Understanding GIS. David Smith
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the ARC/INFO software for which the original book was written. Computers and operating systems are different, too. Ongoing development by Esri has extended the software’s capabilities and reworked its architecture to keep pace with advances in technology—not the least of which is the sharing of geographic data and apps on the web. When the original book was published, the World Wide Web was still a couple of years in the future. In addition to new GIS functionality, significant changes have also been made to GIS data models, data storage, and user interfaces. All these changes notwithstanding, the underlying geographic approach (what was then called “the ARC/INFO method”) remains basically the same. That approach can be summarized as follows: frame the problem, explore the study area, prepare the data, perform the analysis, and present your results. The same method is followed in this new book.
This book isn’t a new edition of the original—the original is part of software history. This is a new book, all the way through. It draws inspiration from the original, but incorporates the latest developments to the ArcGIS platform and reflects the world in which GIS is practiced today.
Description
Understanding GIS: An ArcGIS® Pro Project Workbook is a tutorial designed around a multifaceted problem: finding a suitable location for a park next to the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles, California. Using real spatial data (from the City of Los Angeles and other providers) and realistic requirements, you’ll complete all the essential phases of a GIS analysis project, from planning to execution to follow-up.
Goals
One goal of this book is to help you become a proficient user of ArcGIS Pro software. Another goal, ultimately more important, is to teach the geographic approach to problem solving. GIS students are often frustrated because software tools are presented in contexts that don’t make clear how the tools relate to each other or how they serve larger purposes. This book incorporates software functionality in a meaningful process of analytic thinking.
Of course, GIS has many uses that are not analytical—data management and cartography, to name a couple. Even within the general category of analysis, different kinds of problems require different tools and strategies. This book is not all things GIS. It is not all things ArcGIS, either. Many aspects of the software are not relevant to our problem and are not explored in the book. Nevertheless, the book covers a lot of ground. When you’re finished, you should have a good working knowledge of the software and a strong sense of how to use it productively on your own.
Audience
People come to GIS with varying background knowledge and experience. We loosely classify this book as intended for “ambitious beginners.” If you have no prior experience with GIS or any of its wellsprings (geography, cartography, earth science, and computer database technology among them), you may find it more challenging than someone with exposure to these areas. On the other hand, thanks to GPS and household internet mapping apps, location-based technology is becoming ever more familiar. Many things that needed explanation a few years ago have now merged into the background of common technical savvy.
This book is mainly written for the following:
•College-level or graduate students in GIS-related disciplines who want to learn ArcGIS Pro software and GIS best practices
•College and university instructors who want a classroom lab manual to supplement their GIS instruction
•New GIS professionals who want to strengthen or expand their knowledge of ArcGIS Pro software
•Professionals in other technical fields who want cross-training in GIS
•Current ArcGIS Desktop users transitioning from earlier software versions to ArcGIS Pro
There are no prerequisites for the book, and we’ve tried to write it so it will work for anyone with a serious interest in learning GIS. During the course of development and review, we found that many experienced users found things of value in it, too. If you’re brand-new to GIS and are using the book outside a classroom or support group, make sure to take full advantage of the book’s online resources, at esri.com/UnderstandingGIS4.
Structure
As mentioned, the book follows a single project, so it’s best to work through it from start to finish. Lesson results are provided on the book resource web page in the event that you can’t do every lesson or run into trouble.
The book has nine lessons, each divided into two or more exercises of varying length.
Exercises are fully scripted so you won’t encounter gaps in instruction, but frequently repeated operations aren’t spelled out in detail every time. For example, after you’ve clicked a ribbon button, we won’t keep showing pictures of it. Likewise, after you’ve opened a pane a few times, we won’t keep telling you how to open it.
Conceptual information is supplied as needed, either directly in the text or in callout boxes. A few complex topics have a full sidebar to themselves. Figures, mostly screen captures, are common throughout the book. Their main purpose is to show you the correct state of your software at a particular point. Some figures are annotated to emphasize settings that need attention or to help interpret a result.
Appendix A is the book’s data and image credits.
The exercises were created on computers running the Windows 10 operating system. They should be compatible with other Windows operating systems, although there may be small differences in operating system paths and the like. All images that are screen captures of software reflect a Windows 10 default theme.
Resources
Online resource page. The book’s online resources are on the book’s resource web page, at esri.com/UnderstandingGIS4. Go here to access the data and get lesson results.
Lesson results. The book’s exercises are cumulative, with the results of one exercise defining the starting point of the next. For this reason, your results at the end of every lesson must be correct. The lessons include many screen captures as visual confirmations of progress, so by the end of an exercise, you should know whether you got the correct results. If you did, you can carry them forward. If you have problems, or if you skip an exercise, you can get the resulting project files (containing data, maps, and layouts) for any lesson. Results are available on the book’s resource web page.
Other resources. The ArcGIS Desktop Help system, accessible online, provides comprehensive descriptions of software concepts and tools. Additional online resources, such as blogs, forums, map galleries, videos, user communities, and access to technical support and training, can be found at this website: http://resources.arcgis.com.
Disclaimer
The data used in this book is real. So are the efforts of the City of Los Angeles and several interest groups to improve the environmental quality of the Los Angeles River and its surroundings. The GIS project in this book, however, was developed entirely at Esri. For the sake of a story, we pretend that the project was sponsored by the Los Angeles City Council. In fact, neither the book nor the project has any affiliation with the city beyond permission to use its GIS data. Likewise, there is no affiliation with the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation or with any Los Angeles River advocacy organization.
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works and the Bureau of Engineering. Special thanks to Randy Price and Ann-Kristin Karling of the bureau’s Mapping Division, and to City Engineer Gary Lee Moore, for giving us access to the city’s data. We thank the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks for providing its parks data. We note that land parcels and attributes are maintained by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office.
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