INTRODUCTION TO

GEOGRAPHIC
INFORMATION SYSTEMS

LECTURE 1.
WHAT & WHY are GIS?
Keith Clarke
Getting Started with GIS; ch.1; pp. 1 - 34
 What & Why are GIS ?

? Lecture outline:
? Why Geographic Information Systems?
? What are Geographic Information Systems?
? CAD, LIS, GPS.
? A Step at a time.
 Why Geographic Information
Systems ?
?A simple plan to manage natural resources
will require enormous amounts of data
gathering, compilation, evaluation, analysis
and modeling.
? Thus, you have to develop
A computerized system for the
management and analysis of geographic
information - a GIS.
? Canadian Department of Forestry and Rural
development in the 1960s
 How GIS Works ?
? A GIS stores spatial information about the world as
a collection of thematic layers that can be linked
together.
 In GIS Graphics and Data
Combined Together
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Holly Williamson
Jim Woods
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Joe Redding 1090 Overhill Dr 28112 Y 4
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Larry Yanich Carlson 1108 Kings Canyon Dr 28226 Y 3

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Lee Rossman 1605 Bosham Ln 28226 Y 2
Marcia 28226 Y 2
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Chris McGuire
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Mike Donavan 1430 Quail Wood Dr 28226 Y 3
Mike 1765 Millbrook
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Mike Serranno 1327 Red Hickory Ln 28173 Y 2
 But Why GIS?
- GIS is about finding patterns.
- Lots of data coming from different sources. You
will want to consider all of It to make better
decisions.
- Answer the questions of location such as where,
why, and how.
- Solve problems, analyze and make decisions.
- See patterns and trends that spreadsheets alone
wont portray
Measuring and Integrating the Parts...

Social Factors
Economic Factors
Engineering
Land Use
Environmental
Considerations

Means Seeing the Whole

 Why Geographic Information
Systems ?
GIS is an EMPOWERING TECHNOLOGY
? It enhances the utility of the map, and replace it
with a large number of mapped coverages, each
with an interrelated theme.
? GIS is changing the way:
? we do things with map;
? we think about geographic information;
? in which geographic data are collected and compiled.
? It is a major growing INDUSTRY
GIS in Everyday Life
GIS in Everyday Life
 What are GIS?
What in the world is a "GIS"?
Question from the Internet's list of FAQ.

GISs are simultaneously the telescope, the

microscope, the computer, and the Xerox
machine of regional analysis and synthesis
of spatial data. (Ron Abler, 1988)
 Where Did GIS Come From?
? GIS is built upon knowledge from
geography, cartography, computer science
and mathematics.
? Geographic Information Science is a new
interdisciplinary field built out of the use
and theory of GIS.
 Synonymous Terms
? Geographic Information System --- US
? Geographical Information Systems --- Europe
? Geomatics/Geomatique --- Canada

? Natural Resources Information --- Discipline

System based
? Spatial Information System --- Non-
geographical
Derivative
 Defining GIS
? The lack of accepted definition.
? Different definitions of a GIS have evolved
in different areas and disciplines.
? All GIS definitions recognize that spatial
data are unique because they are linked to
maps.
? A GIS at least consists of a database, map
information, and a computer-based link
between them.
 Components of GIS
? GIS integrates FIVE key components:
robust hardware, powerful software, spatial and non
spatial data, people, methods.
 Spatial and non-spatial data

Part No. Quant. Desc. Crimes during 1995

1034161 5 Wheel spoke Date Location Type
1051671 1 Ball bearing 1/22 123 James St. Robbery
1047623 6 Wheel rim 1/24 22 Smith St. Burglary
1021413 2 Tire 2/10 9 Elm St. #4A Assault
1011210 3 Handlebars 2/13 12 Fifth Avenue Breaking
& Entering

Figure 1.1 Two databases. A database contains columns (attributes) and rows (records). The bicycle
parts list on the left is not spatial. The parts could be located anywhere. The list of crimes on the right
is spatial because one of the attributes, the street address, locates the crimes on a map. This list could
be used in a GIS.
 Definition 1: A GIS is a toolbox
"a powerful set of tools for storing and retrieving
at will, transforming and displaying spatial data
from the real world for a particular set of
purposes"
(Burrough, 1986, p. 6).
A FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION:
"automated systems for the capture, storage,
retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data."
(Clarke, 1995, p. 13).
 Definition 2: A GIS is an
information system
"An information system that is designed to
work with data referenced by spatial or
geographic coordinates. In other words, a
GIS is both a database system with specific
capabilities for spatially-referenced data, as
well as a set of operations for working with
the data" (Star and Estes, 1990, p. 2).
 Duecker's definition has
survived the test of time.
"A geographic information system is a special case
of information systems where the database
consists of observations on spatially distributed
features, activities or events, which are definable
in space as points, lines, or areas. A geographic
information system manipulates data about these
points, lines, and areas to retrieve data for
queries and analyses" (Duecker, 1979, p 106).
 Definition 3: GIS is an
approach to science
? Geographic Information Science is research both
on and with GIS.
"the generic issues that surround the use of GIS
technology, impede its successful implementation,
or emerge from an understanding of its potential
capabilities." (Goodchild, 1992)

? A decision support system involving the

integration of spatially referenced data in a
problem solving environment (Cowen, 1988)
 Definition 4: GIS is a
multi-million dollar business.
Booming and blooming of GIS.
The growth of GIS has been a marketing
phenomenon of amazing breadth and depth
and will remain so for many years to come.
Clearly, GIS will integrate its way into our
everyday life to such an extent that it will
soon be impossible to imagine how we
functioned before (Clarke, 1997).
? Entry:
$35,000-40,000
? Mid-level:
$45,000-55,000
? Top level:
$75,000 - 100,000
? AAG Newsletter, Business Geographics, GIS World, URISA
Marketplace;
? Recruiting Firms: FIND, GEOSEARCH, Garms Group, Pinnacle
Source, etc.