Geography 291: Geospatial Analysis with Desktop GIS

Chapter six:

Chapter six focused on collaborative mapping. One thing I noticed was that in exercise 6A, the chapter mentions an “empty row” below the LandUse row, but I found no empty row below the software( I found out later that someone had already made those changes and used the computer before me). The only thing I got stuck on was publishing the web layer since I didn’t sign into ArcGIS Online. This exercise was easy to get through, and I didn’t struggle as much as I did last week. 

In exercise 6B, I worked on adding the tree inventory web layer to my map. The work was all done on ArcGIS Online(the web browser). It was very laid back, and I didn’t have much trouble setting up everything. In exercise 6C, I learned how to work on the ArcGIS Collector app. I found that the app name had changed because it showed ArcGIS Field Maps instead of Collector.  However, those are the only problems I have had with this chapter. Chapter six felt very laid back and less chaotic compared to the last five. 

Chapter seven: 

Chapter seven focused on geo-enabling the project. Exercise 7a went pretty well, and I didn’t have to fuss around a lot. One thing I noticed is that there is no “Appearance” tab, as mentioned in the textbook. Symbology is a part of the Feature Layer tab. Exercise 7b, too, was quite easy to operate, except I couldn’t find the “locate” pane for the last step. Exercise 7c was great at first, but then I started struggling with finding the “Data Management” pane. I just used the merge tool from the edit tab to move forward with the project. 

Chapter eight: 

Chapter eight focused on analyzing spatial patterns. I’ve created a kernel density map using Python before, so I was very excited to get started with exercise 8a. The exercise was pretty easy, although it did mention the appearance tab, which I can’t find on the software anymore. Exercises 8b and 8c also turned out to be very chill and fun to explore.  

 

Chapter nine: 

It was easy to get through this chapter, I didn’t have any problems while working with it.

Chapter ten: 

The only problem I had in this chapter was that my map didn’t fully match the map shown in the textbook

I think overall, I’ve definitely gotten better at handling the software.

Here is a PDF with my work, comments, and issues for chapters 6-10.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 6,7,8,9,10

Chapter 6:

1. Problems:
   1. 6A #7: There was only one symbol (not separate ones for ingrowth, unknown, etc.) So, I could only do one type of symbology.
   2. 6A #9-13: I couldn’t make more than 1 type of tree because of the previous problem and there were no trees shown on the base map so I just used my one symbol and placed them randomly.
   3. 6B #15: There was no option to save to the Esripress folder like the book wanted me to. This didn’t end up affecting any later steps.
   4. 6C #1: The ArcGIS collector map is now called ArcGIS Fieldmaps.
   5. 6C #6: I couldn’t choose which type of tree again because of the first problem.
2. Terms/Comments:
   1. It was interesting to see how all of the ArcGIS platforms could collaborate with each other. I honestly didn’t expect this to work considering some of the data connection issues I had last week. 
   2. It was kind of frustrating that I couldn’t symbolize multiple types of trees. You would have to click on them and look at their popup box or pull up the attribute table to see what kind they were on my map. It made me realize how different colors and symbolizations could be useful though! 
   3. I also thought the fact you could create a web layer on one platform and public it to view and use it on different platforms was really useful too. I think it increases the means for collaboration between individuals on different platforms for projects. 
3. My maps:

   

Chapter 7:

1. Problems:
   1. 7B #14: I couldn’t find the locate pane anywhere. I don’t think it ended up affecting the final result. 
   2. 7C #7: There was no mile option so I just used US Survey Miles instead
2. Terms/Comments:
   1. Address locator: file that contains reference data and various geocoding rules and settings. 
   2. Having the street layer and reference data already set in the program makes it really easy to assign addresses. I feel like it would be very hard to find addresses without it because you would probably have to go search for each one individually.
   3. I could see the application of this chapter to be used to see which houses might be worth more money because of their proximity to certain locations and attributes like the accessibility ones shown at the end of the chapter. I think this could also be used by individuals to find houses that have certain criteria they desire. 
   4. Buffers: polygons that are created around a feature at specified distances (used around bike lanes and proposed bike lanes in this chapter – helped show the proximity to certain properties)
3. My maps:

