Category: Uncategorized

Chapter 3

• ArcGIS Experience Builder is designed for users who need more functionality than any single configurable app can provide. It allows creators to combine, customize, and remix multiple tools through an extensive library of widgets—such as maps, tables, filters, queries, charts, and reports—without any programming. As a more flexible successor to ArcGIS Web App Builder, Experience Builder introduces adaptable layouts, mobile-first design, integrated 2D/3D views, triggers, actions, and enhanced customization options.
• The platform enables users to create “web experiences,” which are web apps built from templates, themes, data sources, and widgets. Users can begin with mobile-adaptive templates or design layouts from scratch. Themes control appearance, while widgets—categorized as basic (functional) or layout (organizational)—control tools and structure. Each widget has configurable content, style, and actions. Actions allow widgets to interact; for example, one map can respond automatically when another map’s extent changes. Dynamic content features allow widgets like text, images, and lists to display live data or statistics pulled directly from connected datasets.
• Experience Builder supports a multi-step workflow: selecting a template, choosing a theme, adding 2D/3D maps or feature layers, configuring widgets, adjusting layouts for different screen sizes, and finally previewing, publishing, and sharing the experience. Web experiences can contain multiple pages and windows, with outline views that help users organize and navigate widgets more easily.
• The platform exists in three editions: ArcGIS Online, Portal for ArcGIS, and a developer edition. All share similar core functionality, though updates are released first to the Online edition. Support for custom widgets varies: ArcGIS Online does not allow them, Portal allows deployment, and the developer edition allows full creation and customization. The developer edition must be downloaded and registered with an ArcGIS instance before use, offering developers the ability to design new widgets, themes, and advanced app capabilities.
• A real world application using this chapter could look like a slideshow comparing world trade routes and overlaying factors that delay or even speed up trade along trade routes.

 

Chapter 4

 

• We now live in a post-PC era in which smartphones, tablets, and wearables dominate computing, making Mobile GIS essential for both everyday life and organizational operations. Mobile GIS leverages mobility, location awareness, and real-time connectivity to extend GIS capabilities to the field. Its advantages include easier data collection, large user reach, versatile communication tools, and access to multiple positioning technologies such as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and indoor location systems. Despite limitations like smaller screens or lower processing power, mobile devices enable widespread GIS applications ranging from navigation and asset inspection to incident reporting and parcel delivery.
• Mobile GIS development follows three main approaches. Browser-based apps use HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and are easy to deploy but limited in access to device features. Native apps offer the best performance and full hardware access but require platform-specific development. Hybrid apps blend both approaches to balance performance and flexibility. ArcGIS supports all three strategies through ArcGIS API for JavaScript and various Runtime SDKs.
• Esri’s mobile ecosystem includes several specialized apps. ArcGIS Field Maps unifies mapping, data collection, workforce coordination, offline use, and location tracking in one app. Survey123 enables smart, form-based data collection through web or desktop form builders. Quick Capture supports rapid, button-based data recording from moving vehicles. ArcGIS Indoors provides indoor routing, wayfinding, and workplace navigation, while ArcGIS Companion assists with content and user management. App Studio allows developers to build cross-platform native GIS apps using templates or custom code.
• Key concepts tied to Mobile GIS include Location-Based Services (LBS), which deliver information triggered by a user’s location; Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), crowdsourced from the public; and immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). AR in particular enhances real-world views with GIS data, supported by Esri tools like AuGeo and Runtime toolkits. Combining AR with computer vision and deep learning further improves field data collection by enabling automated object recognition.
• A real-world GIS application using these Mobile GIS concepts is a city infrastructure inspection app that lets field workers navigate to assets, collect GPS-accurate data, and view augmented-reality overlays of underground utilities.

