Community Geography: GIS in Action

Description:

Community Geography: GIS in Action is a great way for middle and high school students and active citizens to use geographical information systems (GIS) to make a difference in your own communities. With this book, you can integrate learning, GIS technology, and real-world experiences. Community Geography: GIS in Action contains real case studies to inspire you, hands-on exercises to help you hone your GIS skills, and practical tips for undertaking GIS projects on your own.

Pioneering Case Studies:

Seven case studies describe innovative community GIS projects undertaken by students, teachers, and community partners in the United States and Canada.

The case studies encompass issues that matter – discovering and mapping landfills in residential neighborhoods, helping police to monitor hot spots of criminal activity, taking inventories of community trees, and more.

Step-by-Step GIS Exercises:

The companion exercise for each case study offers hands-on experience with data and GIS analysis using ESRI ® ArcView ® 3.x software.

Well-placed screen shots provide visual references to the software.

A data CD–ROM included with the book contains all the data and ArcView 3.x projects necessary to complete the exercises. Runs on Microsoft ® Windows ® and Macintosh ® platforms.

Note: A licensed copy of ArcView 3.x software is required to complete the exercises.

On Your Own Sections:

These special sections in each module detail how to approach a similar project in your community.

Tips and suggestions on the GIS inquiry process provide a framework for your own GIS project.

Information on how to build community partnerships, acquire geographic data, perform analyses, and present results is also included.

Note: A licensed copy of ArcView 3.x software is required to complete the projects.

 

Part 1: Community mapping projects

Module 1: The GIS basics

Exercise: Explore and label community features data for a city visitors map

Module 2: Reducing crime

Case study: Deciding where to increase neighborhood police patrols

Exercise: Geocode crime data to map and analyze robbery hotspots

On your own

Module 3: A war on weeds

Case study: Mapping noxious weeds

Exercise: Use GIS to map a leafy spurge infestation and compute its area

On your own

Module 4: Tracking water quality

Case study: Monitoring seasonal changes on the Turtle River

Exercise: Analyze Turtle River data to identify locations for fish habitat restoration

On your own

Module 5: Investigating point-source pollution

Case study: Identifying potentially harmful landfills

Exercise: Map, query, and analyze neighborhood data to identify high-risk landfills

On your own

Module 6: Getting kids to school

Case study: Who walks and who takes the bus?

Exercise: Use buffers to identify eligible school bus riders

On your own

Module 7: Managing the community forest

Case study: One, two, tree: taking a tree inventory

Exercise: Map and query a tree inventory to find hazardous trees

On your own

Module 8: Selecting the right location

Case study: Using site analysis to develop a wildlife area management plan

Exercise: Perform site selection for a state wildlife area

On your own

Part 2: On your own: project planning

Ask a geographic question

Acquire geographic resources

Explore geographic data

Analyze geographic information

Act on geographic knowledge