Chapter 8:

1. Problems:
   1. 8A #10: There was no output location box. 
2. Terms/Comments:
   1. Temporal data: data that has the same time attribute
   2. Kernel density: calculates the density of features in an area
   3. Hot spot analysis: shows significant areas (symbolized by red for large clusters and blue for small)
   4. Space-time cube: help visualize how the data is distributed over an area. 
   5. Honestly, I thought everything was pretty straightforward until the space-time cube. I feel like the hot spot analysis showed the distribution over a geographical area and I didn’t really understand what the vertical portion represented. It also made the middle elements blocked and hard to see. 
   6. I also thought the controls were kind of hard for viewing the cube personally. I would always go to a weird angle or too close or too far. It was hard to get the position you wanted for the view.
   7. The animation portion of the chapter helped me understand the time portion of the 3D hotspot layer. I also thought the option to “step through” each month was useful for visualizing the change. 
3. My maps:

       

Chapter 9:

1. Problems:
   1. 9C #12: There was only a box for value and not a start and end value so I couldn’t fill out the table properly. I think I ended up just putting in start values and my map seemed to look the same as the book so I think it was okay.
2. Terms/Comments:
   1. I liked this chapter. I think the difference between before and after clipping and seeing the shadows was really useful for understanding how a visual can change the way you see a feature. 
   2. I also liked how red and green were used to visualize good places to plant. This showed how effective narrowing down your classes can be because when there were more colors before we changed them, it was harder to visualize these areas.
   3.  I also thought outlining the plots was useful in visualization too. I could see an application to farming in that maybe you mark off places with better soil or some other features to determine where to plant which crops.
   4. Hillshade: a layer that depicts shadows of an illumination source
   5. Azimuth: direction of the sun
   6. Altitude: the angle of the sun above the horizon
   7. Using the model builder also always helps me visualize how the steps I’m doing go together to make a complete outcome vs. when I am just going through them step by step in the book directions. 
3. My images:

       

Chapter 10:

1. Problems:
   1. 10A #7: The “Move Value Button” was actually called “Reorder” 
2. Terms/Comments:
   1. Chapter 10 felt a lot longer than the other chapters, but I think it was because there were a lot of new elements, especially when making the layout toward the end. 
   2. Symbol layer drawing: helps you override and change the default settings and order of the layers. 
   3. Label class: used to specify details of how labels are positioned and symbolized. 
   4. I kept getting confused between the Legend and Legend Item panes toward the end of the chapter. I felt like the book kept switching between the two without clarifying you have to get to them in different ways and they do different things.
   5. Scale bars: shows size and distances on a map
   6. Dynamic Text: can provide additional information about your map to viewers like Spatial References in this case.
3. My image:

Chapter 6: 

Exercise 6A: On page 206, when the book asked me to open the catalog pane, expand databases, click TreeInvenory.gdb and click domains, no domains showed up in the domains window. The book says I should have a Hazard and LandUse domain but I do not. I was not able to complete exercises 6B and 6C because I couldn’t complete 6A and there was not an option to upload a finished map to pick up where I finished. B and C use arc online and the arc collector mobile app with the published treeinventory map from 6A.

Chapter 7: 

Exercise 7A: This exercise went smoothly with no issues, I was able to open the data and generate the map without a problem. However, when I got to Exercise 7B: I wasn’t able to do the rematching step because when I typed in the addresses no unmatched addresses appeared. I wasn’t able to do exercise 7C because I couldn’t complete B and rematch the addresses. The image below is what my map looked like after completing chapter 7, without the rematching step being done. I wonder if we had let the GIS automatically rematch (pg. 247), instead of clicking no and trying to do it ourselves it would have been able to do this step.