The first application I chose was to create an App that shows seven of the most popular ski mountains in NH. I included basic data and photos for each resort.

https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/attachmentviewer/index.html?appid=ddaef4ae018d4e889a9c497585547370

 

The second application I chose was to make a map of the United States showing the median household income per county.

https://arcg.is/WX4L90

 

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is about web scenes. It discusses how using 3D can aid in data visualization, analysis, and communication. This helps create a range in storytelling, urban planning, architectural design, defense simulation, filmmaking, and other industries. The chapter then talks about web screens and how they can be grouped into two main groups: Photorealistic and cartographic. The main elements in scenes are surfaces, features, textures, and atmospheric effects. Scenes layers include these types: 3D object acne layers, building scene layers, overview, discipline, category layer, and filters, integrated mesh scene layers, point cloud scene layers, point scene layers, and voxel scene layers. There are several different ways to create 3D products in ArcGIS including using ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS CityEngine, ArcGIS online, and ArcGIS Enterprise. 

The chapter then discusses VR, XR, and the metaverse. VR is a computer technology that uses headsets or projected environments to create a 3D scene, often accompanied by sounds and other sensations. XR is all real-and-virtual combined environments. It includes AR, VR, and MR. The metaverse is a collection of 3D virtual worlds that put a focus on social connection. GIS plays an important role in helping to build the metaverse. There are several ways ArcGIS has been moved “indoors”. It can help manage indoor space utilization, indoor emergency response, security deployment, and more. Lastly this chapter discusses ArcGIS Urban and ArcGIS GeoBIM. ArcGIS Urban applies GIS technology to urban planning. It consists of three main parts, a public web app, back-office web app, and a CityEngine. ArcGIS GeoBIM bridges the gap between GIS and BIM (Building information modeling).

One idea for this chapter would be to create a thematic web scene of the average income per household in each state. I think it would be interesting to see the different income levels represented as height.

Using the experience builder and public maps on ArcOnline, I created an app that shows the best counties in Ohio to live in based on a handful of variables. 

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/5a1b8e6dc7d34a6c819dcd351faedaa2

 

Chapter 3:
Chapter 3 focuses on the experience builder, which utilizes multiple applications to create an informational experience. There’s many different flexible widgets with different functions to display information in a very organized way. The experience builder uses HTML and Javascript, but doesn’t require any programming knowledge.
What’s interesting about the experience builder is the apps and widgets can all be connected and dynamic, meaning that as long as the source data is consistently updated, the applications will be up to date. This is generally true with web services like this but it seems especially useful for the experience builder. After playing around with it, It’s incredibly intuitive and allows a lot of customization.

Chapter 4:
Chapter 4 is about mobile GIS and other non-PC ways to display GIS information. It also teaches how to build an application for mobile devices, but you can also make them for location-based services, volunteered geographic information, virtual and augmented reality.
Mobile services can allow for better positioning technologies than wired devices, which can be used for navigation or data collection. Typically, these are done via GPS, Wi-Fi, or bluetooth.
While WebGIS is inherently browser based, most mobile applications are native, meaning they’re on the device rather than being accessed by a web browser. This allows them to run better, as well as access more information about the device that browsers cannot access. Making these types of applications usually requires programming knowledge.
This chapter also discusses Survey123, a service that creates surveys. The data is stored to a hosted cloud, allowing up-to-date source information.
The other types of apps and platforms for Mobile GIS are:
Location-based Services: Tracks and provides local information based on a user’s current location (usually found via GPS)
Volunteered geographic information: Users voluntarily provide geographic information to be shared. Typically used locally in applications such as Mapping apps to report traffic, road work, accidents, police vehicles, etc.
Virtual Reality: A 3D simulation of a map that allows interaction and mimics how our eyes and bodies view and interact with the world. I fail to see how this would be very useful with GIS, however.
Augmented Reality: An overlay of computer information over a real-world camera view of the environment, using your device’s location and other spatial information, such as tilt and height.

Using the experience builder, I could create a real-time updated site that uses the information about historical disasters, as well as crime statistics, cost of living, etc. across different cities to show the ideal places to live.

Chapter 5:
An on-premise enterprise is a locally/privately hosted version of a service. WebGIS is typically stored on a globally accessible cloud, but you can create privately hosted server versions of WebGIS for security and connectivity.
WebGIS servers host a lot of data: millions of maps, rasters, shapefiles, tables, text files etc. There are many methods of storing and calling data that are used by WebGIS to optimize the user experience.
Caching is essentially a method of storing frequently accessed data in a way that it can be easily called for repeated or future use without having to call to the source. In the case of GIS, the rasters can be cached as image files on the client machine in order to display them without having to call to the host server every time the user zooms or pans the map display.
Vector tile data is a type of layer that varies in size based on data density to optimally store and display the data.
Feature tiles are similar to vector tile data in that it simplifies and optimizes the data for display. It stores the viewing extent as a limited number of tiles in the cache, allowing them to be easily called when the extent changes.

Chapter 6:
Chapter 6 covers data on an additional dimension (temporal) and how this is used to make constantly-updated real-time data be used and displayed in WebGIS. Theres 4 main types of spatiotemporal data:
Moving: data that moves across space over time (e.g. a car’s position)
Discrete: data that occurs in a space at a time (e.g. geotagging services that report accidents/construction)
Stationary: data at a space that changes over time (e.g. weather stations collecting data)
Change: data that changes its spatial extent over time (e.g. the extent of a wildfire spreading)
Temporal data can be stored as either a point in time or duration of time, with a start and end.
Internet of Things (IoT) is a connected network of sensors and connections that collect and exchange data. It’s essentially an entire system of information that is gathered and shared.
The IoT gathers trillions of data, much of it is geospatiotemporal and used in GIS applications. The examples above and more are stored in data centers where they can be accessed to create maps with real-time data.

In the previous week, I mentioned an idea for a real-time web application that uses a lot of this updated data to track crime statistics, weather, cost of living, etc. to create a map of U.S. cities that shows where is the best place to live. Using the extent of the U.S. however might be too large to do feasibly within this semester, but doing this within Ohio seems more reasonable.

Chapter 7:
This chapter covers 3D web scenes and how to work with the 3D maps in WebGIS. 3D scenes are a way to visualize maps more intuitively and with greater detail than 2D maps. These maps can be cartographic, which are stylized, or photorealistic, which uses real images of the surface to accurately represent how it looks. There’s many other visual stylization options used to make the scenes more accurate, visually appealing, or better convey the information.
3D mapping is related to the increased interest in virtual reality and the metaverse, both indoors and outdoors virtual environments. Potential uses include urban planning, using the 3D environments to predict how building certain projects will affect the city’s aesthetics or markets.

A potential application of 3D mapping is creating a 3D viewshed to show the views from various apartments in a city, and how building new projects might affect those views. This could give potential customers an idea of their view, which could affect if they want to buy/rent.

Assighnment Details:

Due to my week idea being extravagant for week 3 I’ve decided top downgrade its scope to make it more manageable. I will submit screenshots or pics of my project to save the data.

Assign: Select one of your four ideas (Chapters 1-4) and create it. This is not due until the Week 6, but start on it and complete it before you forget the stuff in these first four chapters!

my two project ideas are:

week 5 Application idea: Create an interactive story map on landmarks of Smokey Mountains

week 3 Application Ideas: A dashboard of trails and uses for the Smokey Mountains

My Submissions are

Week 3 link:  https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/b7726945979a4654a2c5b740e0f55c93#mode=edit

Week 5 link: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/70335f2ab37444489c75ca91d35dfe27

 

Chapter 5: 

Chapter 5 is about caching and on-premises(private) web GIS. One may need a private WebGIS for security, connectivity, or functionality. In order to create a private WebGIS, one can use ArcGIS Enterprise which includes a portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS server, ArcGIS web adapter, and an ArcGIS Data Store. These different components work together to provide the best private network service. This chapter then discusses portal collaboration and the hierarchical structure of organizations. These organizations can share information with each other using groups, and Web GIS deployments are accomplished by using distributed collaboration. This helps to effectively organize, share, and network across organizations. 

