Lab 2: Downloading GIS Data

4/12/2016

The goals of this lab were to use skills we've learned throughout class, such as mapping a variable by using symbology and queries as well as joining and relating tables, and learning new skills. These new skills included: downloading and importing online data from the US Census Bureau into ArcMap and building a web map.

Throughout the lab, I struggled quite a bit with importing the data from the US Census Bureau into ArcMap and creating the web map. When I was attempting to download the data from online, I ended up clicking on the link to open up the table view and download from there...

This was incorrect, however. Instead, I needed to download the .zip file from the search result page...

Downloading the data in the way I did, didn't allow me to import the data to ArcMap in a format the software could recognize. While this blunder was frustrating at first, it allowed me to learn how not to download data online.

In addition, I learned how to troubleshoot publishing a web map. With the help of Christina and Martin, I was able to learn what things to look for if a map isn't publishing correctly, and how to fix those things. For example, I kept getting an error message saying that the system had trouble consolidating the data when I tried to publish my map to the web. After recognizing the data wasn't matching up correctly by means of removing one of the data frames from my original map, it was a simple fix. All I had to do was add the original shape file to the map and re-symbolize the population variable.

After publishing my web map, I felt as though the results were a good looking, professional map. Having data from the US Census Bureau might be a little more accurate and up-to-date compared to the data in our mgisdata folder.

The source I used for my web map is the US Census Bureau.

Lab 1: Base Data

3/11/2016





The goal of this lab was to familiarize myself with base data, digitizing data, how the public land surveying system works, and produce a poster containing themed maps for different feature classes. In this lab we worked with base data. Base data, in this instance, is information that is readily available for the use in GIS and in combination with multiple datasets in order to visualize features of a specific area in our world.


When that idea was applied to this lab, it was in the form of visualizing parcels, public land, and demographic data of the city of Eau Claire. The scenario we were given was to digitize the lots that were purchased for a building project and to display those parcels and their relationships with features of the city of Eau Claire. More specifically, we learned how to digitize; using a base map as reference, we essentially drew over the area of parcels to create polygons. We also had to create multiple data frames with specific feature classes, each with their own symbology.  Lastly, we learned how to make an aesthetically pleasing map.


The proposed area where the project would take place is in what is classified as a city municipality. Within this municipality, there is also a high concentration of people, mostly commercial and residential zones. The census boundary, commercial zone, and voting district in which the proposed parcel locations for the project are, do coincide rather well.


The sources used to make this layout include Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar, Geographics, CNES/Airbus, DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, GIS User Community, and County and City of Eau Claire.