ► Information: data in useful form ► knowledge: what you have ► Intelligence: what you use Data usually refers to: ► A collection of facts or figures that pertain to places, people, things, events, and concepts ► These facts and figures can generally be represented in the following basic forms: numerical values, alphanumeric characters, symbols, and signal ► When data are transformed- through the process such as restructuring, formatting, conversion, and modeling to a form that is meaningful to a user. It is referred to as “information” (Figure 1). 20  Towards a GIS definition Data management Structuring Formatting Data Information Conversion Modeling Figure 1: Data and Information l Information, therefore, is a processed or value-added data that have certain perceived values to a user or community of users l The transformation of data into useful information is the core function of information systems 21  Towards a GIS definition l Information, therefore, is a processed or value-added data that have certain perceived values to a user or community of users l The transformation of data into useful information is the core function of information systems ► Spatial Data l By spatial data we mean data that contains positional values l Geospatial data then means spatial data that is geo-referenced l Spatial data that is not geo-referenced can have positional data unrelated to the earth’s surface – Example 1: in molecular chemistry, the position of atoms are defined relative to each other – Example 2: in industrial design engineering parts of a car are defined relative to each other 22  Towards a GIS definition ► Attributes are non spatial data o Distinguished between “graphic” and “relate” attributes o Graphic attributes are those which describe the spatial object (symbol) used to represent a real terrain object. Such attributes may include color, line style, line weight, etc. o Relate attributes are those that describe the actual real-world object being represented in the database. Examples of such attributes are feature code, feature name, etc. 23  Towards a GIS definition ►Systems and Information Systems ►System can be used to describe physical entities such as the § solar system, watershed ecosystem, and the immune § system of the body ► Also be used to describe conceptual entities such as § democratic political system, free market economic system § and client/server computer system. ► A System is a group of connected entities and activities which interact for a common purpose § a car is a system in which all the components operate together to provide transportation 24  Towards a GIS definition ► An Information System is a set of processes, executed on raw data, to produce information which will be useful in decision- making § a chain of steps leads from observation and collection of data through analysis § an information system must have a full range of functions to achieve its purpose, including observation, measurement, description, explanation, forecasting, decision-making ► Information system allows the transformation of data into information via: structuring, formatting, conversion, Modeling ► A Geographic Information System uses geographically referenced data as well as non-spatial data and includes operations which support spatial analysis 25  Towards a GIS definition § In GIS, the common purpose is decision-making, for managing use of land, resources, transportation, retailing, oceans or any spatially distributed entities § The connection between the elements of the system is geography, e.g. location, proximity, spatial distribution ► In this context GIS can be seen as a system of hardware, software and procedures designed to support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling and display of spatially-referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems (NCGIA, 2000) 26  Summary Towards a GIS definition § Geographic Information System § Geographic § Survey measurement, street intersection, zip code, pipe etc § Information § flat file, relational database table, spread sheet, scanned image, digital photo CAD file § System §Records management, watershed, flow modeling, customer billing oResult in o improved communication o enhance decision making 27  Why is GIS Important GIS integrates spatial and other kinds of information within a single system - it offers a consistent framework for analyzing geographical data By putting maps and other kinds of spatial information into digital form, GIS allows us to manipulate and display geographical knowledge in new and exciting ways GIS makes connections between activities based on geographic proximity § looking at data geographically can often suggest new insights, explanations § e.g we can link toxic waste records with school locations through geographic proximity 28  What makes up a GIS …not just software! …not just for making maps! GIS is not only a tool for making maps, it is a system for data analysis!  