Final Lab
Final Lab
Welcome to the final project for our GIS class! In this project, we will be applying the knowledge and skills learned over the last few months to provide a spatial answer to a question or issue of your choice. This will involve collecting the data, processing, and analyzing, and finally creating a map layout. In addition to creating the map itself, you will also be required to submit a full lab report introducing the question your map addresses, documenting the methodology used to create the map, a description of the results and a discussion of the patterns you observe.
In general, I’m looking to see you trying out some of the skills you’ve learned this semester. This is not a “Final Project” that I’d expect you to put weeks’ worth of work into. Think of this more as draft of a larger potential project. Focus on getting the data into a map layout and trying some different approaches to manipulating the data. You are not expected to find a perfect solution to a problem. If you have course work outside of this class that would benefit from a map, use that as inspiration.
Requirements
1. Find and download your own data.
2. Create a minimum of one map that examines the topic you are interested in.
3. If the map is using primarily vector data, it should include points, lines and polygons. Raster data is also an acceptable choice for the final lab.
4. Your methods should include a minimum of three analyses. These can be any three analyses from the list below (or others not listed). The analyses you choose should “make sense” in terms of exploring your topic.
5. Full lab report
a. Introduction
b. Description of Methods (does not need to include “right click” type specificity).
c. Results
d. Discussion
Some Project Ideas
○ How many tobacco retailers are within a given distance of public schools in Philadelphia?
○ How has the percentage of AAPI residents in Bucks County changed by census tracts changed over the past 20 years?
○ What patterns of vacant residences can we observe in Philadelphia County?
○ Identify suitable locations for parks based off of demographic data and proximity to existing parks.
Possible Analyses
○ Select by Attribute
○ Select by Location
○ Choropleth Mapping
○ Bivariate Choropleth
○ Table Summary
○ Table Join
○ Spatial Join
○ Buffer
○ Dissolve
○ Merge
○ Multi-part to Single-part
○ Overlay
○ Point-in-polygon
○ Line-in-polygon
○ Polygon-on-polygon
■ Intersection
■ Union
■ Identity
■ Clip
○ Raster Analysis
○ Hillshade
○ Slope
○ Masking
○ Zonal statistics
○ Feature to raster
○ Reclassify
○ Network Analysis
○ Service Area
○ Find Nearest
○ Route
Some Resources for GIS Data
Pennsylvania Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
US Federal Geographic Data Committee Geoplatform
USGS National Hydrography Dataset
US FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer