Geography 291: Geospatial Analysis with Desktop GIS

This week I finally got all of the kinks out of my program and finally was able to do real work again (thank you for your help again haha). 

 

Chapter 9 focuses on spatial analysis techniques. The first tutorial covers buffer analysis, teaching me how to create simple and multiple-ring buffers to analyze proximity and influence zones around geographic features. Next, the chapter delves into service area analysis using the Network Analyst extension, where I learned to calculate accessible areas from a specific location based on time or distance, like determining the coverage of a service center or retail store. Another tutorial introduces gravity model calibration, where multiple-ring buffers are used to analyze how factors like population density or store location impact spatial interactions between locations. The chapter also includes a cluster analysis tutorial, which taught me about identifying spatial patterns and concentrations in data, such as crime hot spots or the distribution of resources. I overall learned essential spatial analysis skills, enabling them to apply these techniques to real-world problems in urban planning, environmental science, and other fields.

Chapter 10 focuses on analyzing and working with raster data. The first tutorial introduces map algebra, which is used to perform mathematical operations on raster data to analyze spatial patterns, such as calculating slopes, elevations, or vegetation indices. Next, the chapter covers reclassifying raster data, where I learned how to change the values of a raster layer based on specific criteria, such as reclassifying land cover types or soil classifications to simplify analysis. Another tutorial explores focal statistics and neighborhood analysis, teaching how to perform operations that analyze the values of cells in a raster based on the values of their neighboring cells. I found it cool that this application is useful in environmental studies like habitat suitability or pollution analysis. The chapter also includes tutorials on raster overlays, which demonstrate how to combine multiple raster layers to identify areas that meet certain conditions, such as finding regions that are both prone to flooding and have high population densities. Overall I feel more confident with raster data handling and analysis.

Chapter 11 focuses on working with vector data and performing advanced vector analysis. The chapter begins with a tutorial on overlay analysis. I was taught how to combine multiple vector layers to identify areas where features from different datasets intersect, such as determining regions with both high population density and environmentally sensitive areas. The next tutorial covers proximity analysis, where I figured out how to use tools like buffers and proximity analysis to identify features within a certain distance of each other. The chapter also explores intersecting and union operations, demonstrating how to combine different vector layers to create new layers that represent areas where features overlap or merge, essential for tasks like land use planning or conservation efforts. Additionally, I was introduced to spatial joins, a technique that enables the combination of attribute data from different layers based on their spatial relationship, like joining census data with geographic boundaries. Which I found particularly cool. Finally, the chapter covers density analysis. I was able to identify clusters or concentrations of features like the distribution of crime or disease outbreaks in certain urban areas using animation which I really liked!

Chapter 9: 

Chapter 9 focused on using buffers for proximity analysis once again in the city of Pittsburgh. This was interesting to me because I’m from Pittsburgh and it was cool to see proximity placed where I’m from.

Chapter 10:

Chapter 10 used Raster more than I had seen prior. I only ran into an issue when I accidentally deleted my raster set and had to go back and restart chapter 10 combined old techniques with new it was quite interesting. 

Chapter 11:

Chapter 11 involved 3-D GIS this was the most difficult chapter but most rewarding I mean take away from this class has been that GIS can be used for drastically more than what I ever anticipate

Chapter 9: Applying advanced GIS technologies

Chapter 9 focused on using buffers for proximity analysis and explained how to create different types of buffers.  I found this chapter easy to follow and didn’t run into any issues.  This chapter also looked into creating scatter plots and performing cluster analysis.  The only issue I was having was with my computer as the computer kept freezing.

Chapter 10: Raster GIS

Chapter 10 focused more on Raster rather than what we have seen so far with Vector.  This chapter goes over how to create a model along with  explaining raster datasets.  I found creating the model to be very interesting  and I also didn’t run into any problems with this chapter besides my computer just freezing again.

Chapter 11: 3D GIS

Chapter 11 was the final chapter and I found it to be the most fun and interesting one as it focused on the visual aspects and how to navigate scenes.  This chapter also looked into how to add trees onto maps and 3D buildings.  The only issue I ran into for this chapter was the last section of the part 6 of these tutorials for chapter 11 where I was unable to add the international building rule which was disappointing because I was excited to see what it would look like.  I also found the animation in part 7 of these tutorials for chapter 11 to also be very fun and interesting to go through.

