GIS 5050: Week 5 Geocoding

This week, our project involved geocoding a dataset using open source data. I started with cleaning a raw tabular dataset composed of the names and addresses of various schools located in Manatee County Florida, obtained from the Florida Department of Education. In Excel, I separated the raw information of schools in Manatee County, Florida into tabular data that would ensure successful geocoding in ArcGIS Pro. Utilizing the power of spreadsheets, I used Excel text formulas to expedite the process and saved the table to a CSV file. Next, I downloaded Florida and Manatee County Tiger/Line shapefiles from the United States Census Bureau Geography program.

After projecting shapefiles into a common State Plan coordinate system, I created an address locater using the Census Bureau data and the cleaned address data. Once geocoding was complete, I had one unmatched address due to missing information in the original census data. To adjust this error, I dropped a point on the correct location using the “Pick from map” button. I chose to symbolize the schools by type. Finally, I published the Geocoded Manatee County Schools map in a web map, making it publicly accessible. Please follow the link and check it out! 

https://pns.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=c785a1c4e5864f44ace019e350cb4a33

GIS 5050: Week 4 Overlay Analysis

 

This week, I created a map illustrating suitable campsites for potential development near De Soto National Forest, near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I created various buffers (variable and multi-ring) around road and water features by distance. Next, I performed a union overlay that merged two buffer layers (roads and water) to identify zones that meet the criteria for suitable campsites,. These criteria include accessibility by vehicle and proximity to water. I also removed locations that overlapped with conservation zones. The final results are displayed on the map using a color scale to indicate potential spots for development based on the size of the area by hectares. The exercise reinforced skills using buffer and overlay tools in the service of performing spatial analysis in a practical land use and planning project.

GIS 5050: Week 3 Introduction to Projections

This week’s topic is projections and how different projections can affect the representation of spatial data. I reprojected a FDGL county boundary shapefile in three projected coordinate systems (Albers, UTM, and State Plane), using Project and Project Raster tools in Esri ArcGIS Pro. To illustrate the differences between projections, the Florida county boundaries are displayed in multiple map views. The table shows the quantified difference in area for four selected counties between the three projections, measured in square miles.

GIS5050: Week 2 Layout & Map Elements

In this week's lab, I created a map to clearly mark the location of the University of West Florida. This map includes symbols (defined in the legend) to indicate that UWF is situated in Escambia County, near Interstate 10 and the City of Pensacola. An insert map in the upper right corner shows Escambia County within the State of Florida.  

Location of the University of West Florida in Escambia County, Florida.

In this lesson, I learned to locate and review metadata and file sources, a practice important for establishing data accuracy and the origins of geographic information. I practiced changing map projections, helpful in understanding different coordinate systems. Using the clipping tool, I created new shapefiles, allowing me to focus on points of interest in Escambia County.

By combining the skills I have accumulated in the course to date, I created a functional and informative map.