Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - with a focus on localizing the MDGs Carmelle J. Terborgh, Ph.D. ESRI www.esri.com
Flying Blind Jul 24th 2003 The Economist
We Live in Two Worlds Natural World Constructed World Self-Regulating Managed... These Are Increasingly In Conflict
Context and Content Seeing the Whole Managing Places Patterns Linkages Trends Watersheds Communities Neighborhoods Districts
Abstracting the Real World
What is GIS? A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based system including software, hardware, people, and geographic information A GIS can: t dit l d di l create, edit, query, analyze, and display map information on the computer
Geographic Information System Geographic 80% of government data collected is associated with some location in space Information - attributes, or the characteristics (data), can be used to symbolize and provide further insight into a given location System a seamless operation linking the information i to the geography which h requires hardware, networks, software, data, and operational procedures not just software! not just software! not just for making maps!
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 s World Resources Institute, ICMA, etc. Academic and Research Institutions Smithsonian Institution, CIESIN, etc.
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...
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
Geography and Databases A GIS stores information about the world as a collection of thematic layers that can be linked together by geography Polygon 3 Scrub 17 Very high Clay
GIS provides Data Integration Roads Land Parcels Population Utilities Land Mines Hospitals Refugee Camps Wells Sanitation Networks Topology Images 27 Main St. 3D Objects Addresses Vectors Surveys CAD Drawings Terrain 107 Dimensions ABC Annotation Attributes
Two fundamental types of data Vector A series of x,y coordinates For discrete data represented as points, lines, polygons Raster Grid and cells For continuous data such as elevation, slope, surfaces A Desktop GIS should be able to handle both types of fdata effectively!
Data Representation ti Raster Vector Real World
Other features of a GIS Produce good cartographic products (translation = maps) Generate and maintain metadata Use and share geoprocessing models Managing data in a geodatabase g g g using data models for each sector
Hint having GIS software does not a cartographer make! Good to know something about these issues when creating a map and doing spatial analysis Scale/Resolution Projection Basic cartographic principles regarding design, generalization, etc.
GIS is (rapidly) evolving Projects Systems Networks Societal Integrated Coordinated Cooperative Collaborative
GIS as part of your decision making gp process Problem Statement????? * Geospatial Formulate the question Mitigate and change Observe, acquire data Seek solutions Analyze data Ground- Socio- Based Economic data Other data Ancillary data * Added Diagram courtesy of Michael Goodchild, UCSB
Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Definition iti - the technology, policies, i standards, human resources, and related activities necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use, maintain, and preserve spatial data Part of many nation s e-gov strategy www.gsdi.org
Citizens Inventory Geographic Knowledge The World Decision Support
World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 Promote t the development and wider use of earth observation technologies, including satellite remote sensing, global l mapping and geographic information systems, to collect quality data on environmental impacts, land use and land use changes.
Poverty Indicators
Monitoring fair trade - local banana farmers
GIS for planning underdeveloped areas A Tale of Two Cities The formal and the informal Both deserve GIS complexity is not an accuse! Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez
GIS for planning underdeveloped areas Urban poverty measured in terms of quantity and quality of public space. The lack of public open space. Barrios have a percentage of public space between 5% and 10%. In the average city total space constitute over 30% of the total space. The absence of adequate infrastructure, Urban furniture and maintenance which combined produces unhealthy and insecure conditions. Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez
GIS for planning underdeveloped areas DEALING WITH A COMPLEX MORPHOLOGY REQUIERES: Understanding the existing physical order Identifying ing the social order conformed by community ties and with no physical evidence Transformation capacity is determined through a p y g detailed review of the built form Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez
GIS for planning underdeveloped areas Analysis of the social network and community ties Sustainability is preserving the small social groups Source: Rosario Giusti de Perez The social network is topology related.
Achieving the MDGs requires all of us working together!
Thank You! cterborgh@esri.com