The chapter then gets into raster tile, vector tile, map image layers, feature tiles, and publishing strategy. Raster tiles deliver maps to client applications as image files that are prerendered and stored on the server. Vector tile layers deliver map data as many grouped vector files, usually in PBF. Map image layers are used for visualizing operational layers and are drawn dynamically by the server or by using tiles from a cache. Feature services are used to generate feature tiles when requested by ArcGIS client apps. These feature tiles enable web clients to display more features from the service and provide a faster load time. Publishing strategy is a term for selecting an appropriate layer type for your data.

The chapter then discusses web services standards. Standards specify the interface that different vendors can use and are important in achieving interoperability among vendors. It specifies the parameters, values, and results. OGC is the main standard body and has defined a set of standards for Web GIS services. The last section of chapter 5 is about workflow to share web layers from ArcGIS Pro. This section talks about publishing web layers by using ArcGIS pro. This is done in three main steps:

1. Preparing the data using ArcGIS Pro
2. Authoring the map in ArcGIS pro by adding data layers to the map and configuring layer symbols and other properties
3. Sharing the web layer

Chapter 6:

Chapter six is about spatiotemporal data and real-time GIS. Spatiotemporal data can come from many different sources  and includes observations of objects and events that move or change through time . It can be split into several groups including moving, discrete, stationary, and change. 

• Moving→ something that moves
• Discrete → something that just happens
• Stationary→ stands still but values change
• Change→ change or growth

The time value of an event can be a point in time (values are typically stored in a single attribute field) or duration of time (values are typically stored in two fields, one for the start time and the other for the end time). IoT is a network of physical objects that are embedded with sensors and network connectivity that enable objects to collect and exchange data. Some included devices are airplanes, security cameras, and refrigerators. Geolocation provides context to the sensor data collected in the IoT ecosystem. It can transform raw data into information that can be used. Smart city is a popular app that uses connected sensors to supply information that assists a city in managing assets and resources. Smart homes often involve using wifi connected sensors and AI to help control a home. This can include Amazon Echo, smart thermostats, automatic lights, and geofences. 

The next main section of focus is on cloud, server, and client-side technologies for real-time GIS. ArcGIS Velocity and ArcGIS GeoEvent Server can connect to multiple forms of streaming data to perform data processing and analysis. It can also send updates and alerts when prompted. Both of the programs are able to collect, process, and store high-volume- and high velocity real-time data that is generated by the IoT. ArcGIS Velocity has a few newer types of items including feed items, real-time analytic items, and big data analytic items. 

Another product talked about in this chapter is ArcGIS Mission. It provides managers, analysts, and responders with a comprehensive picture of the operating environment. It ultimately helps with the coordination of movement, and communication among team members. The three main components are Mission Manager, Mission Responder, and Mission Server. 

One possible application that I could make based off of chapter 6 is to create a dashboard web app for the Grafton County Dispatch in Central NH that coordinates fire and EMS response from the included towns. This app could show 911 reports, incidents, and categories of calls per county and per town. It would help visual emergency response in rural areas and show what calls are the most frequent. This could help with future training based on call volume.

In Chapter 3 I worked with Experience Builder and how it can be used for turning web maps into interactive apps instead of just  maps. I learned how to choose or design a template, pick a theme, connect data, add widgets, adjust the layout for different devices, then save, preview, and publish. I also learned the difference between message actions and data actions . Even though the tutorial was confusing at first and I really struggled  with Experience Builder but after I was done i found the maps i created to be very fascinating.

In Chapter 4 I learned about using GIS on mobile devices and creating those appps. I worked on creating AR, adding incident reports with photos and details and surveys as well. I also learned about why when designing mobile apps we should keep limits in mind because mobiles are less powerful then computers and the apps have to be less complicated. These can be useful when doing field work which is why I found it really interesting. I found the AR AuGeo the most interesting because ARCGIS makes it very simple to create, it was very similar to an app I use called flight radar and now I understand how it works.

The biggest problem I had was that the UI for making these apps has been updated so its hard to find exactly the things the tutorial is talking about.

An idea for my project using these chapters would  be to:
– Create an AuGeo app that uses AR to show coffee shops in the direction you are pointing to

https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/countdown/index.html?appid=dac3a1e876244a25853f421692a11540

This map gives information on the various private schools in the Cuyahoga County area.