Chapter 8: 

The exercises from chapter 8 went well. I was apprehensive about making the space time cube because it sounds so complex but the GIS cooperated and I was able to complete all the steps. I think the end results are really cool, specifically being able to visualize the robbery hotspots 3 dimensionally.

Chapter 9: I got through exercises 9A and B smoothly but couldn’t finish exercise 9C because the reclassify tool from the model builder portion of the exercise did not have the same table built into it as the table in the book (pg. 344). I didn’t have a start, end, and new table like you need for the exercise and therefore couldn’t complete the model builder.

Exercise 10: I completed 10A and B without issue until the very end of 10B where I had to change the county names to a brown color. I couldn’t get the symbology to appear on the map and look like the pictures from the book, even though I think I followed the instructions to a T. i got lost in all the formatting that we had to do at the very end of chapter 10. I couldn’t find all the panes and tools that they were asking for and also couldn’t get my maps to format the way they needed to. Also, when I uploaded the map on the left it appeared in the shape of a football and the best I could do was format it zoomed in like it is now. This was frustrating and definitely something that I could use some more experience with.

Big idea reflection: These chapters built on the work we did last week while also introducing new skills. I think I had an easier time working through the steps and was more comfortable with Arc Pro. I enjoyed feeling like I knew my way around, although I was still frustrated at times by not being able to find things or by the GIS not doing what I wanted it to. In terms of big ideas, I thought that the space time cubes from chapter 8 were really interesting and I can see how they can be used to illustrate patterns and create really beautiful interactive maps. I also appreciated the hillshades and extract by mask/mosaic-ing we did in Chapter 9 because these are things that I have done with Dr. Rowley. Using the book to show me the proper way to do this was excellent and I appreciate having a concrete place to look if I ever get stuff mosaic-ing or generating hillshades in future research.

Chapter 6 went smoothly at the start, but soon failed me when I transferred the data to ArcOnline. I started by setting up a domain for a tree inventory, specifically classifying trees by planted, ingrowth, unknown and dead. I completed all of the symbology and fields on ArcPro and shared it as a web layer. Once I opened up the new layer on the map viewer, none of the trees showed up on the map (as seen in the first picture). This was disappointing but I was reassured that this was a recurring problem with other students and decided to skip over the rest of the chapter, which helped with the efficiency of getting the other chapters completed. Chapter 7 was a tad easier to complete, and while there were a few roadblocks I managed to finish the chapter and produce a map somewhat like the one featured by the author. This chapter worked with preparing project data by joining a table and managing symbology, geocoding location data through address locator and rematching addresses, and using geoprocessing tools to analyze vector data. This included creating buffers, merging and dissolving features, clipping features, selecting by attribute and location and creating a spatial join. I thought it was beneficial that this chapter focused on correcting data. From personal experience, I’ve had many mess ups on my data and it’s very helpful to have guidance through these issues. After correcting data, I was able to produce a map of Houston showing zoning districts, bike lanes and potential retail sites. This exercise reminded me of a lab in remote sensing involving selecting a potential home for Dr. Rowley in Delaware. Chapter 8 also gave me problems, and I tried three times to make the data work but was unsuccessful. The purpose of this chapter is to create a kernel density map, perform hot spot analysis, explore the results in 3D and animate the data. I was able to narrow down robberies in January 2014 Philadelphia and use that to create a kernel density map and create a hotspot analysis but was unable to continue with a space time cube. My map (as shown below) had hot spots drawn to a bigger size which didn’t have enough data to produce the space time cube. I then went on to the next chapter. Chapter 9 was focused on mapping a winery with preparing data, deriving new surfaces and creating a weighted suitability model. I was also familiar with some of the exercise with refreshers from remote sensing, in particular creating a mosaic raster and deriving hillshade and slope. I had no big issues with this chapter and was able to zip by pretty quickly. I did have a final issue at the end with my model when I couldn’t find the model raster in my geodatabase. Luckily this was the final step and Krygier let me off the hook. Lastly, chapter 10 encompassed all of the steps of GEOG112. This chapter was concerned with applying detailed symbology, labeling features, creating a page layout and sharing the project. I found this chapter to be rewarding as it makes me happy to have a final copy of a map I created. I think this was pretty self explanatory and a good refresher of everything basic covered in the book. I didn’t have any issues with this chapter but I did think that the second map on the page (the one of Provo) should’ve had a legend to explain the points on the map. I’m happy to be done with this book but I think it will also be beneficial to retouch on some of the chapters I had issues with, as I’m always trying to improve my skills in GIS.

