Geography 292: Geospatial Analysis with Web GIS

Chapter 1: Getting Started with Web GIS
Web GIS brings together the internet and geographic information systems (GIS), making it easy for people to use geographic data from anywhere. It’s becoming popular in areas like government, business, science, and even day-to-day life. Web GIS has tons of applications, from mapping and data management to analytics and decision making. The main pieces of Web GIS include users, groups, content (like maps and data), and metadata. Apps are where the action happens, things like StoryMaps or mobile apps that let users interact with maps and data. Inside these apps, you’ll find basemaps (which give context), operational layers (for interactive data), and tools that help with things like routing and location searches.

Chapter 2: Smart Mapping and Storytelling with GIS
Chapter 2 dives into tools for making maps that look great and tell stories. Feature layers are the most common type of interactive layer in maps, and they’re reusable across web maps, scenes, and apps. Esri’s geospatial cloud hosts lots of these layers, letting users create custom layers from their own data, templates, or even from scratch. With smart mapping tools, you can make professional-looking maps: think heat maps, dot density maps, and color-coded comparisons, without needing a ton of technical skills. ArcGIS Living Atlas is also a go-to for ready-to-use layers that include basemaps, imagery, and details about things like infrastructure and the environment.

For my project I would like to do something with bird sightings around campus. I was inspired by crowd sourced information and love creating free resources. I could highlight 2-3 species of interest.

oduction:

I think that the ArcGIS living atlas of the world is a really interesting tool. I played around with it a little bit and it was cool. I also like the incorporation of using different web layers in your maps.

Tutorial: 

I found the tutorial fairly easy except for some features were a little different than they were described. It didn’t really trip me up thought. I thought it was a good overview of how to use the software and I feel like I will be able to use it successfully. The basics mostly seem pretty intiuitve.

GIS Uses:

I looked at uses of GIS in transportation planning, which is something I am interested in. I found a few interesting uses including traffic flow managment. It also helps with public transit planning in analyzing things like population density, planners can determine where stops and transit sites should be. Another way it can help with transit planning is through route optimization.

Chapter 1: There are a lot of reasons to be using webGIS for more major projects that are meant to be publicized. Some of the reasons they have listed are: Global reach, large number of users, low costs per users, better cross-platform capabilities, ease of usage, and easy to maintain. Some of the main organizations or reasons to use it, and reasons why I may use it in the future are for Business and Governmental use, however I was interested to see that people use Web GIS for their daily life. A majority of the stuff brought here seem fairly basic, yet good information to keep in mind while working on maps. Such as the dominance that phones currently hold in the information technology world for the average person. It also reminds us on how some of the different types of data interact. The first tutorial was more about how to upload data into webgis & share it. The second tutorial was more about how to add a field and add some data through the web page. The third tutorial was about how to add the feature layer into a proper web map. I had not been able to find the community map, so I decided to just use the streets map. It was pretty cool to make a functioning webpage for a map.

Chapter 2: This chapter overall is a little more ‘intense’ than the previous one. There is a lot of focus/emphasis on the creation of feature layers and the techniques of doing these feature layers. Tutorial 1 had a good review on how to implement data & how to change a few of the fields’ names. Tutorial 2 had more symbiology work, in this case it was a comparison between the population of 10 years prior and to a set date. Tutorial three was pretty cool by having me create an expression and using the data to appear on my pop-ups, I know that I will need more practice doing this to fully remember it. Tutorial four was about how to add various types of media in the popups window, particularly links, images, and charts using the data that is saved in the csv. The fifth tutorial I got stuck on towards the end as I was a little confused on how the map actions worked, however the rest was fairly intuitive as it was setting up a storymap. I think these will be pretty interesting to utilize, especially for things like the trip project that I will likely be doing. Tutorial 6 was more about how to add a swipe block to use map activities. I will likely want to use this for if I were to make a story map to say ‘hey, we will be going here, here and here’, which may be a great strategy for the vacation idea.