Chapter 9

The first tutorial involved using buffers for proximity analysis. I was able to get more familiar with the pairwise tool and use previous knowledge to fly through this. Tutorial 9-2 was similar but this time we used spatial overlay to get statistics by buffer area.

I liked tutorial 9-3, I thought it was fun and different than other things we have done. I did have to really use my knowledge for some parts where they did not explain things as well as the past. Towards the end of the chapter, I was unable to calculate the Userate, as I tried to fix it I continued to get the same error code. This meant I was also unable to make a scatterplot. I tried your turn in Tutorial 9-5 It challenged me and I’m unsure If I got the right answers. 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 10

First tutorial started by inputting raster dataset into my project. I tried to do the Your Turn but got confused when I could not find the “Select Coordinate System” button. When trying to Symbolize my raster data set I could not figure out how to import from layer file. There was no button anywhere that said “options”. I had to symbolize the best I could by trying to match the colors myself.  I just had to continue on and in 10-3 I worked on building a risk index model. This tutorial had some new techniques as well as old ones and I was able to get through pretty quickly.

CHAPTER 11

In the first tutorial it taught me how to navigate a 3d scene with a mouse and keyboard which was very helpful. For your turn portion I was able to find my house and mess around with different basemaps. Tutorial 5 taught how to work with 3d features and add floors to existing buildings. I also found it fun when editing the height of the tower in the courthouse. Tutorial 11-6 incorporated many skills I already understood but I was able to learn how to create floors to the US Steel building.  As well as how to symbolize it to be more realistic and adhere to international building rules. The last tutorial was a great one to end on. It was interesting to learn you can make animations through the ArcGis Program. I wish I could have attached the animation, but I believe the file is too large to add into a post. Overall, I learned that this program is more than what I originally believed, going beyond my expectations.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9:

In Tutorial 9-1, I had some trouble with the tables. I only got the number of youths within 0.5 miles of a public pool. I did not get the other numbers. Tutorial 9-2: I couldn’t find output fields or the merge rule. I was completely confused for tutorial 3, but I breezed through 4.

Chapter 10:

While doing tutorial 2, the Threshold would not show up, I did everything it said to do. In 10-3, I couldn’t calculate the field for ZFHHCHLD. I kept getting an error.

Chapter 11:

I really liked chapter 11, specifically tutorial 1. being able to really see all the aspects in a different view rather than one map view was nice.

Chapter 9
This chapter introduced buffers, a tool in GIS used to analyze proximity by creating zones around specific features. Buffers are especially useful for urban planning and business decisions. The chapter expanded on this by covering multiple-ring buffers, which allow for a layered approach to proximity analysis. Another key topic was service areas, which measure distances based on road networks rather than straight-line distances, making them more practical for real-world applications like emergency response planning. Finally, the chapter covered clustering techniques such as K-means, which help group similar data points, and scatterplots, which visually represent spatial data relationships.

Chapter 10
Unlike previous chapters focused on vector data, this chapter introduced raster datasets, which represent spatial data through pixel values. Raster data can depict features like elevation, land use, and temperature. The chapter included hands-on practice with hillshade maps, which create a 3D effect for visualizing terrain. It also covered the Kernel Density tool, which helps estimate distribution patterns, such as population density or crime hotspots. A major section introduced ModelBuilder, a tool for automating GIS processes. While some students found it tricky, it proved valuable for streamlining data analysis and visualization tasks.

Chapter 11
This chapter explored 3D GIS applications, including terrain modeling and visualization. It introduced triangulated irregular networks (TINs), a method for representing elevation, and lidar data, which uses laser scanning to create highly detailed 3D maps. One highlight was working with 3D buildings and trees, allowing users to customize height, texture, and other attributes. The chapter also introduced animation tools, enabling users to create dynamic visualizations of geographic data. While some found the navigation controls difficult, the chapter provided an exciting look into the potential of 3D GIS for urban planning and environmental modeling.

Chapter 9

This chapter was quick and easy to follow. It focused on buffers, which help analyze proximity and find what’s near a location. I can see how they’d be useful for businesses and city planning by helping with location-based decisions. Another part of the chapter introduced scatterplots and the Multivariate Clustering tool to analyze data. I can see how these tools could be very useful to analyze data.