  

Chapter 6
Much like chapter 1, this chapter’s goal is to have the reader make the audience use different ArcGIS Online features. In this chapter, you create data that can be analyzed and used in ArcGIS Online.

Chapter 7
In chapter 7 you use multiple features to geocode data associated with a map. In this case, you match addresses to the correct businesses or create a zone within walking distance from a bike path to a company.

Chapter 8
In chapter 8 you create a density map that is used to make a 3D map of the data using cubes. This is then used to show how the frequency of crime happens at hotspots over a certain amount of time. The time used is 1 month period over a year.

Chapter 9
In chapter 9 you are analyzing the suitability of a vineyard at a location. In this example, you create an elevation map of a vineyard to find the slope of the location. This then allows you to see where certain areas are suitable but also allows you to analyze how much shade is found in the location over a certain amount of time.

Chapter 10
In chapter 10 you are mostly creating labels and boundaries for your map. This is helpful for the person making the map but also is better for future people that may look at the map in the future to understand the boundaries and the features better.

Chapter 6

• I could not do any of the chapter 6 work because of the issues I had with 6a. Here are the things I tried though:
  • I completed the steps of the entirety of 6a.
  • I first of all used the file I originally downloaded and while the Trees database showed up, nothing would show up, even when I changed the symbology, which led me to discover that there was nothing in the attribute table at all.
  • Then, Krygier suggested I download the file onto an external hard drive, so I did that, but the Trees database did not show up at all. 
  • I then was told that I needed to unzip the new file, which is why the database wasn’t showing up at all, so I unzipped the file.
  • Once I unzipped the file, I had the same trouble that I had at first where the database had no data in the attribute table, so I published and skipped the rest. 

Chapter 7

• 
• 
• 

Chapter 8

• 
• 
• 

Chapter 9

• 
• No part of the property is in complete shadow.
• Three or maybe four planting sites have relatively low slope topology.
• None of the planting sites are in shadow at 2:00 p.m.
• The planting site that is closest to El Camino Rd is the best site to plant a new vineyard.
• 
• 

Chapter 10

• 
• 
• I had a lot of trouble with 10c, particularly with the titles, but the rest worked fine, so here is what I was able to do.
• 

Getting to Know ArcGIS 

Chapter 1 

For some reason, a problem that I ran into during this exercise was that my color legend for school walking areas would disappear, even though it was a visible layer at that time. I turned the layer on and off again probably about 3 times before it stuck with my figure, and I was able to complete the exercise. 

Chapter 2 

Something I also struggled with, that I think others did too, was getting the World_Data.mxd into ArcGISPro. Once I did, the instructions were pretty easy to follow. This program was a little more familiar to be than ArcOnline, so I had an easier time following these steps 

 

Step 5 Answer: On which continents are PM concentration highest?

There is a high quantity of urban PM concentration in Africa, the Middle East, and the majority of Asia. 

 

Examine the contextual ribbon 

Question 2: If you close your contents pane, how do you restore it? – go to the View tab in the top ribbon, then click on “contents” in the Windows ribbon

 

How do you find a geoprocessing tool? All geoprocessing tools are located in the Analysis ribbon, and within the tools tab that you can scroll through and find the specific geoprocessing tool. 

 

Question 4: Which city has the largest population? Shanghai, China

 

Measuring Distances: The distance between Lima, Peru, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is approximately 2,328.61 miles. 

