Reference at Newman Library

Tag: GIS

China Data Center GIS Datasets

We have purchased some GIS datasets from the University of Michigan’s China Data Center. The datasets include boundaries for provinces, counties, prefectures, and cities, as well as current and historic census data that can be joined to these boundaries for mapping and analysis. The datasets also include geographic features like roads, railroads, and rivers. In addition to the national series we have some detailed collections of data for the provinces of: Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai.

The data is in shapefile format and can be used with any GIS software (ArcGIS, QGIS, etc.) In some cases some of the data tables are provided in Excel format, for patrons who are interested in working with the statistics without the mapping elements.

A list of the datasets is available on the Baruch Geoportal. Use is limited to current Baruch students, faculty, and staff for educational, non-commercial purposes. Since the data is copyrighted and I don’t have a secure method of distribution, anyone who is interested should contact me (using their Baruch email address) and I can send them the data, or make arrangements to give them copies.

GIS Practicum Fall 2013

This semester’s GIS (geographic information systems) Practicum, Introduction to GIS Using Open Source Software, will take place on the following Fridays:

  • October 4th
  • November 8th

    • The day-long workshop runs from 9am to 4:30pm. CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff are eligible to register; Baruch undergrads may register with permission from the instructor. Advance registration is required; the fee is $30 and includes a detailed tutorial manual and a light breakfast. Visit the GIS Practicum page to learn more and to register: http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/gis/gisprac

    A second, advanced workshop, Introduction to Spatial Databases Using Open Source Software, will be offered for the first time this semester. The half-day workshop runs from 9am to 12:30pm on the following Fridays:

    • October 11th
    • November 1st
    • December 6th

    Eligibility requirements are the same, except that participants must also have prior GIS experience. Advance registration is required; the fee is $10 and includes a tutorial booklet and hot beverages. Visit the Spatial Database Practicum page to learn more and to register: http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/gis/spatialdb

    Registration for both sessions begins on August 30th. Feel free to circulate this info to students and faculty, but please do not post via listservs. I have fliers in my office if anyone would like some to distribute.

GIS Practicum Summer 2013

I will be running one session of the GIS (geographic information systems) Practicum, Introduction to GIS Using Open Source Software, during the summer semester on:

Friday June 7th

The day-long workshop runs from 9am to 4:30pm. CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff are eligible to register; Baruch undergrads may register with permission from the instructor. Advance registration is required; the fee is $30 and includes a detailed tutorial manual and a light breakfast. Visit the GIS Practicum page to learn more and to register: http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/gis.

GIS Practicum Spring 2013

This semester’s GIS (geographic information systems) Practicum, Introduction to GIS Using Open Source Software, will take place on the following Fridays:

  • March 8th
  • April 26th

The day-long workshop runs from 9am to 4:30pm. CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff are eligible to register; Baruch undergrads may register with permission from the instructor. Advance registration is required; the fee is $30 and includes a detailed tutorial manual and a light breakfast. Visit the GIS Practicum page to learn more and to register: http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/gis

Feel free to circulate this info to students and faculty, but please do not post via listservs. I have fliers in my office if anyone would like some to distribute.

NYC Geodatabase

The NYC Geodatabase (nyc_gdb) is a new resource I’ve created, designed for mapping and analyzing city-level features and data in GIS. The database comes in two formats: a Spatialite geodatabase built on SQLite that can be used in open source software like QGIS, and a personal geodatabase built on MS Access that can be used in ArcGIS.

The contents of the databases are identical and include geographic features and statistical areas from the US Census Bureau, transit and public facility point features from the City, and neighborhood-level census data. All features share a common coordinate system.

The databases will be updated bi-annually each winter and summer. While primarily designed for use with GIS and spatial database software, they can also be used to a limited extent with relational database software like MS Access and the SQLite Manager. I plan on creating a workshop around this resource in the near future.

The databases and associated documentation (including a tutorial and detailed metadata) are available through the Baruch Geoportal at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/geoportal/nyc_gdb/. It is a public resource, licensed under Creative Commons, that anyone can access and download.

Trial to East View LandScan Global

Mike has set up a trial to the LandScan database from East View.

LandScan is a mapping application that provides gridded population data for the world. They’ve used satellite data to calculate population for small grid cells for the entire planet. This gives population researchers the ability to work with areas of a uniform size with data that is collected using one methodology, as opposed to working with census data from hundreds of countries that is collected using various methods for different time frames for places of widely varying size.

The product provides researchers with the ability to access the maps directly in GIS via the company’s servers, and also locally from individual files the vendor would provide us. Researchers can use the maps in GIS to extract data and overlay the population grid with layers of their own.