 

https://arcg.is/CbnHW2

This map shows my hometown Berea, Ohio and has the ability to toggle 3D building shapes to get a better idea of the configuration of the city.

Application 1).

For the final project, a cool thing I did pertains to tourism. I made a Web GIS app that introduces the main attractions or points of interest in Philadelphia. I am from Philadelphia and I focus on the top five sights to see. An instant app is the best case I think and most efficient for the user and visually compelling. This is what I did. I think this could be useful for tourists and or visiting parties of any capacity. I thought about this in light of the approaching holiday season in which people do a lot of traveling in general and traveling to see friends and family. Actually, a record of over 81 million Americans are projected to travel for this Thanksgiving. The Philadelphia area is a highly popular destination. While this is related to the economy and an industry at large, I think that it also reflects the daily life implementation and use of Web GIS. The book underscores the versatility of Web GIS in terms of applicability, accessibility, convenience, collaboration, and representativity and feasibility in use. With the increased significance of spatial location and analysis, Web GIS is adding more value perhaps now than ever before. Whether it be through government, business, science, or daily life in this case, Web GIS is considered and applied progressively. In order to do this, I first did some research on the data available at the state and city level. I then did some more detailed searches. Although the topic is deeply contested in terms of what may be the top five places to see in Philly, I am a true Philadelphian and I feel I have the best choices. Essentially, I pulled a subset of the data and crafted an excel spreadsheet containing the data with three fields: Name, caption, and address. I then converted this data to a CSV file. I published a hosted feature layer from a CSV file and added attachments. Next, I added a field to the layer and edited the attributes. I added an ID field to the layer so that I could display the photos in the sequence I want. Then, I formulated a web map through which I added the feature layer in Map Viewer, selected an appropriate base map (the community base map), and configured its style and pop-up. Finally, I transformed my web map into a web app using the Attachment Viewer template.

Here is my app:

https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/attachmentviewer/index.html?appid=eb759364dc4a4fbda1bf152354a49e71

Application 2).

I have been learning Spanish all my life. I am currently minoring in Spanish. I’ve learned a lot about Hispanic culture and the Spanish speaking community. I’ve spent a lot of time in South Florida and home in the Northeast/Philly area. I’ve noticed more and more Spanish speakers wherever I go. I was curious about the growth of the Spanish speaking population in the United States and whether this growth has been sporadic or consistent. Turns out it’s been the latter. I faced various challenges when working with time-enabled data in GIS. In the end what I did was I used the U.S. Census Bureau which provides the official Hispanic/Latino population data for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) only once every ten years through the Decennial Census (1990, 2000, 2010, 2020). I couldn’t efficiently find and use official annual data for the years in between for individual cities/MSAs. I wanted to use a time interval of one count per year on the time slider to show clear patterns and if there is any real change. And so I used Gemini to add to the data using linear interpolation to create annual estimates. For the purpose of the project I thought this would be fine since I am not using this in a professional workspace or to perform real analysis. The result was cool to see a steady increase all around the country. I first had to create the time-enabled feature layer. I made sure that there was a date field in the data. In this process, I published a hosted feature layer, and enabled time on this layer. My data was on an excel spreadsheet and I converted it to a CSV file. I then created a web map and a web app in which I animated the time-series data. I played around with the styling component and the time slider formation. The big S on each point on the map just stands for Spanish! Spanish speakers are indeed becoming more pervasive. 

Here is the web app:

https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/slider/index.html?appid=5ab3c7ec2f054ed490ac5f2921c57ea0

Application 3).

For this one, I was trying to work with vector and raster tile layers. I started out using ArcGIS Pro, gathering my data layers, formatting things with the map, and then publishing the web layer or sharing the map as a web layer using a portal connection. The screen shot I have from ArcGIS Pro is from the data I added that shows drought frequency levels and US Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs. Reservoirs play an important role in mitigating drought in terms of storing excess water during wet periods in order to use that stored source during dry periods They also provide a consistent water supply for agriculture, urban use, and hydropower, and more. The USACE owns and operates over 500 such reservoirs throughout the U.S. I’ve done some research on this federal government organization and previous efforts that have undertaken for example in my shore town community with flooding and flood infrastructure. I noticed a pattern here that drought occurs more frequently in areas where these USACE reservoirs are less pervasive. In the green sections you can notice an abundance and dispersal of these reservoirs that are the dark water bodies portrayed on the map. 