What makes up a GIS o Hardware o Software o Procedure o People o Data oNetwork Source: http://www.ESRI.com  Components of GIS Computer Hardware Nasa, 2003 Burrough& McDonnell, 2000 31 Components of GIS Computer hardware, – GIS include units that are common to any computerized data base management system – The GIS has, in addition, several specialized hardware components, including: a digitizer or scanner, which is used to convert the geographical information from maps into digital form and send it to the computer a plotter, which prints out the maps and other graphic outputs of the system and a visual color graphics workstation on which spatial data editing and display can be performed by the user 32  Components of GIS Software 33  Components of GIS Sets of Software – The main GIS software components are designed to perform the following functions, where data implies both cartographic and/or attribute data: data input: digitizing or scanning the lines on the maps and entering the attribute information from a keyboard data base management data analysis and processing interaction with the user (map editing) data output and presentation (plotting) 34  Components of GIS The human resources and organization that make the system work – When describing a GIS one tends to think in terms of hardware and software as the entire system, which overlooks perhaps the most important component: the people needed to make the whole system function effectively. – in addition to having the right hardware and software to do the job, effective utilization of a GIS requires adequate staff training as well as planning, organization and supervision in order to maintain the quality of the data and the integrity of the final product 35  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  You can use a GIS to answer the question: What is where? o Location: What is at...?: Characteristics of attributes or features o Condition: Where is it? In geographic space o Trends: What has changed since...? o Patterns: What spatial patterns exist? o Modeling: What if…? Exploring data using GIS turns data into information into knowledge 37  Who uses GIS? International organizations – 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 Academic and Research Institutions  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...  What can you do with a GIS? – Business Site Location, Delivery Systems, Marketing – Government Local, State, Federal, Military – Economic Development Population Studies, Incomes, Census and – Demographic Studies – Emergency Services Fire & Police – Environmental Monitoring & Modeling – Industry Transportation, Communication, Mining, Pipelines, Healthcare – Public Health Epidemiology Studies – Urban Planning Land Use, Historic studies, Environmental and – Conservation Studies, Housing Studies, – Crime Analysis – Politics Elections and Reappointment – Education Research, Teaching Tool, Administration Wherever Spatial Data Analysis is Needed 40  What can you do with a GIS? 1.7 Major Areas of Practical Application Street network-based – address matching - finding locations given street addresses, vehicle routing and scheduling – location analysis, site selection – development of evacuation plans Natural resource-based – management of wild and scenic rivers, recreation resources, floodplains, wetlands, agricultural – lands, aquifers, forests, wildlife – Environmental impact analysis (EIA), viewshed analysis, hazardous or toxic facility siting – groundwater modeling and contamination tracking – wildlife habitat analysis, migration routes planning 41  GIS Applications Land parcel-based – zoning, subdivision plan review – land acquisition – water quality management – maintenance of ownership Facilities management – locating underground pipes, cables – balancing loads in electrical networks – planning facility maintenance – tracking energy use – GIS APPLICATION-EXAMPLE.pptx 42 Further reading: Heywood, I., Cornelius, S. and S. Carver, 2006 (3rd Edition), An Introduction to Geographical Information Systems (Prentice-Hall). Longley, PA, et. al, 2005 (2nd Edition), Geographic Information Systems and Science (Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd). General GIS Resources: http://www.agi.org.uk - Association for Geographic Information http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/longley/ - Companion website to Geographical Information Systems and Science textbook http://www.gis.com http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/tf/13658816.html - The International Journal of Geographical Information Science http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/gissc/ - The NCGIA core curriculum in GIScience http://www.rgs.org - The RGS-IBG Geographical Information Science Research Group http://www.ucgis.org - University Consortium for Geographic Information Science  GIS Resources Software ESRI – http://training.campus.com Google Earth - http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/tutorials/index.html Digital Worlds - http://www.digitalworlds.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/education/mappingnews/previoused itions/33/p38-39.pdf Data Ordnance Survey (maps) - http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk Office of National Statistics (socio-economic variables) – http://www.statistics.gov.uk English Nature (landcover datasets) - http://www.english- nature.org.uk/pubs/gis/GIS_Register.asp British Geological Survey (small scale bedrock and deposit maps) - http://www.bgs.ac.uk/products/digitalmaps/data_625k.html Earth Science Data Interface (satellite data) - http://glcfapp.umiacs.umd.edu:8080/esdi/index.jsp (satellite data can be very demanding to set up) Streetmap (useful postcode information) – http://www.streetmap.co.uk  Assignment 1 Outline the differences between the following terms Geographic(al) Information System, GIScience Geomatics Geoinformatics Geoinformation Technology and Geospatial Technology