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Digital Mapping Tools and Resources: Geographic Information and Technologies

Geographic Information Systems

Welcome to the Maps and Geographic Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. - Theodore Roosevelt. [Theodore Roosevelt, full-length portrait, seated by world globe, facing left] (1905)Information Systems Guide.

Find the latest information on GIS and how to start orienting you ideas spatially.

Geographic Information System includes,

  1. Statistics - Data sets are visualized with layers and oriented geographically.
  2. Optimization - Select, filter and orient the GIS to a particular research topic. 
  3. Numerical Algorithms - enable you to assign data to a geographic reference.

Maps and GIS help us,

Locate, interpret, and visualize site specific data.
Collect and analyze spatially oriented information.
Narrate site characteristics to connect design concepts to community members

1. Adapted from Boland, Maeve A. "Geographic Information Systems." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, edited by Carl Mitcham, vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, pp. 856-857. Gale Virtual Reference Library, Accessed 26 Sept. 2017

About Geographic Information and Technologies

Identify Geospatial Data Sources

Narrate with Geospatial Visualizations

Geospatial Training and Careers

Learn More about the Geospatial Science, Theory, and Practice

Create your own GIS with these Map Tools

What is Felt?

Web-based GIS mapping platform.  - free with limited options enables, 

  • Easy upload of geospatial file formats for quick layering
  • Collaborate with others in real-time

 

What is Green Maps OGM2?

Here are six great sources of information and inspiration to help you get the most out of these tools.

  1. 🚀At GreenMap.org, under Resources, go to our Platform quick guide. Read more about the Website Builder tools under Manage Your Data > Spaces and > Pages. This Guide has loads of helpful information on setting up a map, a survey and using icons, too.

  2. 👀 Take a look at the Grow Dundee website built using the website builder tools. This is a place where a network of community growing projects share information about local gardens, volunteer and event information.

  3. đŸ€“ Read our article about the website builder and why we have developed the tools. We’ll soon add short videos here.

  4. 👐 Share information with your group. You can access the intro slides from the website builder session here>

What is GrassGIS?

The Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (https://grass.osgeo.org/), commonly referred to as GRASS GIS, is an Open Source Geographic Information System providing powerful raster, vector and geospatial processing capabilities. It can be used either as a stand-alone application or as backend for other software packages such as QGIS and R or in the cloud. It is distributed freely under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). GRASS GIS is a founding member of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo).

What is Leaflet?

  • Uses javascript. Code heavy with endless capability. 

  • Free. Open Source.

What is OpenStreetMap?

"OpenStreetMap is built by a community of mappers that contribute and maintain data about roads, trails, cafĂ©s, railway stations, and much more, all over the world." 

Get Started with OpenStreetMap

  1. Register to become an editor
  2. Complete editor training
  3. Choose a location and start improving the world's geolocation. 

OpenStreetMaps US hosts an entire community with conferences, training, mapping games, and historical information

News from OpenStreetMaps US

  • OpenStreetMap US Wrapped: A Year in Review for 2024This link opens in a new windowDec 18, 2024

    2024 was a year of exciting growth for both OpenStreetMap and the OpenStreetMap US team. Let’s celebrate some of the highlights!

    1. The Team Grew

    OSM US welcomed Jake Low, Software Engineer, and Alyssa Castronuovo, Program Coordinator, in August! Jake is an on-staff maintainer for two OSM US Charter Projects (OSMCha and MapRoulette) and, as a long-time Trails Working Group member, he is helping shape the future of the Trails Stewardship Initiative. Alyssa works with the team on OSM US events like Mapping USA and Mappy Hours, and coordinates the behind-the-scenes of current (and future) programs including Mapping for Impact and Community Projects.

    2. State of the Map US 2024

    Mappers, community members, and open data enthusiasts came together the second weekend of June in Salt Lake City, Utah to celebrate The Great Outdoors at State of the Map US 2024. All corners of the mapping world were discussed – from what it means to map the world’s largest miniature railroad to how MapRoulette can strengthen communities.

    To read more, check out the conference recap post!