Chapter 10

This chapter covered rasters and was pretty short and simple. It was my first time working with raster datasets, and I learned how to import them, create hillshade maps, and generate elevation contours. It also showed how there are multiple ways to display the same data, depending on what you want to highlight. The second tutorial introduced the Kernel Density tool to create a density map. The last section focused on ModelBuilder, which was a bit tricky but well explained.

 

Chapter 11

This was a short but interesting chapter introducing 3D modeling. The first tutorial covered navigating 3D scenes, and then we learned about triangulated irregular networks (TINs). One of my favorite parts was creating 3D trees with z-enabled features. There were a ton of options for symbolizing different tree types, which I didn’t realize ArcGIS had. Later, I worked with LAS Datasets, which I found confusing but still managed to complete. The last tutorials focused on 3D buildings. I struggled with getting the correct Z height, but got the idea. The final tutorial let me create an animation.

Chapter 9

Starting with Chapter 9, this chapter emphasized the visual aspect of GIS to analyze spatial data. The first section started off well. I made the buffer zones representing the distance between public pools and local youth. Once I reached the second section in multiple-ring buffers, I began encountering some problems with the Spatial Join tool. When I would expand the “fields” section under the tool, the option to select an output field or merge tool were absent. I then encountered the same issue in the third tutorial that hindered my ability to fully complete the section. I also struggled with inputting the information for the gravity table. Moving to the fourth section, the fresh task was to use a tool to locate facilities. This section went well compared to the preceding two. As a pretty drastic shift from the work with public pool proximity was the cluster analysis of crime in the fifth and final tutorial. Thankfully, working with the GIS was smooth sailing and far less serious than the scatter of the serious crimes. 

Chapter 10

Next, was using Raster in Chapter 10. As per usual, I had a lot of weird troubles that I struggled to pinpoint the cause of. The first section started out alright, but then it took a turn for the worst. When I imported the raster dataset to become a file geodatabase, the program ran, but nothing was added to the contents pan. I could not figure out what the problem was because nothing popped up concerning anything incorrect on my information, but nothing changed or was added anywhere once it ran. Then, I had a bit of confusion about the Hillside Shade tool because there are three. However, I could not complete the section anyways because there was no NED_Pittsburgh that I could find in anything. Then, I could not change the symbology because I fumbled about every other preceding step. Continuing to the second tutorial of the chapter, the goal was to make a heat map. Thankfully, I could do this correctly, inputting all of the information correctly, selecting colors, and creating thresholds. For the final section of the chapter, the aim was to create a risk index model. As my pattern follows, things began orderly and grew unruly as I pushed forth through the tutorial. I struggled a bit with writing expressions properly, but I fixed everything to make it all work as intended. 

Chapter 11

Finally, in Chapter 11, I fully realized the extent of my disdain for GIS on the desktop- or possibly just the school’s Wi-Fi. Using the 3D maps, I tried navigating past the command of pressing random buttons that correspond to movements. The navigation was abominable. Some of the keys would not move the map while others would have a five second delay before the map would move in the right direction. The additional capabilities that are expected from an ostensibly powerful system fall short of the expectations set and boasted in the book. The computer also froze for about ten minutes adding to my defeat. My qualms aside, the first two sections went swimmingly. I enjoyed the visual representation of trees on the map. Overall, everything for this section, though tedious, went about as expected. Drawing a bridge was a unique experience compared to what I did last semester in WebGIS, but my navigation quarrels still stand.

Chapter 9 went into “Spatial Analysis”. We started with buffers, which are basically zones around features. You set a distance (like, say, a half-mile radius around all the schools), and ArcGIS draws a polygon. It’s useful for seeing what’s “nearby.” I played around with creating buffers around pools in Pittsburgh, which was a case study that was built on throughout the chapter, to see how many kids lived within a reasonable distance. Then we got into multiple-ring buffers, which are like bullseyes – multiple buffers at different distances, all around the same feature. This allows you to see, for instance, not just who’s within a mile, but who’s within a half-mile, a quarter-mile, and so on. You can get pretty granular with it. The part that got my head spinning a bit was service areas. These are like buffers, but instead of straight-line distance, they measure distance along a network, like roads. This makes way more sense for real-world situations! If you want to know how long it really takes to get somewhere, you need to consider streets, not just draw a circle on a map. I found myself getting a little lost during the section on setting the parameters. The last thing the chapter covered was cluster analysis, which is finding patterns in data points. The example was looking at crime data and trying to find clusters of, say, crimes committed by a certain age group, or a certain type of crime.