This is an unfinished thing I was doing and for the sake of time I moved on. I wanted to include it here because I did spend time on it but I did run into some issues with ArcGIS Online and the vector and raster tile layers. In the screen shot of ArcGIS Online, this is when I ran into issues and so I just started experimenting. I used layers for Living Atlas to do something similar in showing wildfire point data which is vector data and then drought intensity data which is raster data. The clear pattern that is confirmed by the map is that there are more wildfires where drought intensity is higher. Although droughts may not directly cause wildfires, they contribute to the conditions that create the risk and intensity of wildfires. 

Application 4).

I wanted to create a simple thematic web scene and so I played around with things for a while. I was going to create a web scene based on population in some capacity but I had experience with that already and so I focused on something a bit different. I looked into USA counties. I chose to focus on the attribute of area in square miles. The sizes of counties vary throughout the country. These county boundaries are interesting and they were formed by historical and practical factors, like population density, natural geographic features, state law, and more. The polygons on the scene represent the county boundaries and if you zoom in the counties are labeled. The darker colors symbolize counties with greater area in square miles whereas the lighter colors show less area. It was a local scene with a Living Atlas feature layer. This was cool to see not only how many counties there are but their size differentials. This scene allows you to visualize a major historical component that dates back to western expansion and the development of capabilities whether it be tech or infrastructure building. Ultimately the smaller and easily accessible administrative polygons went away that are seen in the Eastern part of the country today. As a result, counties in the West are larger geographically than those in the East, and this is shown via the web scene and the 3D GIS component. I am minoring in politics and government and so it was intriguing to put all of these things together and how for instance the East is more densely populated and therefore counties and even states had to be smaller for reasonable travel and governance. Westward settlement occurred in more unpopulated and remote areas where large areas of land were organized into these political and social boundaries that are counties. In all, knowing county areas can be helpful for planning and resource allocation, understanding the organization of census data, travel logistics, and much more.

Here is the web scene:

https://arcg.is/0L9Hz80

Application 5).

For this app, I was doing some park design work with 3D GIS and developing a web scene using feature layers and 3D object symbols but this was taking too long and I didn’t have the right layer. I am still in the process of doing this with particularly the Core Creek Park in PA, one that I am familiar with and have frequented. I wanted to make use of the data I did retrieve and the hosted feature layer I created. This was brought out through a CSV file I made through Excel. I added a field, added attachments, created a web map, and then created an instant app with an attachment viewer template. This was one of my original ideas but I modified it a bit. The web app shows the parks in Bucks County Philadelphia from the department of parks and recreation. Bucks County PA is where I went to high school, a bit north of Philadelphia. I have family that frequent these parks and family that are coming into town for the holidays and so maybe I’ll share this with them.

Here is the web app:

https://owugis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/attachmentviewer/index.html?appid=4d8be33f19324fb59c89f1038fdba7b1

Application 6).

 I made a web map to show land use patterns across the United States. I enabled time settings and added a time slider but this is a bit off and I will need to go back in and rework it. I used gemini to acquire some land use data for all 50 U.S. states across the years 1959, 1974, and 2012. These three years were pulled from and approximated based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Major Land Uses (MLU) reports. The values basically come from the real trends and approximate state-level totals, measured in thousands of acres, for those key years. There are some cool patterns that emerge just at first glance. For instance, most of the western portion of the country has a majority of grassland/pasture range land use spread. The middle section of the nation and the midwest is predominantly farmland. And then the eastern portion of the U.S. is dominated by forest cover. The size of the pie chart as the representation of each state is also proportionate to the size of the state. For example, the pie chart over Texas is the largest. Texas is the state with the most amount of total land. 

Here is the web map:

https://arcg.is/0eKTOT0

 

ZW