    3. OSM US Launched the Community Project Program

    In September, OpenStreetMap US created the Community Project Program to amplify grassroots innovation. This initiative provides small-scale projects with benefits like increased visibility, nonprofit affiliation, a monthly stipend, and long-term support. It complements the Charter Project Program, which supports larger initiatives with greater organizational needs.

    Since the start of this program, OSM US has welcomed three projects aboard:

    • OpenStreetMap Americana: A cartographic style inspired by paper highway maps, built using open-source vector tile technology.
    • OSM Merge: A conflation tool built for improving trail and rural road data.
    • SliceOSM: Made-to-order and freshly baked slices of ‘osm.pbf’ regional extracts.

    Applications remain open year-round. If you have a project or tool that benefits the OpenStreetMap ecosystem, check out the guidelines and apply!

    4. OSM US Welcomed New Members

    OpenStreetMap US offers membership opportunities for individuals and organizations at different tiers. Members provide sustained support for the programs, tech, and advocacy OSM US staff and volunteers work on throughout the year!

    Individual members participate in OSM US board elections (which are coming up!), receive discounts on ticketed events, and more. This year, OSM US welcomed 118 first-time members, and the number of current members increased 29.8% from 2023!

    Organizational members give critical and sustainable support to OSM US from government agencies, academic institutions, and private companies throughout the year. 2024 saw incredible growth in membership; Kendall County, Illinois Dept. of Gis became the first Community Member! MassGIS became the first state department Organizational Member, and Meta, Esri, and the National Parks Service became top-level Strategic Members.

    The OSM US team is so grateful for both new and returning members in 2024, thank you for supporting the organization!

    5. The Pedestrian Working Group took its First Steps

    Since the first meeting in March, the Pedestrian Working Group has made great strides toward a map full of sidewalk geometry, kerb nodes, and tactile paving. This diverse group of stakeholders is working towards a tiered tagging schema to help mappers, local governments, data analysts, and more to determine the quality of their local sidewalk data in OpenStreetMap. Take a look at their draft wiki page!

    The Pedestrian Working Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 3:00 pm EST. If you’re interested in joining, sign up here.

    6. OSM US Charter Projects Thrived

    OpenStreetMap US supports OpenHistoricalMap, OSMCha, and MapRoulette via a fiscal sponsorship model to ensure the continued growth of these key projects. Hear directly from the teams behind these projects about their 2024 highlights:

    OpenHistoricalMap:

    OpenHistoricalMap is growing by leaps and bounds as we celebrate our 15th birthday. Over the past year, our date-annotated data has grown by more than half with the help of 255 new historical mappers. We now have the most comprehensive coverage of historical U.S. county and time zone boundaries anywhere on the Internet, serving as scaffolding for extensive and growing coverage of local boundaries in New Jersey, Michigan, and elsewhere. Abroad, mappers are similarly building out coverage of the British Empire, Holy Roman Empire, and various other polities from past centuries. Additionally, the OHM advisory group has been working behind the scenes to facilitate solutions to community needs and establish partnerships with academia and GLAM institutions. For the first time, OHM partnered with the OSMF to participate in the Google Summer of Code, resulting in editor improvements that mappers use every day.

    Learn more about what OpenHistoricalMap was up to in 2024 (like the new Railway style, integration with Gramps Web, and more) on the new OHM forum!

    OSMCha:

    After welcoming OSMCha as a Charter Project in late 2023, the project migrated to entirely OpenStreetMap US infrastructure. This allowed the team behind OSMCha to make necessary improvements to decade-old code and reduce project costs for a more financially sustainable future. To signify this migration, OSMCha released version 1.0!

    MapRoulette:

    In 2024, over 500,000 changesets were made with the #maproulette hashtag! The MapRoulette team has been hard at work constantly improving the user experience for the folks contributing all those changesets. Since the start of 2024, MapRoulette now features Rapid editor integration and a major database upgrade has reduced unscheduled downtime to near zero.

    Jake joining the OSM US team was a shared 2024 highlight for both MapRoulette and OSMCha!

    Did you know you can donate directly to OpenHistoricalMap, OSMCha, and MapRoulette? If you use any or all of these platforms throughout the year, please consider supporting their ongoing maintenance and development!

