Chapter 2 - A gallery of applications

This chapter is a loosely organized collection of GIS applications. Look for situations of interest to environmental science and in particular to your own special concerns. For example, my research area is landscape change, so the discussion in 2.3.5.3 on deforestation in Sibuyan Island is relevant, and led me to search for more on this topic.

Since the book was written GIS has continued to expand. Google Maps is probably the most important example, but you can think of others. All of the applications shown here are expensive to run. But there are free GIS programs; I have used GRASS for example (though if asked, I'll deny it!).

Notice that each chapter ends with suggestions for "Further reading" that might have useful references for your own research.

2.1 Introduction

This 'screenplay' focuses on the roles GIS plays in a GIS manager (who lives off GIS anyway!). But also think about how she is moving through space and time. If she were moving in a space/time framework we'd see her as a dot in 3 dimensions (EAST/NORTH/TIME).

Note that Figures 2.2 and 2.3 show attribute and spatial data. For what we call vector representations, you can never have the latter without the former.

Although I use and teach GIS, I am not a great GIS enthusiast (in the same way I am about cats), so I'm skeptical of claims (p. 29) that it 'improves' anyone's life. But it certainly is pervasive (like computers and the Internet). You may disagree, now or as the course develops.

2.2 Science, geography, and applications

Do you agree with the bold (type face and mood!) statement that begins this section? For example, there are many GIS applications in the sciences, which aren't about solving real-world problems. GIS can be used for exploiting resources as well as seeking sustainable communities.

2.3 Representative application areas and their foundations

Figure 2.6 is adapted from the literature of innovation, which has been contributed to heavily by geographers (look up Torsten Hägerstrand). Where do you think we are on the curve right now? Are you hoping to get in on the ground floor? My usual approach to innovations is as a middle adopter: after the bleeding edge has dulled a bit but before things get too boring.

This subsection is rather long, so you might want to focus on one of the following themes and skim the others. But let's not everyone do the last!
  1. Government
  2. Business
  3. Logistics and transportation
  4. Environment
Note as well that these are application areas have very fuzzy boundaries. For example, understanding the Santa Barbara fire situation (Figure 2.16) involves government (fire protection), business (insurance), transportation (evacuation), and environment (forest management).

Figure 2.11 is worth studying as it illustrates the power of spatial thinking; the upper figure (a tree graph) is also used to model migration, and the lower to model spatial and temporal autocorrelation.

Read a few of the case studies, focusing on those of interest. The Santa Barbara situation appears several other places in the book.

2.3.5 Environment is a rich application area and presumably your main interest. Rapid environmental change requires GIS to examine the temporal dimension: in addition to Sibuyan Philippines animation shown in Figures 2.19-20, see my Baltimore-Washington urban animations. This example involves the concept of fractals, an area to which I have made a few research contributions. Note how the maps permit us to explore alternative futures (scenarios).

You might want to start thinking about a final project at this point...

2.4 Concluding comments

This chapter has presented a number of interesting GIS applications. Note that the authors assert the role of "the scientific method" throughout this book. I've argued (with some of them and others) that GIS isn't a scientific instrument in the manner of say a telescope. Yet it has given us new knowledge of the world. Hopefully you'd like to contribute to that knowledge.