Description of an application of WebGIS using my data or that from Geog 291:

• Landmarks around my city. I can find a bunch of important buildings and take pictures of them from my city. As my hometown is so small, I will likely be able to find or take pictures over a weekend. I will then attach it all to a single map and make an app out of it. (Ch 1)
  

Chapter 3: This chapter’s tutorial was a bit more complex than the previous ones and took me longer to complete. I ran into several minor issues including a missing dynamic content button and the fields pane being empty when writing expressions in the text box. Fortunately I was able to work through both issues after visiting the ESRI community page and finding a comment and solution for the exact issues I had. Later on I had an issue where a ‘sort by’ value that was listed in the book wasn’t an option for me to select, but it appears that my chart still matched the information that I wanted it to present. I also noted that when the book instructs you to type a URL you need to add ‘https://’ to the URL even if it is not mentioned in the tutorial, otherwise the URL will not work. It seems like the experience builder app has a lot more functions to unpack and practice, but I would imagine that after using it several times it could be very helpful in interactively displaying data.

Chapter 4: I enjoyed this chapter and found it much easier to figure out than the previous chapter. I did run into several issues in which the book was not similar to the screen as a result of an update, so I had to use trial-and-error to figure out how to proceed. For example, the ‘set rules’ setting for the incident type question was completely different from what the book showed, so I actually had to instead edit the dependent question’s rules to get the same result as the textbook. The tutorials of the different apps were interesting and I could see how they could become useful, but it was inconvenient that each app was its own entity and had to be downloaded seperately.

Assignment: I think the survey feature could be useful in monitering invasive species, so creating an app to report sightings of spotted lanternflies in a region could be efficient. The ability to add locations and photos would also make the survey especially convient. Another idea I had was to use the web experience as an interactive way to display information about natural landforms in Ohio or state parks.

Note: I completed the Delaware data inventory when I was in Geog 291.

Working with 2D and 3D maps for chapter three was not nearly as exciting as the previous two chapters. I found working with the 3D for the tutorial to be a hassle more than anything. After completing the tutorials, I still do not see the point in having a 3D feature to represent hurricane and earthquake events. I also had issues configuring my table widget; there was not any space to fit it anywhere, so the widget is awkwardly overlaying the map. Otherwise, everything else went fairly smoothly after accounting for some changes between the tutorial and software over the past couple years.

Chapter four was peculiar to me in that it seemed like a glorified advertisement that demanded the download and use of different apps only for them to be used over a brief period of the tutorial. While mobile accessibility is becoming more necessary, the limitations of a mobile device concerning computing power make it pale in comparison to working on a PC. Why download three apps when I could just open three tabs on my laptop in half the time. Right now, I feel like the PC is more efficient than mobile. Despite that, I did find it valuable to put different GIS apps to use for this tutorial.

A couple ideas that I have for potential apps are to make an app showcasing parks and nature preserves around Delaware or an app that uses survey inputs to document squirrel sightings on campus. Showcasing natural areas in a 3D setting would show off landscapes better than a basemap overview on GPS. A map about squirrel locations would be fun since squirrels are common on campus, and there would be no shortage of potential submission material for interested parties.

 

Delaware Data Inventory:

Street Centerline: This layer shows every paved road in Delaware County intended for appraisals, emergency response, reporting, ODOT, and other related purposes. Around the Delaware State Park- just north of Delaware City- the paved surfaces within the park are drawn like squiggly hands. There are more dead-ended roads than I expected there to be.

Zip Code: This layer shows each zip code within Delaware County. These codes were changed in 2003 in response to the 2000 census, but this layer in particular was made in 2005 and is updated regularly. This layer was used for attributes in the centerline. The zip code for Delaware City is 43015, and my home’s zip code, 43334, is included in a minute portion around the northeast most edge of the county.

MSAG: The Master Street Address Guide is made to conveniently identify the boundaries of cities, villages, and townships within Delaware County. There are 28 political jurisdictions within Delaware County, so this dataset clarifies those boundaries.