 

Question 1: What is the height of the tallest building in this layer? 

339.758

 

Chapter 3 

 

Extract Part of a Data Set: 

Question 5: What is the field name that indicates the state within which the county features are located? – STATE_NAME

How many residents of Wayne County are between the ages of 22 and 29 years old? – 10,575 people 

 

3b

Question 3: How many years of data are represented in the table? 

6 years – 2004 – 2010

3c

Question 3: What percentage of households has an income of less than $15,000 per year? 

9.3%

 

3d

When I tried to import the IL_food_deserts.lyrx, there seemed to be an error in the import and there was a red ! next fo the IL_food_desert in the contents bar, and the data was not showing up on top of the 2010 percentages. 

 

Chapter 4

4a

I was able to load the FireHydrant.shp file into the map, but when I tried to use the feature class to geodatabase tool, it would not load the WaterLines.shp, WaterPressureZones.shp, or Wells.shp. I had to use the Feature Class to Feature Class tool again for all of the shape files separately. 

Question 8: 

How many vertices does the selected line have? 4 vertices

 

4c – when i attempted to separate zone 2 using the select and split tool, the tool would not insert the line across the zone in order to split the zone. Therefore, I would not merge the zones with one another. Then of course, when it was time to draw the polygon around the figure, i could not do that because there was no area to select, because I was unable to separate the polygon

 

Chapter 5

5a: question 4: can you name the types of conflict events that are recorded in this dataset? 

Battle – no change of territory, strategic development, riots/protests, remote violence

Once I hit the section in 5a discussing ‘proceed through preconfigured tasks’, when i went to click on the task file, the file was empty, and there was no data. I could not select ‘create conflict maps’, and therefore, the rest of 5a was unachievable since this file was empty. 

5b: since I was unable to complete section 5a, I had to import both of the maps of South Sudan and  Rwanda into the file. However, when it was time for the model builder section, the same thing was happening to me as it was in the first section. The tool box was empty with no data, and therefore, the rest of the exercise could not be completed. Im not sure if this is a mis linkage between the data set and ArcGIS, because all of my data is in my own flash drive, and the maps are accessible and I can reach the shape files, but none of the tools in the catalog pane show any data in them. 

Chapter 1:

sign in and join an organization, explore a public map, configure the map symbology, configure map pop-up windows, save a map.

For the map that is the DC public schools, make sure that you open the map viewer and not the map viewer classic. For page 17, looking for the symbol pane go to the government shapes and scroll down until you see a purple school building. This a bit different than what the book asks but you get to the correct symbol. *I lied, its a different school icon with a darker background, the POI exists I just cant use my eyes sometimes.

Chapter 2

2A. Start a new arcGIS Pro project using an exported map and a new folder connection, Modify map layers by changing viability rearranging the order in which layers are drawn, navigate around the map and explore map features and attribute tables, use the select tool.

•  PM concentrations are highest in Africa. If you close your contents pane you restore it by searching contents in the search bar and re-opening it. Shanghai has the largest population.

2B. customize the appearance of the map using symbols and labels, use the measure tool to find the approximate distance between cities, examine and add a basemap, create a map package for sharing.

2C. Start a new project and add a layer of polygons that represent buildings in NYC, use the bookmark tool, convert a 2D map to a 3D map, and then extrude features based on the building height attribute to visualize building in a more realistic perspective.

• The tallest building is 339,758242

Chapter 3

3A. add data to a project, select features by attributes, export the selection to a new datasets

• STATE_NAME, 10575 residents.

3B. join data tables, apply informative symbols, import layer symbology, use the swipe function to compare layers, overlay additional data

• 7 years of data is represented in the table.
• I do not see a clear correlation between obesity and income rates, the data is a bit hard for me to interpret from this display of whether or not there is a clear connection. Further analysis would be needed for a real conclusion.