    And the year’s not over! In just the next few weeks


    It’s clear the OSM US team has much to be thankful for in 2024, and plenty of reason to head into the new year eager to continue advocating for the tech, projects, and people in this wonderful community. Help the OSM US team hit the ground running in 2025 by joining as a member, or making a donation before the new year!

    Interested in keeping up with all things OSM US in the new year? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!

    Here’s to the mappiest year yet!

What is ArcGIS StoryMaps?

Get Started with ArcGIS StoryMaps

  1. Visit ArcGIS Story Maps (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/)
  2. Sign Up for an Individual Account using your @nyit.edu Gmail.
  3. There are multiple ways to begin your story. Start with an Express Map to build a place-based presentation. Layer in text and images.

TIP: Compile your story content in a simple spreadsheet before building out the StoryMap.

Social Explorer

Get Started with Social Explorer;

  • Compose maps and data reports based on historical and modern census data at all geographic levels 

  • Upload your data and layer it with features and demographics.

  • Link an Individual Account to save, publish and collaborate maps.

  1. Click on Maps 
  2. Select Start Now.  You'll see a default map of the United States
  3. Enter a location into the search box.
  4. Pull down Show Data By and change it to your geography (county, place, census tract, etc.). Place refers to both cities and unincorporated areas.
  5. Select the Change Data button
  6. Browse by Category or Survey
    1. Browse by Category (tutorial): Use the slider bar to select a Census year and category.  Not all categories are available for each census year as some questions are added or dropped from survey to survey
    2. Browse by Survey (tutorial): Shows a list of all available data variables by Census year  
  7. Creating a Project to enhance your map with text and images.
  8. Invite Group Members to Collaborate by Share > Email Collaborators.

Map of Clinton Hill neighborhood including coastal flooding, open space, and housing data,

Video Tutorials:

Historical Maps

Typically large-scale maps, dating back to the 1500s, historical maps serve as primary research artifacts.
Fire Insurance Maps cover the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 1800s to the present and About the Sanborn Maps at the Library of Congress

Locating Spatial Data

Locating Spatial Data & Information

TIPS FOR LOCATING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION

‱ Look in general GIS data repositories
‱ Search the internet – Include “gis”, or “data” in the search terms AND Search by location and/or topic
‱ Search for governmental (see below) statistical agencies or open data sites from local to global perspective.
‱ Contact GIS departments, universities, or researchers in your area of interest.
‱ Search for articles on your topic and look for the sources of the data.

Global Dataset Search Engines

National

State

County and City Data Portals

  • Locate County and Municipal Data on the Web, use search terms, "geospatial" "Open Data" "GIS" plus the municipality name (County, State, or Province) to locate these data repositories.
  • Use translation to navigate pages from local governments often written in different languages.
  • Know that topics including Environment, Business and Economy, Food and Housing, GIS, Infrastructure, Health, Boundaries, Culture and Education are often similar but not standardized. 

Example Collections:

Open Municipal Government Data

Open Government Data initiatives promote "transparency, accountability, and value creation by making government data available to all" (OECD.org). Evaluate datasets found through open data portals as you would information sources. MĂĄchovĂĄ, Hub, Lnenicka recommend searchers consider the following criteria when selecting and searching government data:

- Are data sets organized in understandable categories?
- A complete list of datasets.
- Is there someone to contact to request a specific data set.
- Can you search according to category, publisher, format?
- Can you filter data sets in order to limit what you need to extract?
- Can you process data sets in a common structure such as CSV, JSON, or RDF?
- Do you need to register an account in order to access datasets?

MĂĄchovĂĄ, R., Hub, M., & Lnenicka, M. (2018). Usability evaluation of open data portals: Evaluating data discoverability, accessibility, and reusability from a stakeholders’ perspective. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 70(3), 252-268. http://dx.doi.org.arktos.nyit.edu/10.1108/AJIM-02-2018-0026

Example Thematic GIS & Maps

Urban Heat Islands

Land Cover 

Includes Trees and Green Space

Demographics

Example Maps Collections with GIS visual analysis tools

United States

Canada

Get started with Maps in Rhino

Geospatial Organizations and Standards

Geospatial Community

Books About Mapping and GIS

Journals on GIS and Geospatial Technology

See Also, related guides...

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