East View also provides a user-friendly web browser application that anyone can use. You can view population data broken down by age and gender for individual cells, countries, and first level subdivisions (states and provinces). There are a number of base maps for streets and topography that you can overlay the population data on.

The trial works on campus (without a password) from now until Sept 14th. Once you’re in the interface there is a link to a short video that gives you an overview of how it works. Access the resource here:

http://wms.cartographic.com/LandScan2011/

PUMA / Neighborhood Census Map Updated

Last week the Census Bureau released the latest 3 year estimates (2008-2010) for the American Community Survey. I’ve updated the Google Map for accessing PUMA / neighborhood profiles to pull data from this latest survey. The interface is a little different since the new data was released via the new version of the American Factfinder. In the past you would click on one link to access the profile page at the Census Bureau’s website, and from their website you could select Social, Economic, Housing, or Demographic profiles. In the new Factfinder this landing page has been eliminated and there are separate links to each profile – I provide a link to each one in the map.

http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/content.php?pid=95819&sid=985209

New five year census tract-level estimates (2006-2010) will be released in December.

GIS Practicum Fall 2011

This semester’s GIS Practicum, Introduction to GIS Using Open Source Software, will take place on the following Fridays:

  • October 14th
  • November 11th

The day-long workshop runs from 9am to 4:30pm. Baruch & CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff, Baruch undergraduates, and Baruch CAPS students are eligible to register. Registration is $30 and includes a detailed tutorial manual and a light breakfast. Participants must register approx one week before the workshop begins. Visit the GIS Practicum page to learn more and to register. Registration opens on August 26th.

Last semester’s practicum was well attended; forty-five participants representing a variety of academic disciplines and ten different CUNY campuses. The tutorial from last semester is available online. This year’s practicum has been revised, and participants will receive an updated manual.

Course Description:

Do you have a research question that you’d like to envision geographically? Maybe you’d like to study neighborhoods and businesses to target a market. Or perhaps you want to visualize the distribution of education, employment, or resources across the country or around the world. Have you ever wanted to add a map to your presentations or reports, but couldn’t find one that suits your needs?

This practicum introduces participants to geographic information systems (GIS) as a concept for envisioning information and as a tool for conducting geographic analyses and creating maps. Participants will learn how to navigate a GIS interface, how to prepare map layers and conduct a basic geographic analysis, and how to create thematic maps using the open source software QGIS.

Introduction to GIS Practicum

This semester I will be running a day-long workshop entitled “Introduction to GIS using Open Source Software”. GIS is software that you can use for doing geographic analysis (study neighborhoods, target markets, visualize data geographically) and making maps.

The workshop is open to Baruch students (undergraduate, graduate, and CAPS), faculty and staff, and CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff. The software we’ll be using is free and open source, which means it runs on any operating system and will be easily accessible to everyone before, during, and after the workshop.

The workshop will be offered three times this semester, 20 seats per session. They’ll be on Fridays from 9am to 4:30pm on:

March 4th (register by Feb 28th)
April 1st (register by March 28th)
May 6th (register by May 2nd)

Registration is $30 and includes a comprehensive tutorial booklet and light breakfast. The workshop will be offered in library room 135.

A course description, a link to the registration page, and course material is available in the GIS LibGuide. The registration page is hosted on the CAPS website.

NY Metro Area ACS Geodatabase

We are now offering a value-added GIS census product through the Baruch Geoportal. The NY Metro ACS Geodatabase (NYMAG) contains geographic features and 2005-2007 American Community Survey data tables for the entire New York Metropolitan Area. Users will be able to download this geodatabase and use it with ArcGIS software to create thematic maps of census data at the public use microdata area (PUMA) geographic level. PUMAs are geographic areas that are useful surrogates for the city’s community districts or neighborhoods. Outside the city, PUMAs are subdivisions of counties.

The geodatabase, complete with user documentation and an example map, is available for download from the Baruch Geoportal at: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/geoportal/data/nymag/.

Intermediate to advanced GIS users are the intended audience for this database. Hopefully we can roll out a simplified Google Maps interface for novices and non-GIS users sometime in the future. There are no access restrictions – anyone can download it, but will need access to GIS software in order to use it. The geodatabase is in Microsoft Access format which means that anyone with Microsoft Office can work with the data tables, but they won’t be able to use the geographic features without GIS software.

Many thanks to Clint Newsom who worked this summer as a GIS intern on this project – he is largely responsible for making it all happen. Clint is now back at the Information School at the University of Michigan, wrapping up his Info Studies degree.