3C. add a new field, calc field values, display a new field, calc summary stats, examine info graphics

• 17.7% of the households in Illinois had an income of less than $15,000 per year.

3D.relate tables, spatially join data

• there are 4 food deserts in knox county

Chapter 4

4A. Convert shape-files to Geo-database feature classes, map x and y points, establish an attributes domain.

4B. configure snapping options, create a line feature, enter attribute data

• 4 vertices in the selected line

4C. split polygons, merge polygons, modify lines and points, add map notes

• object: 6, zone: 2, Shape length: 46451.125704, Shape area: 44732594.632114
• the shape value was split between the 2 new zones

Chapter 5

5A. set up a project, proceed through per-configured tasks, author a task

• Battle-no Change to territory, strategic development, riots/protests, Violence against civilians, remote violence
• 14211 fatalities between 2010 and 2018

5B. define the data, add operations to Model Builder, Fill out the tool perimeters, run the model, convert a model to a Geo-processing tool

• There were 71 fatalities against civilians in Rwanda from 2010-2018
• was told to skip the last part of this lab due to error in GIS program :/

5C. Define the data, execute a command using python, use a custom script tool, package the project

• computer doesn’t want to save the tables anymore and is continuing to error my process. will work off of a hard drive now 🙂

Chapter 1-

Chapter one was basically going over the basics of GIS. We went over basic map symbology and how to change and manipulate a features symbology to better fit the needs of our map. Chapter one, unlike the other chapters, had us work with ArcGIS online rather than ArcGIS Pro. I assume it’s to help us get familiar with basic functions and features that we end up using in the proceeding chapters. Some key terms that were covered we vectors, rasters, and attributes.

Chapter 2-

Chapter 2 went more in-depth into topics and terms that we’ve gone over in previous readings. Some of the main objectives we had were to go over more of the basics such as importing map documents, examining and exploring the contextual ribbon, and selecting features. That was primarily in 2a, however, in 2b we started to label features, and base-maps, as well as package and share the maps. Chapter 2c was especially new as it involved creating a 3D scene for the first time and getting familiar with its functions. I thought this chapter was especially fun because it was my first time working with ArcGIS Pro. I, unfortunately, forgot to take pictures of the work.

Chapter 3-

Chapter 3 was one of the more challenging chapters for me in terms of bugs and information that I needed not being included, so I had to skip a step or 2 during the exercises. 3a went into topics like adding additional data to a map, and selecting features by certain attributes. 3b was very intensive on using data tables, as well as using the swipe function. Using the swipe function with separate layers was probably one of the most vital skills I learned during this chapter. Instead of turning off and on different layers of the same area over a period of time I was able to use the swipe function and was able to see a more distinct difference between the different counties that we were analyzing in Illinois. It was easier to see the change and progress over time,

Chapter 4-

Chapter 4 was equally challenging because of technical bugs and whatnot. Chapter 4 was the smallest scale map we had worked with so far, making all of the exercises more precise. This chapter dealt more with specific positions and using x,y coordinates and attribute domains. Towards the end of the chapter in 4c was where I had the hardest time, but it was the most growth I had experienced throughout chapter 4; using and editing different polygons on maps was the most frustrating this I have done so far, but I did eventually get it down. There were also other steps we had previously done that were implemented into this chapter such as linear features that gave us a function we’ve already learned, but used it within a different context, which I thought was useful.

Chapter 5-

Chapter 5 was very beneficial and unlike chapters three and four, didn’t have any complications. We were given one map layer of conflict within Africa, and throughout the chapter learned to make one base-map layer into several different layers and isolating them into individual countries within Africa. The book had us go through definition queries that allowed us to isolate the layer into one area and one specific conflict, such as riots/protests or violence against civilians. There was also another emphasis on the symbology of a layer, more specifically on graduated symbols to show different concentrations of a specific feature. Towards the end of the chapter we had begun to create new layer files by using Python to script them, which honestly was difficult at first but I can see it becoming a very useful skill later on.