Recorded Document: The points on this set are meant to correlate within documents in the Delaware County Recorder’s jurisdiction that are not included in active subdivision maps that show the details about the property. Looking at the different points, I am still not exactly sure what information would be held about the points. There are many points that are in people’s backyards or in streets; the points just reference a page in a book, but the relevance of these points is unclear.

Survey: Each point represents where a land survey has been conducted within the confines of Delaware County excluding surveys from Old Survey Volumes (1-11). In addition, each point is connected to a file with information on the land survey.

Parcel: This dataset identifies the legal boundaries of properties within Delaware County. You can find all sorts of information about people’s homes in this map including Land Value, Number of Bedrooms/Baths, Tax Numbers, etc. If you view different campus buildings, the owner is listed as Ohio Wesleyan University, Trustees OWU, or TR Ohio Wesleyan University.

GPS: GPS monuments established in 1991 and 1997. This set is strange in that what exactly the monuments are is unclear- even when searching through the pop-up. For example, if you click on the blue dot in between the observatory and Stuy, the name of the monument is just “Delaware,” and there is little supporting information about each particular monument within the set.

Precinct: Identifies the bordering of voting precincts in Delaware County. Each precinct name includes the township or city name sometimes followed by a letter and number if the township contains multiple voting precincts.

School District: Every school district within Delaware County; this data was originally acquired through the county auditor’s parcel records. School districts within the county include Big Walnut, Buckeye Valley, Delaware, Olentangy, and others. Fun fact: The school that I graduated from, Highland, is in a small section of the county similar to my home’s zip code.

Subdivision: There are many condos and subdivisions- specifically concentrated in the southern half of the county nearing the Franklin County and Columbus area. Subdivisions include areas of land that are split into smaller sections/parcels to be sold. Some subdivisions that I found predominantly included farms, condos, and what I presume to be those exclusive housing developments.

Township: The 19 townships of Delaware County. Delaware City is an interesting case with how the layer is organized. The central part of Delaware has a township name of “Delaware.” Meanwhile, there are smaller sections inside and around that mass with the township name of “Delaware Township.” A similar phenomenon happens with Orange Township and Berkshire Township.

Tax District: All tax districts of Delaware County with Tax District codes. The city of Delaware is broken up into many tax districts. Some tax districts cover a wide area of land while some encircle a few houses. Tax District 50 is just a block that surrounds Delaware Fire Station #303.

Address Point: As stated in the title, this set contains each address in Delaware county. Intended mostly for emergency response systems using reverse geocoding. I did find an address point within a pond in the Sheffield Park in between the Alum Creek Reservoir and Hoover Recreation Area (X: 1849668.892400, Y: 191484.601000).

Annexation: This set shows land that has been annexed between 1853-present. Annexed land includes the Delaware City Area, Ashley, Ostrander, Sunbury, and other areas in the southern edge of the county.

Condo: The bulk of condominiums within the confines of Delaware City are in the southern end of the county near Franklin County and the Columbus area- just like how the subdivisions are. The Powell area appears to be one of the most densely populated with condo units compared to other areas in the county.

Municipality:  This layer showcases the boundaries of Delaware, Sunbury, Galena, Powell, Ostrander, Shawnee Hills, and parts of Ashley, Columbus, Westerville, and Dublin that are all present within the Delaware County lines. There are holes within the Delaware Municipality, though. 

Building Outline 2023: This layer contains every building within Delaware County as of 2023. There are structures that appear on the map that are not highlighted as a building, so I wonder if those are sheds, barns, garages, a patio, or something else that does not fit into the criteria to be considered a building. It could be that the basemap itself has not been updated to accommodate the exact changes in buildings.

Delaware County E911 Data: Certified addresses within Delaware County intended specifically for 911 agencies for emergency response. I could not actually interact with this dataset past its summary.