Chapter 10 was a shift from the previous ones because it focused on raster data, not vector data. Each pixel has a value, and that value can represent all sorts of things – elevation, land use, temperature, you name it. We started by exploring some existing raster datasets, like elevation data for Pittsburgh. The “hillshade” tool was particularly cool; it’s like shining a virtual light on the elevation data to create a 3D effect to help visualize the terrain. Next, we looked at kernel density maps. It was interesting to see how we could estimate and visualize that distribution using the kernel density tool. A big part of the chapter was about building a model. This was a new concept for me. Basically, you’re creating a set of instructions for ArcGIS to follow, step-by-step. The example was building a “poverty index” by combining different raster layers, like population density and income levels. I got a little confused with the “in-line variable substitution” part, where you use variables to represent values in your model.  The chapter wrapped up with running the model and seeing the results, which was pretty satisfying!

Chapter 11 was visually the most exciting! It’s all about working with data in three dimensions, which opens up a whole new way of looking at things. We started by exploring a global scene of Pittsburgh, which uses the earth’s curvature. I learned how to navigate around (pan, zoom, tilt) using the mouse and keyboard shortcuts. Then we switched to a local scene, which is better for smaller areas where the earth’s curvature isn’t as important. We created a TIN surface, which is a way of representing terrain using triangles. It’s like connecting a bunch of points with lines to create a 3D model of the ground. The book reads that you can use it to create the surface on which features like buildings will be rendered. The coolest part was working with lidar data. Lidar is like radar, but with lasers, and it creates incredibly detailed 3D point clouds. We used it to visualize buildings and even to estimate the height of a bridge, measuring the distance between the top and bottom of the bridge’s span. We also looked at procedural rules to make 3D buildings automatically. You can set parameters like building height and roof type, and the software generates the building for you. This seems like it would be incredibly useful for creating large-scale city models. I did run into an issue where I was using the incorrect view, but I think I got that sorted out. At the end, I made an animation, which was a fun way to end the chapter. It’s like creating a fly-through of your 3D scene. I’m still a bit confused about all the different options for exporting the animation, but I managed to create a basic movie.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 went pretty smooth all things considered. The first issue I ran into was during Tutorial 9-2. When attempting to use the Spatial Join tool, The book instructs us to expand the field tab within the tool. Under this tab it says to set Output Fields to AGE_5_17. There is nowhere to set an Output Field under this tab, it is simply a list of the fields. Furthermore, there was nowhere to carry out the next instruction to set Merge Rule to Sum. I spent a lot of time attempting to troubleshoot this tool, however this was in vain. As it was the final portion of Tutorial 9-2, I saved my project and proceeded to the next tutorial. Overall this was the only major issue I found in Chapter 9.

 

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 opened with me not being able to understand what was going wrong. The textbook instructs you to utilize the Raster To Other Format Tool, which is what I chose. After inputting the data that the book specifies, it instructs you to delete LandUse_Pgh.tif and add LandUse_Pgh from the Chapter10 Database. However, After using the Raster To Other Format Tool, the data was not added to the database. I ran the tool a few more times to no avail. After this I restarted the program, and all three of the files magically appeared in the database. While this specific instance in Tutorial 10-1 ended up working, overall I had a lot of difficulties throughout this chapter. Certain files were missing, others wouldn’t show up in the software, etc. I did my best to complete as much as I could.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 starts off very simple. Viewing the different dimensions of the 3D map was a nice introduction. I thoroughly enjoyed Tutorial 11-3. Creating 3D-Trees on the map is something minute that adds a lot of depth and character to the map. Along with creating the trees, I also had an enjoyable time learning how to create different floors of a building in Tutorial 11-5. My favorite part of this chapter however, was creating and exporting the animation in Tutorial 11-7. I assumed that this capability would be somewhat self-explanatory (which it was), however there were certain things I was required to do that I know I would not have been able to without the instruction of the textbook. Outside of user errors like inputting data to the wrong part of the table, selecting the wrong polygon, etc, I had a really smooth time going through this chapter.