Lab 4

For this week’s lab assignment I used the ArcMap feature of ArcGIS 10 to create a series of map regarding a proposed airport expansion. Using ArcMap, I created a display poster showing schools in the vicinity of the airport, the land use of the area, and the population density of the area. Using this poster and the data it provides, one would be able to analyze how the increased noise level and the increased traffic due to the expansion would affect the surrounding counties.

ArcMap is a complex tool with many features, facets, and capabilities. As a result, when one is first starting out with the program there is a slight learning curve in adjusting to the toolset. However, the program and its features are similar to Excel (regarding how data is added and processed) and Photoshop (regarding how one can manipulate images). So if one is familiar with those or comparable programs. ArcMap is not completely foreign. The step -by-step tutorial for this lab was extremely detailed and helpful; with it I was able to complete the assignment.

ArcMap and the entire ArcGIS suite is essential to the GIS field. It allows one to evaluate and organize location information in conjunction with endless amounts of data, i.e. a spatial analysis. ArcGIS helps to solve the geographic question the GIS ask. Additionally, because ArcGIS is one of the few programs used in geographic information analysis, the field very much in sync.

One major negative to ArcGIS is its complexity. ArcGIS is not a program that could be used by the casual user without much difficulty. The sheer number of possible functions is overwhelming in itself. In one basic tutorial I did design, data import and export, map creation, may layer creation and alteration, I created data sets, I create a correlated graph using said data, and more. Moreover, I am very familiar with excel and Photoshop. Without the tutorial I would have been lost. ArcGIS is designed to be used by geographic professionals and is not very accessible by the average neogeographer.