PLSS: Public Land Survey System are meant to show the boundaries of the US Military and the Virginia Military Survey Districts of Delaware (two PLSS). The map is organized in orderly rectangles except for the westmost edge of Delaware County where the shapes are variable. The orderly rectangles denote the boundaries of the US Military PLSS while the unruly shapes denote the boundaries of the Virginia Military PLSS.

Farm Lot: Farm Lot boundaries within the US Military and Virginia Military Survey Districts in Delaware County. According to the set, all of the land in Delaware county is within a farm lot boundary.

Original Township: There were still 18 townships within Delaware County. A majority of these townships were arranged in rectangles while the westmost townships were shaped more erratically. Similarly to how the PLSS boundaries are currently.

Dedicated ROW: Right-of-Way; public roads where transportation, driving, bicycling, and walking is permitted to take place. Roadways not included would likely entail areas where through traffic is not welcome. This layer was created through the Parcel data.

Building Outline 2021: Building outlines for every structure in Delaware County in 2021. Can compare with Building Outline 2023 to monitor new development over the past couple years within Delaware County.

Map Sheet: These are the map sheets of Delaware County. Our campus is split into three: Sanborn and the sororities, residential side, and academic side. Otherwise, there is no clarification on why the map sheets have been arranged or any other details; there are just map sheets compiled into a layer over the basemap of Delaware County.

Hydrology: This layer shows the major waterways in Delaware County. There are 24 major waterways that pass through or reside in the county. Nearby, there is the Delaware Reservoir with the Olentangy River flowing into it as well as through Delaware City with the Delaware Run- which runs through campus- connecting to that river. Then, there is the Alum Creek Reservoir; I personally enjoy visiting the dam there.

ROW: Right-of-Way designations for roads in Delaware County. This is updated through updates in the Parcel data, but the map itself is not functioning at the moment.

Delaware City Contours: I could not access this layer!

Here is a teensy bit of my hometown as a bonus!

Chapter 3

ArcGIS Experience Builder is a tool that allows you to create different types of content, that does not require exuberant code to do so / very low code. Along with the creation of different content, some specific methods of using this tool are widgets, 2D and 3D data can be drag and drop interface, custom tools, integration of other apps, mobile optimization (mobile GIS down below), and different templates.

 

Chapter 4

Mobile GIS is a combination of the traditional GIS software onto a smaller piece of technology– something that is portable, (i.e. cellular phone, tablet, laptops). MobileGIS provides access to downloadable geospatial data, printable maps and interactive mapping applications. While Mobile GIS does have relatively amazing abilities for the physical size of technology the program is being run on, the smaller size of the screen causes lack of visibility to some degree. 

 

Application: Based on some data that I have seen using applications of Mobile GIS and ArcGIS Experience Builder, I think that having a study and inspection of areas affected by gas-leaks over the last 10 years within Delaware County lines. Many people are affected by spontaneous gas leaks, but also ensuring that these are solely spontaneous, are not occurring in patterns, and studying the areas and the people affected by these would ensure the safety of people and animals nearby. Along with this, some sort of method of obtaining information besides surveys and technological monitoring devices should be used.

Chapter 1: I at first found some of the information at the beginning of chapter 1 to be a little bit repetitive after taking the intro course for week 1, but I thought some of the applications were really cool demonstrations of what ArcOnline can do (such as with the COVID tracking app). The step by step tutorials included in the book were very helpful in guiding me through creating maps and app. However, I did have one question while working on section 1.3: What is a ‘Community Map’? I didn’t have one listed as an option for a basemap, which left me a bit confused and I opted to leave the basemap as topographic.  I initially ran into another issue in 1.4 where the words “No attachments found” appeared in place of the attachments for the ESRI location, but later realized the .jpg attachment had somehow removed itself.  Overall, I found the tutorial easy to follow and the program pretty straightforward, I will just need a little more practice to feel confident in doing these tasks myself.

