Digital Mapping Tools and Resources: Geographic Information and Technologies

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Technologies

Identify Geospatial Data Sources

• Open Data and Municipal Data Policy and Platforms
  (open data NYC; 1 - 2 descriptive sentences and links to policies)

• Data from Essential City Agencies for Architecture and Urban Design

• 3D Data Sets

• Open Data Worksheet (Library One-Shot)

Tell a Story with Geospatial Visualization

• Social Explorer 

• ArcGIS StoryMaps

•   Community Engagement with OpenGreenMaps

Historical Maps Sources

Geospatial Training and Careers

• Training Certificates

• Professional Organizations

Learn More about Geospatial 

• Books and Journals

• Podcasts

Ebooks for Mapping and GIS

• Sign Up for an Individual Account
• Create and customize thematic and interactive maps; Navigate current and historical demographic data and survey; Create data reports based on historical and modern US census data at all geographic levels 

Get Started with Social Explorer

The fastest way to get started with Social Explorer is to use the Maps console.  

1. Click on Maps at the top of the screen
2. Select Start Now.  You'll see a default map of the United States
3. Use the search box to search for a place by name ex: Nassau County.  
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. Enhance a presentation or "story" by adding multimedia elements.  Click "Tell a Story" in lower right corner.  See the Creating a Project Tab for more information.
8. Invite Group Members to Collaborate by Share > Email Collaborators.

What is ArcGIS StoryMaps?

• Combine web maps with text, images, and media to present ideas, survey participants, or document a place, event, people, or ideas.
• Check out some examples from the ArcGIS StoryMaps Community, especially, Housing Stories, or Scraping the Heavens

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.

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 depicting the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of some twelve thousand cities and towns in the

• The digitized maps depict the size, shape, and construction of dwellings, and commercial buildings.
• Viewing the same location over time illustrates significant changes over time. 
• FIMO Fire Insurance Maps Online Database
• Fire Insurance Maps at the Library of Congress
• Select Fire Insurance Maps at the New York Public Library
• Full Set of NY, NJ, CT. ProQuest Digital Sanborn Maps remote access with NYPL Library Card. If you don't already have a New York Public Library Card, apply for one here.
• National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)

Center for Brooklyn History - Map Collections

What are the building blocks of a Geographic Information System?

Numerical Algorithms - enable you to assign data to a geographic reference.
Statistics - Data sets are visualized with layers and oriented geographically.
Optimization - The ability to orient the GIS to a particular area of research. 

We can help you:

• Locate, interpret, and visualize GIS maps and data.
• Incorporate GIS into your project presentations.
• Develop Community Research.

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

What are the building blocks of a Geographic Information System?

Numerical Algorithms - enable you to assign data to a geographic reference.
Statistics - Data sets are visualized with layers and oriented geographically.
Optimization - The ability to orient the GIS to a particular area of research. 

We can help you:

• Locate, interpret, and visualize GIS maps and data.
• Incorporate GIS into your project presentations.
• Develop Community Research.

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