99
Working With Digital
Spatial Data and GIS
Geographic Information Systems, Modeling the Real World,
Vector Data and Raster Data, Attribute Data, Joining Tables,
Metadata, Esri, and ArcGIS
5
Once you’ve measured and collected your geospatial data, it’s time to do
something with it. The nature of spatial data lends itself to concepts like analyzing where one location lies in relation to another or the capabilities of one
location versus another. When a new library is to be built, it should be placed
at the optimal location to serve the greatest number of people without duplicating the usage of other libraries in the area. When a company is deciding
where to open a new retail store, they’ll need information about the location,
the surrounding areas, and populations and demographics of these areas to
make a decision. When a family is planning its vacation to Florida, it’ll want
to know the best routes to travel and where the hotels are located in relation
to the theme parks they’re planning to visit. All of these concepts involve the
nature of spatial data and being able to analyze or compare locations (and
the attributes of these locations). Geospatial technology is used to address
these ideas and solve these types of problems (and many, many more). Whenever examination, manipulation, or analysis of spatial data is involved (for
instance, if you need to tie non-spatial data to a location or if you want to use
this information to create a map of your analysis), Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) are essential to getting these tasks done.
GIS is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial data (the “geographic information” of the title). This ability to explicitly utilize spatial data is what
separates GIS from other information systems or methods of analysis. For
instance, a spreadsheet would allow you to tabulate housing values and the
amount of money paid for a house at a particular address. Even though you’re
Part 2 Geographic Information Systems
Geographic
Information System
(GIS) a computerbased set of hardware
and software used
to capture, analyze,
manipulate, and
visualize spatial
information.
Working With Digital
Spatial Data and GIS
Geographic Information Systems, Modeling the Real World,
Vector Data and Raster Data, Attribute Data, Joining Tables,
Metadata, Esri, and ArcGIS
5
Once you’ve measured and collected your geospatial data, it’s time to do
something with it. The nature of spatial data lends itself to concepts like analyzing where one location lies in relation to another or the capabilities of one
location versus another. When a new library is to be built, it should be placed
at the optimal location to serve the greatest number of people without duplicating the usage of other libraries in the area. When a company is deciding
where to open a new retail store, they’ll need information about the location,
the surrounding areas, and populations and demographics of these areas to
make a decision. When a family is planning its vacation to Florida, it’ll want
to know the best routes to travel and where the hotels are located in relation
to the theme parks they’re planning to visit. All of these concepts involve the
nature of spatial data and being able to analyze or compare locations (and
the attributes of these locations). Geospatial technology is used to address
these ideas and solve these types of problems (and many, many more). Whenever examination, manipulation, or analysis of spatial data is involved (for
instance, if you need to tie non-spatial data to a location or if you want to use
this information to create a map of your analysis), Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) are essential to getting these tasks done.
GIS is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial data (the “geographic information” of the title). This ability to explicitly utilize spatial data is what
separates GIS from other information systems or methods of analysis. For
instance, a spreadsheet would allow you to tabulate housing values and the
amount of money paid for a house at a particular address. Even though you’re
Part 2 Geographic Information Systems
Geographic
Information System
(GIS) a computerbased set of hardware
and software used
to capture, analyze,
manipulate, and
visualize spatial
information.