Chapter 2: This section reminded me of working on the symbology in the Geog 291 class, so the similarities made it easier for me to understand. I found the tutorials easy to follow and thought it was satisfying to watch the map and pop-ups look cleaner the further into the tutorial I got. The only issue I had in completing this section was that I realized I mixed up the labels for Median Household Income and Median Home Value and had to backtrack to correct my mistake. The second half of this chapter that focused on StoryMap making was especially familiar because I already created a StoryMap for Geog 291. However, it was still helpful to review all the functions.

Assignment: One of the suggestions under the assignment section on page 35 of the GIS book is to create an app that highlights places that you’ve visited on a recent vacation, which I think sounds like it could be really cool. Last summer I went on a trip with my parents to Montréal, Canada, during which we visited a number of significant landmarks and interesting locations. I think incorporating these points of interest into an app would be a good way to represent the potential of ArcOnline app making while still pertaining to my personal interests in travel.

Chapter 1:
This chapter gave me a great introduction to the functions and scope of GIS. Learning how GIS connects people and information globally, I found that being able to layer and visualize data really changes how we can understand spaces without even being there. The exercise on building the app was a useful hands-on example. Overall, it was a straightforward start.

Chapter 2:
Chapter Two was definitely more involved, moving into structuring a full map project. The breakdown of tools helped make it clear how each part of a project builds on another. There was a small mismatch between the tutorial’s layout and what I saw on my screen, which added some extra steps, but I managed to work through it. By the end, I felt like I had a much stronger grasp of how a GIS project can be organized.

Application Idea:
For an application idea, I’d like to create a map of local trails and paths around campus and the surrounding area, gathering both route details and any unique features (like places to sit, views, etc.). This could be used by people in the community or tourists interested in exploring the area. Alternatively, I could make a map of campus trees, including details on species or age, as a guide for anyone interested in the green spaces nearby.

WebGIS has global reach, a large community of active users. Its often cheaper to build a program with WebGIS than to build and install a standalone program, it has better cross-platform capabilities, and it is easier to use and maintain. Being stored on the cloud offers ArcGIS online a lot more scalability, agility, and cost efficiency compared to on-premises data storage. Variable web GIS sites all being stored within ArcGIS instead of independently hosted allows for easier communication between them, and the platform has also allowed for a two-way flow of information allowing users to volunteer geographic information. It also prioritizes function for mobile devices as those are the primary way the majority of people are accessing online information. The platform also allows the conversion of 2D maps into 3D web scenes that can also be interacted with through virtual reality. Web GIS content is broken down primarily into data, layers, tools, web maps, scenes, and apps. An app is comprised of a basemap that provides geographical context, the operational layers that you interact with, and the tools that perform tasks beyond mapping like analysis. There is not a community map option on the main page Basemap button of 1.3, I did find one though by using living atlas. Working from the assignment ideas from chapter 1 I could create a map of the different locations I’ve traveled to as a part of cross country and track, we’ve gone pretty far.

Feature layers are the most common operational layers, they’re basically web services that can be reused across many different programs. Hosted layers are stored in the Esri geospatial cloud while unhosted layers are stored independently. Hosted layers are granted a lot more features and flexibility through Esri. One feature available through Esri is Smart Mapping, which allows you to change the style of a feature layer into a heat map, a comparison map, density maps, and much much more. Pop-ups allow you to provide additional information and insight. The Arcade feature is similar to Microsoft Excel’s formulas which allows you to add values to pop-ups for information that’s not in the attribute field of the layer. The living atlas is an incredibly large database of layers, maps, tools, and apps produced both by Esri themselves and by contributors, a wealth of resources available for use. WebGIS wants you to prioritize an app being fast, easy, and fun. Through a use of maps, narrative, and multimedia you can create a story that engages your users. The most populated cities in the chapter 2 tutorial are New York City and Los Angeles. The drop shadow settings seem pretty extreme and are very unaligned with a lot of the smaller arrows.